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Monday, April 12, 2010.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon de Ryhove.

Making headlines today:

Western Australian Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore has met with BHP Billiton executives to voice "deep concern" over the "continuing" safety problems at the company's Leinster operations.

This comes as a miner was killed at Leinster's Perseverance underground mine on Sunday.

A BHP Billiton spokesperson said on Monday that the company had suspended operations at Leinster, but was unable to provide further details, as investigations into the accident were still under way.

The company was working with the Department of Mines and Petroleum, as well as the Western Australian police, in relation to the event.

Meanwhile, in the US, President Barack Obama demanded accountability on Saturday after four missing West Virginia coal miners were found dead, nearly five days after an explosion killed 25 others in the worst US mining disaster in nearly four decades.

The four bodies were found in an area of the Massey Energy mine that was briefly searched after the blast last Monday but missed by rescuers because of heavy smoke.

At the White House, Obama said more needed to be done to improve the safety of the US mining industry.

He has ordered mine safety officials to report on the explosion, the mine's safety record and what steps the government could take to prevent further disasters.

Also making headlines:

Belgium-based Nyrstar increases its offer for ASX-listed CBH Resources.
Gold explorer Perseus Mining unveils its plan to raise 130-million-Canadian-dollars for a Ghana project.
Aurora settles the Grootvlei dispute and pays the February salaries.
And, Harmony Gold halts sections of its Doornkop mine after a fatal accident.

That's a round up of news making headlines today.