With the price of coal off about $5 a metric tonne, coal-mining companies are looking more tempting to acquirers. The Australian reports that Yancoal Australia, fresh from purchasing Wesfarmers' Premier Coal Mine in Western Australia for $297 million last week and Syntech Resources last month for $202.5 million, could buy more coal mines.

David Frum, in a debate with Lawrence Martin at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa this September, looked at Pierre Trudeau's legacy. Frum said Trudeau's turn at prime minister was a disaster for Canada. One of his many transgressions was the National Energy Policy.

The effects of climate change will cost Canada about $5 billion per year by 2020 and increase to somewhere between $21 and $43 billion per year in 2035, according to the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. The NRT released its study this week, Paying the Price: the Economic Impacts of Climate Change for Canada. The study finds that costs will be borne by the timber industry and the coastal regions. Medial costs will also be higher since there will be adverse effects on people's health.

Rio Alto Mining (CVE:RIO) said that an illegal work stoppage at La Arena Gold Oxide Mine forced it to suspend mining operations. The company's stock opened down 6.82% to $2.46. The company, issuing a statement on Thursday, says that it is in discussions with government representatives, community groups and others to resolve the issue.

President Ollanta Humala signed Peru's new mining law on Wednesday, which will raise about $1 billion a year. The money is to be directed to the poorest parts of the country and help build schools and infrastructure. Mining companies will now pay taxes based on their operating profits, ranging from 1% to 12%, rather than old regime where they paid 1% to 3% based on sales. There will also be a windfall profits tax ranging from 2% to 8.4% of a company's net profits.

Fear that Germany may not pass a crucial vote to shore up the eurozone's rescue fund savaged commodities overnight, with copper falling to its lowest level in 14 months, and taking crude oil and grains down with it. The red metal — widely considered to be a bellwether of the global economy — lost 7% of its value and sustained the second largest drop since the recession of 2008, Melbourne Age reported:

Mining Weekly reports mining giant BHP Billiton unveiled plans on Wednesday to increase its iron-ore production in the Pilbara region – the heart of Australia's iron ore mining – to 450-million tons a year by adding infrastructure and building new mines. BHP's current iron-ore production capacity is 155 million tons a year in the Pilbara, while rival Rio Tinto’s capacity is 225 million tons a year. Rio Tinto announced a fortnight ago that it wants to grow output to 333 million tonnes by 2015.

Sandvik Mining and Construction has signed a major contract with Boral Limited, an international Building and Construction materials supplier in Australia. The order includes design, supply, installation and commissioning of a new quarry plant for Boral’s Peppertree site which is situated in New South Wales. The value of the contract is close to 500 MSEK and the project is expected to start during the third quarter of 2011 and to end in the third quarter of 2013.

Orvana Minerals Corp. TSX:ORV has applied for a permit to begin mining its Copperwood project in Michigan. The environmental permit is one of 13 permits needed to mine in Michigan.