Russian mining and exploration have had a long road toward real openness since Glasnost and Perestroika were decreed by the then president of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. And forefront of juniors making headway in modern day Russia is Golden Reign Resources (TSX.V:GRR).

Air quality in the UK has improved significantly over the last 25 years according to a report published by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). Monitoring at 17 testing sites around the UK shows a fall in the presence of harmful heavy metals such as lead, iron and copper in the air we breathe.

Teryl Resources Corp. (TRC.V: TSX) is a diversified explorer with interests in oil and gas as well as minerals. In a global mining bull market, companies, particularly on their lows, are often undervalued. The Teryl share price recently started acting like a seismograph in the first stages of registering a tremor on the TSX charts.

With money jingling in its pocket, Universal Power Corp. (TSX.V:UNX, FSE:3U2A) is ready to start exploring both in Africa and also a world away in northern Canada.

The first results from this year’s exploration are telling Goldcliff Resource Corporation (TSX.V: GCN) that the historical Hedley gold district still has plenty of life left in it.

Teryl hopes to increase revenue and market capitalization for Teryl through further exploration. It helps that Teryl is now mining in a stretch of desert foothills that once yielded approximately $1 billion in copper.

Earlier this week, Bayfield Ventures [TSXV:BYV] and Rainy River Resources [TSXV: RR] announced that they have entered into an option agreement on Bayfield’s Burns Block property, which easterly adjoins Rainy River’s 17/ODM gold zones.

When it comes to uranium exploration in Labrador, few companies boast the scale and scope of Silver Spruce Resources’ (TSX.V: SSE) Central Mineral Belt project (CMB).

Yale’s program for 2007 has now defined skarn mineralization over a strike length of 250 meters - more than doubling the length upon which previous ore estimates were based - and their work has shown that mineralization is open in all directions.

Golden Reign Resources Ltd. (TSX.V:GRR) is looking to develop Magadan’s Butarni and Dorozhni gold properties in partnership with Status LLC, the mining arm of Moscow’s CentroCredit Joint Stock Commercial Bank.

Long focused on copper in Ecuador, Ascendant Copper (TSX: ACX), announced on October 21 that it had signed a letter of intent to acquire all outstanding common shares in St. Genevieve Resources (CNQ: SGVL), another copper company with properties in Arizona.

Investors seeking a grassroots deal with plenty of upside will find EcuaGold refreshing. Companies like this bridge the gap between gambling and putting our money into lesser risk ventures with potential for very high returns. Due diligence tells us EcuaGold has a high stake in a land area of proven mineralization, is well-funded, and works in a “mining friendly” region.