A grassroots movement opposed to coal-seam gas (CSG) mining got a boost of star power on Saturday, when 70s pop singer Olivia Newton-John panned the controversial practice. The Australian singer, who starred alongside John Travolta in the hit movie-musical Grease, launched a scathing attack on the mining industry after learning several sites near her luxury Byron Bay resort were under threat, The Sunday Telegraph reported. In an open letter to Australians warning about the health effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, Newton-John says she is "horrified to learn of the extensive plans for coal-seam gas and shale gas exploration in Australia." Image of Olivia Newton-John is from Wikimedia, by gdcgraphics.

A giant Afghan iron ore deposit may provide hope for the prosperity of the country, but the Afghan government is not able to ensure the mine is managed properly and profiteering warlords could spark further violence, a graft watchdog said on Sunday

Mining and exploration company Firestone Diamonds has announced a financing plan that will raise £13.5 million and provide updated development plans for its diamond mining and evaluation projects in Lesotho and Botswana.

Mexico massively ramped up its gold reserves in the first quarter of this year, buying over $4 billion of bullion as emerging economies move away from the ailing U.S. dollar, which has dipped to 2-1/2-year lows.

The chief minister of a southern Indian state who is accused of being at the centre of a $3.6 billion mining fraud resigned on Sunday, AFP reported. B.S. Yeddyurappa, 68, head of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka, was named earlier this month in a report into corrupt mining practices by the Karnataka state ombudsman. The minister was accused of enabling illicit iron ore mining.

Putting Galore Creek into production would cost a whopping $5.2 billion in capex, NovaGold Resources said this week in announcing their prefeasibility study of the substantial copper--gold- silver project in northern British Columbia. The proposed mine, located 200 kilometres north of Stuart, BC, is 50%-owned by NovaGold and 50% by Teck Resources. Image of the proposed pit design for Galore Creek, courtesy of NovaGold Resources Resources Inc.

The Tanzanian government has planned a USD 400 million uranium mining project by Australian based Mantra Resources in the Selous Game Reserve, a project that will greatly boost the country’s economy.

Gold mining in Tanzania and other East African sites is making headway with work in progress on prospecting and resource development at eight sites.

The most toxic air pollution from coal- and oil-fired power plants can be found in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, according to a new study released by the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council and Physicians for Social Responsibility.