How central bank gold buying is undermining the dollar

A day after reports that the Canadian federal police have joined the investigation into who may be behind an anonymous letter alleging fraud at Silvercorp Metals from an apparent short seller, shares in the company were racing ahead 10% in brisk noon trade on Thursday. Silvercorp was forced last week Friday to make public the letter and at the same time disclosed that someone had built up a short position of 23 million shares – more than 13% of the number outstanding. The firm with projects in China and Canada plunged 10% after the news broke, but is now up a net 8.7%, helped along the way by an influential investment site that in rather dramatic fashion asks whether Silvercorp is the "perfect stock."

Bloomberg reports Silvercorp Metals was contacted by a Canada police unit called the Integrated Market Enforcement Team on Wednesday offering to help find the person behind an anonymous letter alleging a “potential $1.3 billion accounting fraud” at the company. Silvercorp Metals was forced on Friday to make public the letter, also sent to the Ontario Securities Commission, presumably from a shorter of the company's stock as it was also disclosed at the time that someone had built up a short position of some 23 million shares over the preceding two months. The firm with projects in China and Canada plunged 10% after the news broke, but has since regained much of the lost ground.

The Canberra Times reports Australia's proposed emissions trading scheme – which will evolve from the carbon tax being implemented next year – has won praise from Beijing, where it will be the model for one of six Chinese pilot programmes to be introduced in 2013. Earlier this week the EU also endorsed the controversial Australian plans and announced the start of talks for the eventual linkage of carbon trading by 2015. The carbon tax is vociferously opposed by Australia's coal export industry, the world's largest, which will be forced to pay a levy of $25 per metric tonne of carbon pollution next year.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Sept. 7, 2011) - East Asia Minerals Corporation (TSX VENTURE:EAS) wishes to report on the progress of its 2011 summer drilling campaign at its wholly-owned uranium projects located in Mongolia. The drilling campaign was launched in August with the objectives of (a) meeting annual expenditure requirements to keep the projects in good standing; (b) test previously identified targets at the Enger and Ingenii-Nars projects; and (c) initiate early stage exploration at the Ulaan Nuur, Sevsuul Bulag, Bukht Uul and Unegt prospects.

The deal-making frenzy in the global mining sector during the first half of the year was followed by a dramatic drop in activity in July and August, according to a new report by consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers. Figures from the report titled Riders on the Storm show that in July and August the value of global mining deals fell by 49% and deal volumes declined by 25%. The sharp reversal came after a record first half when 1,379 deals worth $71bn were announced even though Chinese entities, firmly focused on value, retreated from iconic western takeovers. Buyers were also willing to pay over the odds for large publicly listed targets – for $500 million+ acquisitions, the average premium was 37%. For sub-$500 million deals, premiums averaged a mere 8%.

Copper steadied on Tuesday as an earlier price correction enticed buying from top consumer China, but concerns about slowing growth in the world's top economies muddied the metal's demand picture. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) traded at $8,9 50 a tonne in rings , little changed from Monday's close of $8,960 a tonne.

HONG KONG, CHINA--(Marketwire - Sept. 6, 2011) - Alexander Molyneux, President and CEO of SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX:SGQ)(SEHK:1878) is pleased to announce today that the company has set a new monthly record of 441,665 tonnes of coal shipped in August, representing a substantial increase over shipping levels in the second quarter of 2011. "We have seen a continual increase this quarter in capacity being allocated by customers to collect our coal", said Mr. Molyneux. "We are pleased to see our shipping rate reach a level of approximately 5.3 million tonnes of coal per year on an annualized basis so soon, which is on track to meet our targets."

Brazilian mining giant Vale (VALE5.SA) is in talks with Chinese and other ship owners to sell or lease its planned fleet of giant bulk carriers, a Vale official told Reuters on Monday.

China's coal imports this year are expected to pull back from the record level in 2010 despite strong domestic demand, as growth in local production and transportation capacity help meet overall demand, an industry official said on Tuesday. Dong Yueying, secretary-general of China Coal Transport and Distribution Association (CCTD), told a coal conference in Beijing that he expected about 150 million tonnes of coal will be imported this year. The volume would be lower than the record 164.8 million tonnes China imported in 2010.