An Australia-based coal-mining junior has struck a bargain to ship coal through Prince Rupert, BC. Coalspur Mines (TSE:CPT, ASX:CPL) said Thursday it has reached a 14-year agreement to export thermal coal from its Vista project in Alberta through Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert. The news spiked the shares 5% on the Australian exchange Friday but caused less of a stir on the Toronto bourse, where Coalspur was down about half a percent as the trading day closed.

Rural communities in Queensland Australia are more than a little unhappy about state politicians and government agencies allowing mining firms like BHP to set up self-contained separate mining towns cut off from local communities or simply letting miners fly in and out without ever becoming part of local life.

Perilya Limited, an Australian base metal miner, plans to raise $110 million to delever the company's balance sheet and fund the company's ongoing activities. The company said on Wednesday that it plans to issue 263,037,782 ordinary share at 42 cents per share. UBS AG is the underwriter. Perilya Limited has a zinc, lead and silver mine in Broken Hill, New South Wales. Perilya's operations also include the Flinders Project in South Australia and the Mount Oxide Project in Queensland.

Roxgold Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ROG) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by Cormark Securities Inc. and including GMP Securities L.P., RBC Capital Markets Inc., Fraser Mackenzie Limited, PI Financial Corp., Pope & Company Limited, Raymond James Ltd. and Toll Cross Securities Inc. (collectively the "Underwriters") pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase 10,000,000 common shares ("Common Shares") of the Company on a bought deal private placement basis at a price of $1.10 per Common Share.

EDMONTON, Oct. 28, 2011 /CNW/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, attracted more than 5,200 on-site and online bidders from 37 countries to a two-day CA$60 million (US$60 million) unreserved public auction in Edmonton, Alberta on October 26 - 27, 2011. More than 2,100 people (42%) bid online in real time at www.rbauction.com, purchasing almost CA$16 million (US$16 million) of equipment (26%). Among the equipment sold: a 2007 Caterpillar D7R XR series II crawler tractor that sold for CA$380,000 (US$383,000) to an on-site buyer from Grande Prairie, AB and a 2009 Western Star 4900SA tri-drive vacuum truck that sold for CA$300,000 (US$302,000) to an on-site buyer from Medicine Hat, AB.

Ongoing labour unrest at Freeport-McMorran's Grasberg mine in Indonesia has forced the American company to declare force majeure. The announcement made Wednesday effectively allows Freeport to stop shipments from its gold and copper mine so that it can avoid liability on existing customer orders. About 8,000 workers — a third of the mine's workforce — have been on strike since September 15th and earlier this month vowed to shut down the mine if hourly wages of $1.50 are not upped 8-fold. The strike recently turned ugly with reports of sabotage and injuries.

TORONTO, CANADA--(Marketwire - Oct. 27, 2011) -

The capacity shortfalls challenging many sectors of the mining industry may see faster relief and cleaner, more efficient operations. GE Energy (NYSE: GE) and Foster Wheeler Chile, a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler AG, a global engineering, procurement and construction company with projects throughout the world, are working together to help companies in the mining industry in South America address these challenges. The two companies today announced a portfolio of mining infrastructure solutions that can deliver energy, processing systems, water management and waste management from their combined mining expertise, technologies, engineering and onsite services.

A presentation made to the Zimbabwean parliament on Thursday details the secrecy, corruption and human rights abuses that accompany mining activities in the Marange alluvial diamond fields. Hundreds were killed and thousands of local miners were driven off claims when the army seized control of the area in 2008 and most observers believe an international ban on these gems are being widely flouted. The report alleges that in contrast to the official $200 million, as much as $2.8 billion – equal to all other tax revenues – found its way into a parallel government via the army, police, prisons and intelligence agencies which all have 'permits' to mine there.