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Thursday, March 5, 2009.

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

Making headlines today:

Directors of cash-strapped Pamodzi Gold have flown out of Johannesburg to conclude a new "sounder" funding deal for the troubled, strike-hit gold company.

Pamodzi Gold director Ken Steenkamp said that, in addition to the new deal, the first of three funding tranches were due from funder Best Rock. Best Rock had been late in making its funding available.

The acute finance crunch in which the young gold junior finds itself has resulted in late-paid workers continuing their strike action and suppliers refusing to deliver goods and services unless they are paid in cash in advance.

Steenkamp said it was really a question of the company surviving now. He said he expected the mine to be fully funded by the end of the month.

Gold and uranium producer Simmer & Jack Mines has raised 110,5-million-rand to complete the integration of the newly acquired Tau Lekoa mine into the Buffelsfontein gold mine.

In February, South African gold major AngloGold Ashanti agreed to sell the Tau Lekoa mine, including the Weltevreden and Goedgenoeg properties, to Simmers for 600-million-rand.

The acquisition would allow Simmers to become a midtier gold-miner, with the properties adding about 130 000 ounces a year of gold to Simmers' production profile.

Also making headlines:

Vancouver-based New Gold agrees to acquire Western Goldfields for cash and shares.
Ecuador will allow big miners to restart their operations in March.
Africa-focused Randgold Resources says it won't overpay for 'over-promoted' assets.
And, mine drilling company Major Drilling expects activity in the mining sector to pick up in the second half of the year.

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