Online mining auctions surge ahead as mines and bidders alike support the platform

Reuters reports high crude prices have dented global oil demand in the second quarter according to oil majors BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips, in a trend likely to be repeated in the second half of the year if prices stay high. Brent oil prices spiked to $127 a barrel in April, close to the all-time high of $147. However, the price oil sands exporters receive weakened further against the global benchmark on Thursday with West Texas Intermediate fetching $97 as the first of 60 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve reach markets.

Federal regulators say they issued citations for safety violations at 12 coal mines in June.

China’s Wing Hing said on Thursday that it planned to buy up to 87% of South African gold company Taung Gold for $580-million to take advantage of the surging gold price. Gold continued to hit record highs above $1 620/oz this week as concerns over the prospect of a US debt default grew, prompting investors to buy the precious metals as a haven from risk.

China Briefing News reports state-owned Shenhua, the leader of a joint Chinese, Mongolian, Russian, and US consortium awarded the western block of Mongolia's Tavan Tolgoi coking coal field – the world's largest – faces a rocky road ahead to bring the project to fruition. According to CBN the political structuring is typical but none of the three operators have given public explanations as to how they may proceed or even work together. While losing bidders from Brazil, India and South Korea are smarting, Japan have gone so far as to call the bidding process'extremely regrettable'. And all this while Mongolia hopes to raise as much as $5 billion privatizing Tavan Tolgoi early next year.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, one of India's largest political parties, forced the resignation on Thursday of B. S. Yeddyurappa, the chief minister of Karnataka. Yeddyurappa was indicted on Wednesday after an investigation found that he had received kickbacks from mine owners in his district.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan reported record second-quarter earnings of $0.96 per share or $840 million—the second-highest total for any quarter in the company's history and 81 percent above the $0.53 per share ($480 million) earned in the same period last year. Despite volatility in commodity markets, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan said that crop economics remained attractive throughout the second quarter, giving farmers the incentive to improve nutrient applications, which resulted in rising fertilizer demand and pricing.

The Huntington News reports Thursday two protesters associated with the portentous Radical Action for Mountain People's Survival Campaign, continue to occupy trees within the Bee Tree surface mine's blasting zone, where they have stopped mining for eight days.   The Bee Tree mine is situated on the aptly named Coal River Mountain in West Virginia and is owned by Alpha Resources, the company that bought the original owners of the mine, Massey Energy which last year was responsible for the worst US mine disaster in 40-years after keeping fraudulent safety records.

Due to rare earth's rising costs and unreliable supply, Japanese researchers built an electrical car that doesn't use any REEs. The proof-of-concept car was built by the Tokyo University of Science, and has an output of 50 kW with 95% plus efficiency. Eschewing rare earth materials did cost the car in some aspects. The car has poorer torque and energy efficiency than cars that use rare earth metals.

Barrick, the word's number one gold miner, reported net earnings for Q2 rose 35% to $1.2 billion ($1.16 per share) from $859 million in the prior year period. Q2 adjusted net earnings increased 36% to a record $1.1 billion ($1.12 per share)1 from $824 million ($0.84 per share) in Q2 2010, reflecting higher realized gold and copper prices and higher gold sales volumes, resulting in an annualized return on equity of about 21%. The company is on track to meet its 2011 operating guidance of 7.6-8.0 million ounces at total cash costs of $450-$480 per ounce and lower expected net cash costs of $290-$320 per ounce