Frik Els , Editor

Reuters reports ArcelorMittal has pulled out of its joint $5 billion bid with US giant Peabody Energy for Australian coking coal miner Macarthur, just days after the target's top shareholder accepted the offer and left the Indian steelmaker with a higher than expected cost. Some observers were skeptical when Peabody and Arcelor raised their bid at at time coking coal prices have been falling and according to a new report could pull back to $240/tonne towards the end of next year. Now that it is flying solo Peabody may have to raise cash to fund the transaction. The deal also comes amid the planned introduction of an onerous carbon tax next year and rising labour costs in Australia thanks to the strong Aussie dollar.

In an object lesson on the fickle nature of junior explorer investment, dismayed investors took a huge chunk out of Viper Gold's stock on the Toronto Venture Exchange after trade resumed Monday afternoon. Viper lost 18% of its value to trade at 13c after it reported results for the verification sampling at its Campbell Lake property showed none of the high grade gold values – up to 10 grams a tonne – announced a fortnight ago. The initial grades sent the shares of the tiny Ontario explorer soaring to almost double of what it is worth now. The company said it is investigating the huge discrepancies after weakly anomalous values were found in 5 samples and the remaining 12 were "below detection level." Viper, which is also looking for gold in Peru, hit a high of 47c early this year.

Stock in US coal giant Peabody Energy and India's ArcelorMittal surged on Monday after their joint bidding vehicle secured a 59.85% stake in Australian metallurgical-coal miner Macarthur Coal and raised its offer for the whole of the company to $5.1 billion. The deal comes despite the planned introduction of an onerous carbon tax next year which should put further pressure on Australia's miners already dealing with rising labour costs thanks to the strong Aussie dollar. The takeover is also amid falling coking coal prices which according to a new report is set to pull back to $240/tonne towards the end of next year from historic highs of $330/tonne.

Silvercorp Metals, China’s biggest silver miner, was changing hands for $9.72 in Toronto on heavy volumes shortly after the open Monday, up almost 19% after a report by the forensic accounting arm of KPMG showed no truth to allegations of $1 billion in accounting fraud at the company. Shareholders who held onto their Silvercorp stock during the rollercoaster ride that started on September 2 when the company had to go public with the accusations, believed to be the work of shortsellers that had built up a massive position in the stock, are now able to show a handsome profit for their loyalty. The company is suing two New York-based websites – Chinastockwatch.com and Alfredlittle.com – for spreading false information and is seeking punitive and compensatory damages.

Support for the favourite gold bug conspiracy theory – that a cabal of western central bankers is secretly determined to manipulate the world’s markets by rigging gold prices – has come from an unexpected quarter.

National Geographic News reports that Bellingham has in the past been lauded for becoming one of the few cities in the US to rely solely on solar and hydro-generated electricity, its innovative building efficiency program, and the "buy local" ethos of its bustling farmers' markets. But now the US coal industry has its eye on it.

It is vital for the South African government to step up and take a bigger stake in the mining industry, a top economic advisor told those attending a Mining for Change conference in Johannesburg on Friday. The comments come one week ahead of so-called Economic Freedom Youth Mass Action marches on the Chamber of Mines and stock exchange organized by Julius Malema (pictured), populist leader of the influential youth wing of the ruling African National Congress with the support of the 260,000 member Metalworkers Union. Malema recently told crowds that the nationalization debate within the ANC is a question of how not if, and an August industry-led investigation said the ruling party is closest to seizing mines since the end of white rule in 1994.

Reuters reports a proposed European Union law to rank Canadian oil sands as dirtier than conventional fuel can probably be successfully defended if Ottawa challenges the move at the World Trade Organization according to legal advisers to the EU's executive. The statement comes a day after environmentalists hurled accusations and interrupted a speech by Canada's resources minister, who was on tour to persuade Britain not to join the EU oil sands initiative. The government of Alberta has also written to EU experts voicing "grave concerns" that the bloc's plans are unfair and a potential threat to trade ties ahead of a Tuesday meeting to debate a green ranking of fuels. Royal Dutch Shell and France's Total are the top European investors in the oil sands.

In early morning trade in New York, copper for delivery in December jumped 5.5% from yesterday's 15-month low to trade at $3.23 a pound after France and Germany made positive noises about tackling Europe's debt problem promising a definitive agreement by heads of state "by Wednesday at the latest." Copper is also being lifted by supply worries – Reuters reported on Friday China's copper smelters are slowing their rate of refined copper production as supplies of raw material concentrate and scrap fall. Two strikes at mines owned by US-based producer Freeport McMorran has cut production while shipments from the world's No. 1 copper mine, BHP's Escondida in Chile, could be delayed to next year after recent work stoppages.

A small South African community 300km north of Cape Town is taking on De Beers over the diamond giant's plans to sell its 970 square km Namaqualand properties to a much smaller outfit already operating in the area. Locals say Trans Hex, which will assume responsibility for rehabilitation, has a poor track record in the area, lacks financial clout and the environmental management programme put together by De Beers already falls far short of what is needed to clean up almost a century of opencast mining in the biodiversity hotspot. In a video (after the jump) community spokesperson David Markus says a diamond may be forever for De Beers, but for his people, "it’s the suffering that’s forever."