Briggs confident beleaguered Kusasalethu will be operating at full production by June quarter

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold producer Harmony Gold CEO Graham Briggs was confident the company’s embattled Kusasalethu mine, near Carletonville, would be operating at full production by... 

London Mining, Wits Basin agree to dismiss claims

Aim-listed London Mining on Monday said it had reached a settlement agreement with joint venture (JV) partner Wits Basin Precious Minerals to dismiss the repayment of a $1-million loan to London... 

Glencore full-year coal, copper output up

Commodities trader Glencore, which is merging with global diversified miner Xstrata in a $36-billion deal, on Tuesday reported a 104% increase in its thermal coal production for 2012 to... 

Review of Sula’s Sierra Leone licence area reveals five target areas

Minerals exploration and development company Sula Iron & Gold on Monday said five target areas for hard-rock gold mineralisation had been confirmed for follow-up exploration at its wholly owned 153... 

Appeal hearing against dismissal of Angel Diamonds’ liquidation postponed

The appeal lodged by certain minority stakeholders against the dismissal of the second provisional liquidation of diamond exploration and development company Thabex’s 60.09% owned subsidiary Angel... 

Palabora expects significant fall in 2012 earnings

JSE-listed copper miner Palabora expected to incur a basic loss of R97-million or R2.01 a share for the year ended December, owing to safety stoppages at its operations in Limpopo, as well as... 

Aquarius appoints new board member

ASX-, LSE- and JSE-listed Aquarius Platinum (AQP) has appointed former Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) director Sonja de Bruyn Sebotsa to its board of directors with effect February 6. De Bruyn... 

Poor policy, legislation dampening IDZ programme success

The inadequate design and delivery of effective enabling policy instruments was hampering the incentives for South Africa’s industrial development zone (IDZ) programme, East London Industrial... 

Contractors sought for R300m Coega IDZ wind tower factory

The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has requested interested contractors to bid for the construction of a 22 000 m2 wind tower manufacturing facility and associated infrastructure on behalf of... 

TNPA says tariff proposals take longer-term view

The Ports Regulator of South Africa would, in March, hold road shows in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban to facilitate stakeholder consultations regarding the Transnet National... 

Job creation, localisation important for future Rea Vaya procurement phases

Job creation and localisation would form an important part of the City of Johannesburg's future procurement programmes for its Rea Vaya bus rapid transit (BRT) system, the city's mayoral committee... 

Africa urged to take more aggressive stance in fight against conflict diamonds

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – To ensure the survival of the diamond industry, the African leadership of, and footprint in, the Kimberly Process (KP) would have to be expanded, chairperson... 

Bakubung ‘absolutely viable’ despite challenging market – COO

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – JSE-listed Wesiswe Platinum’s new COO Paul Smith said he had confidence in the viability of the company’s flagship Bakubung platinum project, in the North West... 

Minas Moatize to ramp up in accordance with Sena line expansion

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - The ramp-up of export production from coal junior Beacon Hill Resources’ Minas Moatize mine would be phased in to match the company’s anticipated rail capacity on... 

Road ahead ‘smoother’ for Minas-Rio – Carroll

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The road ahead for Anglo American’s troubled Brazilian Minas-Rio iron-ore project would be much smoother than in past years, outgoing CEO Cynthia Carroll said on... 

Bullabulling project advances to DFS stage

A prefeasibility study (PFS) for gold junior Bullabulling Gold’s proposed Bullabulling project, in Western Australia, has indicated that the project is technically and financially viable. The... 

Marengo to spend $1.42bn on Yandera EPC contract

ASX- and TSX-listed Marengo Mining has been quoted $1.42-billion for a turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to develop its Yandera copper/molybdenum/gold project, in... 

Top 25 Australian miners reach biggest market cap in over a year

Professional services firm Deloitte’s latest Mining League Table has shown that Australia’s top five mining companies ended the last quarter of 2012 with their highest market capitalisation in over... 

CRG’s 2012 production within guidance

LSE- and JSE-listed gold miner Central Rand Gold (CRG) produced 13 709 oz of gold in 2012, which was within 98% of the production guidance issued in its third quarter interim management statement.... 

Firestone completes first settlement under financial-restructuring process

In the first stage settlement of South African coal miner Firestone Energy’s financial restructuring, it had sold 27.15-million new convertible notes (NCNs) to Ariona Company for A$5-million in... 

First Uranium gets final $5m from Gold One escrow

Toronto- and Johannesburg-listed First Uranium Corporation said on Monday it had received the $5-million balance of the $70-million in proceeds from the sale of its South African subsidiary First... 

Briggs confident Kusasalethu to reach full production by June quarter

Gold producer Harmony Gold CEO Graham Briggs was confident the company’s embattled Kusasalethu mine, near Carletonville, would be operating at full production by the end of the June quarter. “In... 

Tau Lekoa worker dies

Operations relating to the reef horizon at JSE-listed Village Main Reef’s Tau Lekoa gold mine have been halted after a worker was killed in a electric shock incident on Thursday evening. The gold... 

Dube TradePort aims to develop air services roadmap

The Dube TradePort Corporation (DTPC) has invited consultants to submit proposals to support it in further developing air services and route development services for the King Shaka International... 

Bigger African footprint needed in fight against illicit diamond trade

To ensure the survival of the diamond industry, the African leadership of, and footprint in, the Kimberly Process (KP) would have to be expanded, chairperson Welile Nhlapo said Thursday. South... 

Bakubung ‘absolutely viable’ despite challenging market – COO

JSE-listed Wesiswe Platinum’s new COO Paul Smith said he had confidence in the viability of the company’s flagship Bakubung platinum project, in the North West province, despite the volatile nature... 

Minas Moatize to ramp up in accordance with Sena line expansion

The ramp-up of export production from coal junior Beacon Hill Resources’ Minas Moatize mine would be phased in to match the company’s anticipated rail capacity on the Sena rail line, in Mozambique.... 

Road ahead ‘smoother’ for Minas-Rio – Carroll

The road ahead for Anglo American’s troubled Brazilian Minas-Rio iron-ore project would be much smoother than in past years, outgoing CEO Cynthia Carroll said on Tuesday, as the group announced it... 

TMAC to acquire Newmont's Hope Bay property

TMAC Resources has signed a definitive acquisition agreement with Hope Bay Mining, a subsidiary of New York-listed Newmont Mining Corporation, to acquire Newmont's Hope Bay gold mine, in Nunavut,... 

Canada North mining output to ‘nearly double’ by 2020 – report

Metal and nonmetallic mineral output in Canada’s North would likely grow by 91% from 2011 to 2020, a compound yearly growth rate of 7.5%, a report by research organisation Centre for the North... 

Canadian Zinc receives first operating permit for Prairie Creek mine

The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water board has issued Canadian Zinc Corporation a land-use permit for the establishment and operation of the winter road that would service the Prairie Creek... 

Oroco to sell Cerro Prieto mine to Goldgroup

Toronto-listed Oroco Resources on Monday announced that it would sell its Mexican subsidiary Minas de Oroco Resources, which fully owns the Cerro Prieto project, in Sonora state, Mexico, to... 

Authority gives enviro nod for NT project

The Mackenzie Valley review board has recommended the approval of TSX-listed Fortune Minerals’ Nico gold/cobalt/bismuth/copper mine and mill in the Northwest Territories, following the conclusion... 

Beacon Hill ups Minas Moatize coal resource by 31%

Coal junior Beacon Hill Resources reported a 31% increase in the Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (JORC-) compliant coal resource at its Minas Moatize coking coal mine, in Mozambique’s Tete province.... 

Freda Rebecca pilot plant construction started

Construction of a pilot plant at Aim-listed Mwana Africa’s Freda Rebecca gold mine, in Zimbabwe, has started, while good progress has been made on the evaluation of the economic potential of the... 

First Majestic Silver reports first production at Del Toro

Toronto- and New York-listed First Majestic Silver on Friday reported that production had started at its Mexico-based Del Toro silver operation, which was inaugurated earlier in the week.... 

Strikes contribute to 41% drop in Amplats’ Q4 output

Equivalent refined platinum production from JSE-listed Anglo American Platinum’s (Amplats’) operations fell by 41% year-on-year to 230 000 oz during the three months ended December, as unprotected... 

Construction on $630m Boikarabelo mine to start in Feb

ASX- and JSE-listed Resource Generation (Resgen) MD Paul Jury on Friday said the $20-million received through a debenture with Noble Resources would be used to start construction at its Boikarabelo... 

Engineering design contract awarded for Moz gas liquefaction facility

New York-listed Fluor and Japan-based JGC have announced that their 50:50 joint venture (JV) has been awarded a front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract by oil exploration company Anadarko... 

‘Ads to Bags’ campaign reaches Soweto primary school

Through its Ads to Bags campaign, oil giant BP has handed over the first donation of pencil cases, chair bags and school backpacks recycled from its old vinyl advertising billboards to hundreds of...