Miners need to overhaul business model to boost productivity: study

Canada led the world in the number of mining mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for the first half of the year, says Ernst & Young. And while the number of deals fell in comparison to the highly acquisitive first half of 2010, the value of the transactions that took place this year more than doubled compared to the same period last year. The country was the leading buyer in H1 with 196 deals, and also the leading target destination with 129 deals. Australia came second as a buyer and target destination, with 83 and 72 deals respectively.

Commodity markets were hit this week by shock news that the United States created no jobs in August, sparking speculation that the world's biggest economy could be heading for a double-dip recession. Analysts said the data bolstered expectations that the US Federal Reserve could soon decide to implement another round of quantitative easing -- dubbed QE3 by traders -- to help breathe new life into the struggling economy.

EPM Mining, an exploration-stage potash developer with a 100,000 acres project on the Sevier dry lake in Utah, received a boost on Friday when Tata Chemicals via a subsidiary invested $16 million in the company. Tata Chemicals, part of one of India's largest family conglomerates, now controls 30% of EPM Mining after first upping its stake at the end of May. With potash prices surging India, at some 6 million tonnes the largest importer of the crop nutrient, is keen to command new supplies.

MarketWatch reports Mexico has overtaken Peru as the world's top silver producer as output in the Andean nation has seen a sharp decline during the first six months of 2011. In the January-to-June period, Mexico turned out 1.88 million kilograms (60.4 million ounces), compared to 1.63 million kilograms in Peru, according to government figures.

The Globe and Mail reports on Friday that MEG Energy, a small oil sands developer partly owned by China's CNOOC, has ponied up $100 million to join another Chinese state-owned firm Sinopec as financial backers of a planned pipeline from the oil sands to the northern British Columbia coast. Slowing demand in the US is adding pressure for a go-ahead on the Northern Gateway pipeline that will stretch for more than 1,100km at a cost of $5.5 billion affording Canada world prices for its oil, currently priced against heavily discounted US crude. Regulatory hearings are scheduled to start in January.

Actor and possible New York mayoralty candidate is no fan of nuclear power. In an interview with the Huffington Post on Friday, he said nuclear power is a dirty source of fuel. "Nuclear reators are filthy, contaminating processes. The biggest problem in the anti-nuclear movement is the big lie, the constant metronomic assertion of the nuclear industry that it is 'clean power'," says Baldwin in the interview. New York state, where Baldwin lives, has six nuclear power plants which provide 30% of the state's electricity needs.

Silvercorp Metals was forced on Friday to react to an anonymous letter also sent to the Ontario Securities Commission, presumably from a shorter of the company's stock that alleges a “potential $1.3 billion accounting fraud” at the company. The firm with projects in China and Canada closed down just shy of 10% after five times the usual number of shares changed hands. It had lost as much as 14% of its value earlier in the day after the company also said someone had built up a short position of some 23 million shares over the last two months. The Vancouver company has 175 million shares outstanding and is worth $1.3 billion. Silvercorp is the latest in a string of Canadian companies with Chinese backing and operations being accused of fraud.

Gold for December delivery rose $50.10, or 2.7%, to $1,879.30 an ounce in midday trade in New York — within striking distance of the metal's $1,891.90 settlement record set a week and a half ago. The jump comes after data showed the US added no jobs in August sparking renewed fears that the world's biggest economy is heading back into recession. Gold benefited because the weak numbers could lead to new policy-easing initiatives by the US Federal Reserve – a previous round of stimulus injected $600 billion into markets. Not even talk of gold sales by European central banks to ease their massive debt burden could dampen the enthusiasm for bullion. Between them Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain hold some 3,233 tonnes of gold, worth around €130bn.

Reuters reports that force majeure was lifted at Escondida on Friday at Escondida, the world's largest copper mine. The Chilean mine, whose majority owner is BHP Billiton, was under force majeure on July 27 after a union strike. Force majeure is a clause in legal contracts that frees a party from meeting its obligations due to events beyond its control, such as strike or civil unrest or extreme weather.