The battle for Macarthur Coal is poised to intensify after news that Anglo American is considering a challenge to Peabody and ArcelorMittal's $4.7 billion hostile bid. Anglos, the world's fifth most valuable miner, is studying Macarthur's finances, media reported at the weekend. Anglos has been restructuring aggressively under chief executive Cynthia Carroll (pictured) and with second quarter 2011 profits of $4 billion has the necessary cash. But a rumoured joint bid with China's Citic could turn out to be the decisive factor to beat Peabody and ArcelorMittal's offer as Citic has already built up a 24% stake in Macarthur. Miners are scrambling for coal assets and coal for power-generation has averaged about $130/tonne this year from less than $100 in 2010. Coal now accounts for 30% of global energy use, the highest since 1970.

South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources, defending itself in court after awarding prospecting rights to a company linked to President Jacob Zuma’s son, will seek criminal charges against the plaintiff Sishen, part of Kumba Iron Ore, a company controlled by Anglo American. Kumba and Indian iron ore giant ArcelorMittal are asking the High Court to overturn the award of prospecting rights for the Sishen mine to Imperial Crown Trading 289, whose owners include Jagdish Parekh, a business partner of Duduzane Zuma. Kumba says it’s the only party eligible for the rights to the nation’s largest iron ore mine.

The Times and Democrat reports in the ancient town of Rosia Montana in Romania (pictured), tensions are running high between supporters and opponents of the proposed gold mine by Canada's Gabriel Resources. Gabriel Resources in its latest financial results showed it has accumulated over $175 million in cash and equivalents to move ahead its Transylvania project in an area where galleries used by Roman miners during the first century still exists. It has been more than a decade since the company first obtained the Rosia Montana concession, believed the be one of the richest in Europe, holding some 10 million ounces of gold and 65 million ounces of silver, and it needs several more endorsements, zoning permissions and reviews before it could start mining.

The Business Standard reports with gold prices setting new record highs every alternate day, jewellery makers are adopting various methods to minimise its use in diamond jewellery without compromising look and feel. While many have increased mechanisation and reduced manufacturing of hand-made jewellery, others are replacing gold’s weight with diamond to keep investors’ interest intact. Another option is using silver with rhodium plating. Ideally, gold content in diamond jewellery should be 35% in terms of its weight. But, many jewellers have reduced gold content massively in the first half of the calendar year to keep the prices down.

Chinese state-owned energy giant China Power Investment Corporation plans to invest six billion dollars to develop bauxite production in Guinea, the world's largest exporter of the main source of aluminium, a senior executive said here Saturday.

The young miners descend on rickety ladders made of branches into the makeshift coal mines dotting Jaintia Hills in northeast India, scrambling sideways into “rat hole” shafts so small that even kneeling becomes impossible. Lying horizontally, they hack away with picks and their bare hands: Human labor here is far cheaper than machines. Many wear flip-flops and shorts, their faces and lungs blackened by coal. None has a helmet. Two hours of grinding work fills a cart half the size of a coffin that they drag back, crouching, to the mine mouth, where a clerk credits their work. Most earn a dollar or two an hour.

Australia's Fortescue Metals, barely four year after starting commercial mining, said on Friday its year-on-year net profit surged 76% to just over $1 billion driven by resilient demand from China. Shipments by the world's number four exporter rose only slightly to 40 million tonnes, but the price it achieved jumped 68%. BHP Billiton, the world most valuable miner, is set to report a record $22 billion in annual profit on Wednesday thanks in large part to its iron business. The stellar numbers come as global blast furnace growth over the next five years is predicted to rise by a staggering 300 million tonnes as China's construction boom continues unabated. On top of that India's iron ore exports could halve over the same period further bolstering prices that in percentage terms have outclassed even that of gold as the world economy recovered post the 2008 collapse.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, coal production will fall 1.7% in 2011 hampered by widespread flooding in the west of the country. It is a steeper decline than previously forecast and the agency also predicts a further decline next year. Nevertheless, strong demand from Asia and Europe for steam and metallurgical coal has pushed US coal exports up 35% in the first half of the year and should reach above 100 million tons by year’s end, the highest level in nearly 20 years. Global coal consumption advanced 7.6% last year and at a faster pace than crude oil, natural gas and nuclear, according to statistics published by oil giant BP. Coal now accounts for 30% of global energy use, the highest since 1970.

Barrons.com takes a look at the stock portfolio of Ron Paul, presidential candidate and dollar-doom-and-gloom prophet, in its Saturday edition.