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Thursday, April 8, 2010.

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

Making headlines today:

The chairperson of the China Chamber of Commerce of Metals, Minerals and Chemicals Importers and Exporters (CCCMC), Xu Xu, says that while China is right to continue supporting the annual iron-ore benchmark mechanism, it needs to allow smaller industry players to participate.

The CCCMC, which participates in pricing negotiations with foreign miners alongside the China Iron and Steel Association, says that only the benchmark system could guarantee stability and security for both buyers and sellers.

"The long-term contract price system has played an important role in guaranteeing stability for both sides. Recently, Vale and BHP Billiton have proposed a new quarterly index-based pricing system, putting the long-term price mechanism under threat and hurting the long-term healthy development of the two miners and the Chinese steel industry," he told a conference. For that reason, the CCCMC is calling for the benchmark pricing system to be retained and to be stably implemented.

Chinese officials and steel mill executives have continued to express support for the old benchmark system even as the three big miners - Vale, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto - move to a more flexible quarterly pricing mechanism. Price talks, led by China's Baosteel, are continuing.

Aurora Empowerment Systems said after a meeting with labour organisations on Wednesday that it would sign a memorandum of understanding with the unions on Thursday and aimed to restart operations at its East Rand and Orkney operations on Monday, April 12.

Aurora commercial director Sheshile Ngubane says that around 1 200 workers would return to work at its Marivale- and number four shafts in the North West province. The company hoped that production at its Grootvlei operations near Springs would also resume simultaniously, following extensive strike actions regarding the non-payments of wages.

However, the National Union of Mineworkers' Lesiba Seshoka says that the workers didn't trust Aurora's management, and that even though workers had been promised to be paid their wages on Thursday, they would have to wait and see if this happensed, before any workers would take up tools at the mine again.

Also making headlines:

Xstrata says that South Africa needs n ‘urgent' 100-billion-rand bulk water investment.
Zambia won't reduce the higher mining taxes it introduced in 2009 after cancelling the long-term development agreements it had with foreign mining firms.
GFMS sees a 777 000 tons copper surplus in 2009.
And, Xstrata puts a 5-billion-rand South African investment on hold because of the power crisis.

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