Wine grape crop may be smallest since 2005 as drought bites

Continuing drought and low water supplies in the Western Cape may lead to South Africa’s smallest wine grape harvest since 2005, when 1.15-million tonnes were harvested owing to drought and... 

Volvo aims for climate neutral automotive manufacturing

Volvo Cars' engine factory in Skövde, Sweden, has become the company's first climate-neutral manufacturing plant, having switched to renewable heating on January 1. The car manufacturer noted that... 

Operational challenges dent Pan African's H1 output, earnings

Dual-listed Pan African Resources' gold production reduced by 6 331 oz to 85 282 oz for the six months ended December 31, 2017, owing to operational challenges at its Barberton Mines. Underground... 

Harmony gets shareholder go-ahead for Moab Khotsong acquisition

JSE-listed Harmony Gold Mining's shareholders have given a 99.6% approval of the miner's plans to acquire mining operations and related infrastructure from AngloGold Ashanti. The $300-million deal... 

Kefi welcomes senior managers to executive committee

Aim-listed gold and copper exploration and development company Kefi Minerals has expanded its senior management team as part of preparations for its development and operations. This includes the... 

DRC to have biggest growth story in mining this year, despite risks - BMI

Research firm BMI expects the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be the fastest-growing major mining market in the world this year. In its latest industry trend analysis, the firm outlined that... 

Stellar Diamonds receives buyout offer

Aim-listed Stellar Diamonds is in advanced negotiations regarding a possible share offer for the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of the company by Australian exploration company... 

Orefinders works towards becoming battery metals company with new acquisition

TSX-listed Orefinders Resources on Thursday said it was upbeat about its newly acquired 100%-owned Mann silver and cobalt mine, in the Cobalt-Gowganda District of Ontario, through which it plans to... 

Acacia buys into further gold price protection measures

Embattled Tanzania-focused miner Acacia Mining has bought additional put options covering 120 000 oz of gold at a strike price of $1 320/oz at a cost of $2-million. The options would expire in... 

Rye Patch raises $20m to further ramp up Nevada gold mine

Nevada-based miner Rye Patch Gold has completed a private placement whereby it issued 15.38-million units at $1.30 apiece to raise $20-million. Each unit comprised one common share and one share... 

Katanga gaining traction at KOV mine in DRC

TSX-listed Katanga Mining mined 433 169 t of ore, at an average grade of 2.18%, to produce 9 459 t of copper, at its KOV mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), during the fourth quarter... 

Testwork at Orion's Prieska project sets stage for next phase

JSE-listed minerals explorer Orion Minerals on Wednesday said detailed metallurgical test work will be conducted at its Prieska zinc/copper project, using 1 583 kg of diamond drill core samples... 

Altus Strategies buys into Mali gold projects through Legend takeover

Africa-focused exploration project generator Altus Strategies has completed a plan of arrangement with TSX-V-listed Legend Gold Corp, which Altus CEO Steven Poulton considered a transformational... 

Metal Tiger, MOD to proceed with feasibility study on Botswana copper project

Following the successful completion of a prefeasibility study (PFS) on the T3 copper project, in Botswana, joint venture (JV) partners Metal Tiger and MOD Resources have agreed to proceed with a... 

MZI half-year output up, enhanced operating plan rolling out

ASX-listed mineral sands company MZI Resources saw its heavy mineral concentrate output rise 9% to 53 239 t during the six months to December 2017, while saleable production increased by 35% to 39... 

Beach Energy ups guidance for 2018

ASX-listed Beach Energy on Wednesday noted that full year pro forma production was expected to be within the upgraded range of 25.5-million barrels of oil equivalent to 27.6-million barrels of oil... 

Diatreme to advance WA zircon project as funding is secured

ASX-listed Diatreme Resources has completed a private placement to raise $490 000 through the issue of 24.5-million shares at $0.20 apiece. The proceeds will be used to further advance its Western... 

Prospect raises $10m for Zimbabwe lithium mine development

Southern Africa-focused lithium and gold mining and exploration company Prospect Resources has raised $10-million before costs, through an oversubscribed share placement of 166-million shares at 6c... 

Gascoyne clinches long-term LNG deal for Dalgaranga project

ASX-listed Gascoyne Resources, through its 100%-owned subsidiary GNT Resources, has executed a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel supply agreement with Evol, a fully-owned subsidiary of the... 

Prairie positive about Polish coal mining future

With the Polish government strongly supporting the development of new, modernised coal mines, ASX-listed Prairie Mining is upbeat about its Debiensko coking coal project, located in the country's... 

Red 5 starts off 2018 on strong foot

Australian gold producer Red 5 reported a strong first quarter, producing 17 777 oz in the three months to December 31, 2017, paired with sales of 16 150 oz from its recently acquired Darlot mining... 

Sandfire maintains strong production in Dec quarter

ASX-listed Sandfire Resources maintained strong mine production and milling rates for the three months to December 31, with copper production reaching 16 263 t, up from 15 528 t in the previous... 

Australia must grab $2tr downstream lithium opportunity with both hands

Australia has the opportunity to expand its lithium value chain by an estimated $2-trillion in the next two years, a report revealed on Tuesday. In the Future Smart Strategies' report, titled 'A... 

Perseus delivers highest production since 2012

Delivering its fourth consecutive quarter of strong operating performance across all parts of its business, ASX-listed Perseus Mining on Tuesday reported 2017 calendar year gold production of 208... 

Ramelius ups guidance as mines produce record gold

On the back of record gold production of 58 012 oz for the three months ended December 31, ASX-listed miner Ramelius Resources on Tuesday upgraded its expected production guidance for the full year... 

DFS demonstrates 'robustness' of WA uranium project - Vimy

A definitive feasibility study (DFS) at ASX-listed Vimy Resources' Mulga Rock project (MRP), in Western Australia, has confirmed robust financials and a simple, low-cost mining process. "The DFS... 

Petra delivers record production but stifled by Tanzania blockage

In the six months to December 31, LSE-listed Petra Diamonds saw a 10% production increase to 2.2-million carats across its operations, which was in line with guidance. This represented record... 

Argent granted tin/copper tenements in Tasmania

The Tasmanian government has granted ASX-listed Argent Minerals the Ringville and Queensberry tenements in the highly productive Mount Read Volcanics belt, following merit-based assessment... 

Atlas reduces debt, progresses diversification plans

Iron-ore producer Atlas Iron has repaid a further A$20-million of its debt, as the ASX-listed company continues its strategy of repositioning the business by reducing debt, growing its iron-ore... 

Gold miner Millennium reports on Q4 operational results

Western Australian gold miner Millennium Minerals produced 21 401 oz for the quarter ended December 31, at a C1 cash cost of $1 081/oz and an all-in sustaining cost of $1 290/oz. The fourth-quarter... 

Perseus pours gold at Côte d'Ivoire mine ahead of schedule

Dual-listed Perseus Mining has achieved its first gold our at its Sissingué operation, in Côte d'Ivoire, one month ahead of schedule. The company said on Monday the ramp-up to full scale commercial... 

Iluka production up as Sierra Rutile plays in

Mineral sands producer Iluka on Monday reported a 22% increase in its yearly production of zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile, at 825 000 t. The ASX-listed company attributed the increase to the... 

Stronger rand hurt rand gold price in Q4

A stronger rand negatively impacted on rand gold prices in the fourth quarter of 2017, SA Bullion reports. For the fourth quarter, the gold picture in rand was quite different from that of dollar,... 

Alrosa CEO, Angolan President discuss Catoca shareholding

Alrosa CEO Sergey Ivanov and Angolan President João Lourenço this week held their second meeting to discuss issues related to the closing of the transaction to increase Alrosa's shareholding in... 

DRA signs coal preparation plant deal with Exxaro

Global engineering firm DRA has secured a contract with Exxaro Coal Mpumalanga, a subsidiary of JSE-listed Exxaro Resources, to build a 500 t/h coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP), in... 

Automation will threaten jobs, but could also open up new prospects

While the automated economy is often seen as a threat to many of today’s jobs, ManpowerGroup South Africa MD Lyndy van den Barselaar notes that it will open up employment opportunities for those... 

Programme aims to build waste-recycling entrepreneurs

The Western Cape Industrial Symbiosis Programme (WISP) is recruiting candidates for an enterprise development programme that will result in the establishment of businesses in the province to make... 

Boosting waste management through enterprise support

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) has opened a request for proposals to receive comprehensive business plans and project proposals from start-up or emerging waste management and... 

Dell to recycle gold from ewaste from discarded motherboards

Technology company Dell is piloting a project to recover gold from used electronics for use in new computer motherboards and jewellery. Dell has partnered with Wistron GreenTech, which uses an... 

Business more confident as political developments change landscape

Business sentiment in South Africa showed yet another month-on-month improvement, with the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) reporting a 1.3 index point uptick in its Business...