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Monday, November 2, 2009.

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

Making headlines today:

Gold miners Anglogold Ashanti and Randgold Resources have announced that they'll jointly acquire a further 20% stake in the Moto gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, from Congolese parastatal Okimo, for 113,6-million-dollars.

Previously, the two companies announced the acquisition of Moto Goldmines, the gold exploration and development company which had a 70% interest in the project. Thus, when the transaction was complete, Anglogold Ashanti and Randgold Resources would own 90% of the Moto gold project.

A feasibility study on the Moto Gold Project completed by Moto in March 2009, envisages an open pit and underground mining operation with probable mineral reserves of 5,5-million ounces which is planned to produce about 2,4-million ounces of gold in its first five years of operation.

The Randgold capital projects team would be responsible for the Moto Gold Project.

TSX-listed Hudbay Minerals will restart its Chisel North mine and concentrator in Snow Lake, Manitoba, effective immediately, at a capital cost of about 7-million-Canadian-dollars.

The operations will ramp up to full production, likely by the second quarter of 2010, and will provide some 30 000 tons a year of zinc concentrate feed to HudBay's Flin Flon zinc plant.

CEO Peter Jones says that re-starting this supply of domestic zinc concentrate is more economical than buying third-party concentrates.

Operating costs to run the mine and smelter are expected to be similar to what they were before the operations were suspended in the first quarter this year because of weak zinc prices.

HudBay says that work will begin immediately to prepare both the mine and concentrator for the re-start.

Also making headlines:

AngloGold Ashanti's third quarter production rises 5%.
JSE-listed Sentula Mining terminates its 686-million-rand Koornfontein coal mine sales agreement.
Global diversified miner Rio Tinto doubles its 2010 capital expenditure to at least 5-billion-dollars.
And, Russian metal company Norilsk Nickel cuts its nickel output forecast for 2009.

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