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Monday, March 16, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon O'Donnell.

Making headlines today:

Mexican miner Penoles declared force majeure at its MetMex precious metals refinery after a five week pay strike paralysed work.

Some 300 striking workers in the gold and silver refinery section of the sprawling MetMex metals complex, in northern Mexico, laid down tools on February 8, demanding a salary increase of up to 9%.

The company said in a statement that Penoles was obligated to advise of the temporary suspension of its contractual obligations with providers and clients. It said that the situation would continue if the strike wasn't resolved.

Penoles' precious metals unit Fresnillo processes all the gold and silver from its mines at the MetMex plant. Fresnillo is listed in London and operates the world's largest silver mine.

The South Australian government plans to ramp-up efforts to promote the state's mining projects overseas. This is as the current economic situation placed strain on Australia's mining sector.

The South Australian Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Paul Holloway, said the state would target particularly China, Japan and India to promote its projects, as longer-term demands for commodities in those countries remained "fundamentally" sound.

Holloway said that as countries such as China became more urbanised, the long-term outlook for the South Australian resources sector continued to be positive.

Also making headlines:

Engineering group Bateman's majority shareholder proposes delisting from the Aim board.
The Australian Uranium Association says uranium exports could add significantly to Australia's GDP.
Toronto-based Lundin Mining plans to delist shares from the New York Stock Exchange.
And, world mints report a soaring demand for gold coins.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit miningweekly.com.