Newmont hits commercial production at new Australian mine

Colorado-based Newmont Mining has achieved commercial production at its new Boddington mine, in Australia. The mine, which is expected to operate for more than 24 years, will be the largest gold producer in the country.

Chile miners threaten action against BHP mines

A leading Chilean mine union on Friday threatened to halt output at mines owned by BHP Billiton in solidarity with strikers at its Spence deposit, fanning supply disruption fears in the top copper producer. Such a move by the mining federation,...

Central Rand Gold’s BEE partner to appeal court ruling

Black-empowered Puno Gold Investments has again brought an application against junior gold-miner Central Rand Gold (CRG), this week, applying for leave to appeal the South Gauteng High Court’s earlier decision to dismiss Puno’s interdict with...

SA miners to face the strong arm of the law for rehab noncompliance

On a continent blessed with a wealth of mineral resources, these riches also carry an underlying tone of blackness fraught with pollution, land degradation and health and safety risks. With over a century of mining history in South Africa, the...

De Beers, AngloGold JV targets New Zealand offshore

A joint venture between De Beers and AngloGold Ashanti expects to start its first underwater drilling for gold in the second quarter of next year, the general manager of De Beers Marine said on Friday. De Beers Marine provides the technical...

Silver likely to reach $20/oz in short term - GFMS

Silver prices would likely reach the $20/oz level in the short term, as surging investment drives prices higher, precious metals consultancy GFMS forecast on Friday. The silver price had averaged at $14,06/oz for the first ten months of 2009, a...

Firestone-Sekoko JV acquires surface rights in Waterberg

ASX- and JSE-listed Firestone Energy and its joint-venture (JV) partner, Sekoko Coal, have acquired surface rights to a farm that formed an important part of its Waterberg coal project. The JV had acquired the surface rights of the 1 160 ha...

Gold Fields’ Australia VP Baldwin to step down

Glenn Baldwin, the executive vice-president (VP) and head of gold-miner Gold Fields’ Australia region, would resign as of December 31, 2009. Baldwin would join Australia’s Consolidated Minerals as COO in February next year.

Gold eases on firm dollar, investment demand supports

Gold eased on Friday as the dollar's rise prompted investors to book profits after prices hit record highs above $1 150 earlier in the week, but bullion's appeal as an alternative asset kept support firm. At current market levels, gold was set...

Agrium holds 62% of CF, extends offer again

Shareholders in fertiliser group CF Industries had tendered about 30-million shares, or 62% of the company, into a takeover offer from larger rival Agrium when the offer expired on Wednesday night. The offer has been extended again, until...

Gold Fields’ Australia VP Baldwin to step down

Glenn Baldwin, the executive vice-president (VP) and head of gold-miner Gold Fields’ Australia region, would resign as of December 31, 2009. Baldwin would join Australia’s Consolidated Minerals as COO in February next year.

Gold eases on firm dollar, investment demand supports

Gold eased on Friday as the dollar's rise prompted investors to book profits after prices hit record highs above $1 150 earlier in the week, but bullion's appeal as an alternative asset kept support firm. At current market levels, gold was set...

Gold demand up 10% in Q3 – WGC

Total identifiable demand for gold in the third quarter reached 800,3 t, or $24,7-billion in dollar terms, the World Gold Council (WGC) reported on Thursday. Demand was up 10% compared with the second quarter, but 34% lower than in the same...

Platinum Group targets 'build or sell' decision by year-end

TSX- and Amex-listed Platinum Group Metals (PTM) hopes to have a decision this year on whether it will look for a buyer or build its first platinum mine in South Africa, president Michael Jones said on Thursday. “We think there are a number of...

Metorex may face interdict over Cons Murch retrenchments

South African trade union Solidarity said on Thursday that it planned to apply for an interdict against JSE-listed base metals producer Metorex’s antimony and gold mine Consolidated Murchison, outside Phalaborwa, after the mine started with the...

Vulisango's no-premium control bid anti transformation – Simmers

Shareholders should reject disgruntled empowerment company Vulisango's nontransformational, JCI-linked attempt to gain control of gold miner Simmer & Jack without paying a premium, Simmers CEO Gordon Miller said on Thursday. Miller said that only...

Eskom holds back on new contracts at coal-fuelled Kusile

Chief officer generation at State-owned power utility Eskom, Brian Dames, confirmed on Thursday that the award of some "smaller contracts" for the group's R111-billion Kusile coal-fuelled power plant, being built in Mpumalanga, had been delayed,...

Nevsun targets late 2010 for Eritrean gold

Canada's Nevsun Resources pumped $21,7-million during the third quarter into its Eritrean Bisha project, the project's general manager said on Thursday. Set to become the nation's first producing mine, Bisha's 27-million tonnes of ore is...

Newmont sells 10% of Batu Hijau, extends deadline for rest

Colorado-based Newmont Mining and partner Sumitomo Corporation have completed the sale of 10% in their Batu Hijau copper/gold mine, in Indonesia. Newmont's ownership in PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (PTNNT), which owns the Batu Hijau mine has now been...

Century mine zinc port stockpile to run out

Australia's Century zinc mine will run out of concentrate at its shipping port later on Tuesday, forcing buyers to look for alternative supply sources, a spokeswoman for the mine said. Shipments of concentrate from the world's second-largest zinc...

SAIL eyes overseas coking coal mines

State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd, the largest producer of the metal in the country, is looking at acquiring licences for coking coal mines abroad to insulate itself from raw material price fluctuations, its chairman said on Tuesday. SAIL...

Vale says wants to start iron ore talks end-Nov

Brazilian iron ore miner Vale said on Tuesday it wanted to start next year's benchmark iron ore negotiations by the end of this month. Renato Neves, president Vale International and Global Iron Ore Director, made the remark to journalists on the...

Johnson Matthey bullish on platinum, palladium, sees deficits

Platinum researcher Johnson Matthey on Tuesday presented a bullish outlook for both platinum and palladium and spoke of deficits being on the way in both metals. Johnson Matthey precious metals marketing director Mark Bedford told Mining Weekly...

India's Tata Steel raising iron ore output - paper

India's Tata Steel will invest about 11-billion rupees ($238-million) to raise its annual domestic iron ore production by 55% to 17-million tonnes over two years, the Business Standard reported on Tuesday. The move is aimed at insulating its...

Uranium too low to incentivise new mines – Uranium One

Uranium prices will still need to firm significantly to justify the development of many of the mining projects being considered around the world, Jean Nortier, the CEO of Uranium One, reiterated on Monday. Nortier said he believes the market is...

Lonmin revenues slump 50%, no dividend for second year

Platinum miner Lonmin's revenue slumped 50%-plus in the year to September 30 and the company decided not to declare a final dividend for the second year in a row. The flagship Marikana platinum mine in Rustenburg came in 2% below guidance....

Australia's FIRB approves Centrex-Baotou iron-ore deal

The Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) Centrex Metals' iron-ore joint venture (JV) with China's Baotou Iron & Steel. Under the terms of the agreement, Baotou would acquire up to 50% of the proposed JV on the Bungalow magnetite...

Reed targets 2010 start-up at Western Australia lithium mine

Australian diversified resources company Reed Resources, along with its joint-venture partner Mineral Resources, on Thursday reported that it continued to advance the Mount Marion lithium project, in Western Australia, towards a 2010 production...

Aquarius plans to reopen Everest mine in 2010

Midtier platinum-miner Aquarius Platinum has started the second phase of the re-establishment project at its Everest mine in South Africa, paving the way for the mine to resume operations by September next year. The second-phase of the project...

Gold hits record above $1 150/oz as dollar falls

Gold rose to record highs above $1 150 an ounce on Wednesday as the dollar index .DXY languished, boosting interest in the metal as an alternative asset, after largely benign U.S. inflation data. The metal remains firmly underpinned by technical...

Impact says large uranium area identified at Botswana prospect

ASX-listed uranium gold and nickel explorer Impact Minerals has reported that a soil geochemistry programme at its Lekobolo uranium prospect, in Botswana, has defined a large area of up to 16 km long and 7 km wide that contained elevated...

UraniumSA plans to start production by end-2011

Emerging uranium developer UraniumSA on Wednesday reported that it has set an objective to produce maiden ore by end of 2011, from one of the South Australia’s most recent uranium discoveries. The ASX-listed company stated that it anticipated...

Australia spending more on resource projects - govt

Spending on resource projects in Australia rose 40% to A$112-billion over the last six months, helped by development of a big offshore gas field and growing global demand for minerals, government data released on Wednesday showed. Higher prices...

Copper near 13-1/2 mth highs, dollar hinders

Copper hovered near 13-1/2 month highs on Tuesday as the dollar rose and inventories marched higher, but new investor cash offered some support. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange closed at $6 826 a ton versus $6 855 on Monday. It...

Manila freezes Intex's permit for $2,4bn nickel project

The Philippine government on Wednesday suspended a mining permit given last month to the $2,4-billion nickel project of Norwegian firm Intex Resources ASA following opposition from local communities. "I have directed the Environmental Management...

Petra may increase stake in Cullinan mine to 74%

London-listed Petra Diamonds confirmed on Wednesday that it plans to undertake an equity fundraising and said it had entered into an option agreement that would double its stake in South Africa's Cullinan mine to 74%. The fundraising, led by...

Copper near 13-1/2 mth highs, dollar hinders

Copper hovered near 13-1/2 month highs on Tuesday as the dollar rose and inventories marched higher, but new investor cash offered some support. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange closed at $6 826 a ton versus $6 855 on Monday. It...

Johnson Matthey bullish on platinum, palladium, sees deficits

Platinum researcher Johnson Matthey on Tuesday presented a bullish outlook for both platinum and palladium and spoke of deficits being on the way in both metals. Johnson Matthey precious metals marketing director Mark Bedford told Mining Weekly...

DiamondCorp provides Botswana drilling update

London and Johannesburg-listed DiamondCorp on Tuesday reported that it had completed the first diamond drill hole on the J1 kimberlite target at the Jwaneng South project area, in Botswana. The drill hole, completed to a vertical depth of 340,02...

Lonmin shares rise as worst seems over for platinum miner

The shares of Lonmin rose 7% in Johannesburg and London as the market perceived the worst to be over for the right-sizing platinum miner, whose promised actions were largely on track. "We announced 700 000 oz and produced 683 000 oz. We were a...

Barloworld sees mining-led sales recovery in second half of 2010

Diversified industrial group Barloworld, which reported a 25% drop in operating profit to R1,9-billion for the year to September 30, 2009, said on Monday that it expected 2010 to be "another challenging year". Group revenue declined by 10% to...

Uranium One gets Kazakh approval for Karatau acquisition

The Kazakh Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) has approved TSX- and JSE-listed Uranium One’s acquisition of a 50% joint-venture (JV) interest in the Karatu uranium mine, from State-owned JSC Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ). The company...

Silver likely to reach $20/oz in short term - GFMS

Silver prices would likely reach the $20/oz level in the short term, as surging investment drives prices higher, precious metals consultancy GFMS forecast on Friday. The silver price had averaged at $14,06/oz for the first ten months of 2009, a...

Agrium holds 62% of CF, extends offer again

Shareholders in fertiliser group CF Industries had tendered about 30-million shares, or 62% of the company, into a takeover offer from larger rival Agrium when the offer expired on Wednesday night. The offer has been extended again, until...

Pacific Rim says arbitration tribunal formed for El Salvador case

An arbitration case brought by Pacific Rim Mining against the government of El Salvador will move ahead, as the arbitration tribunal has now been constituted, the company reported on Thursday. Pacific Rim embarked on arbitration proceedings...

NovaGold may consider restarting Rock Creek in 2010

Vancouver-based NovaGold Resources could restart operations and complete commissioning at its Rock Creek mine, in Alaska, next year, corporate development vice-president Greg Johnson said on Thursday. The company began commissioning Rock Creek...

Lake Shore will raise C$100m for Timmins projects

TSX-listed Lake Shore Gold has unveiled plans to sell almost 22-million shares to raise C$100-million for development of its projects in Timmins, Ontario. Earlier this month, Lake Shore acquired junior West Timmins Mining, adding to its footprint...

Gold demand up 10% in Q3 – WGC

Total identifiable demand for gold in the third quarter reached 800,3 t, or $24,7-billion in dollar terms, the World Gold Council (WGC) reported on Thursday. Demand was up 10% compared with the second quarter, but 34% lower than in the same...

Mexico orders New Gold mine halted

Shares in Vancouver-based New Gold fell 13,4% on Thursday, after the company said it had suspended mining operations at the Cerro San Pedro mine, in Mexico. After a ruling by the Federal Court of Fiscal and Administrative Justice, Mexico's State...

Platinum Group targets 'build or sell' decision by year-end

TSX- and Amex-listed Platinum Group Metals (PTM) hopes to have a decision this year on whether it will look for a buyer or build its first platinum mine in South Africa, president Michael Jones said on Thursday. “We think there are a number of...

Teck closes in on debt targets

Canadian diversified miner Teck Resources won't argue with suggestions that it could achieve its own targets for debt ratios by early next year, a top executive said on Wednesday. The company is aiming to put itself in a position that will merit...

Codelco's Chuqui workers ask for 7,5% wage hike

Workers at Chile's massive Chuquicamata mine asked state copper giant Codelco for a 7,5 percent salary hike, union leaders said on Wednesday, in contract talks that could set a tough precedent for the world's top producer. A strike at the nearly...

Cerro Colorado likely to avert strike-union

Union workers at Chile's Cerro Colorado copper mine are likely to accept an early wage deal offered by owner BHP Billiton and avoid a strike, the union leader told Reuters on Wednesday. If workers take the deal it would mark another sucessful...

Gold hits record above $1 150/oz as dollar falls

Gold rose to record highs above $1 150 an ounce on Wednesday as the dollar index .DXY languished, boosting interest in the metal as an alternative asset, after largely benign U.S. inflation data. The metal remains firmly underpinned by technical...

Peru sees modest rise in 2009 metals output

Peru's production of copper, gold and silver is expected to increase slightly this year from last, the county's mining and energy minister said on Tuesday, as metals prices hover near year highs. Pedro Sanchez, speaking to a group of reporters,...

Brazilian unions approve 2yr Vale contract

The world's second-biggest mining company, Vale SA, has concluded labour negotiations with its Brazilian unions, but remains at odds with workers at its Sudbury, Port Colborne and Voisey's Bay operations, in Canada. In Brazil, a deal was reached...

Copper near 13-1/2 mth highs, dollar hinders

Copper hovered near 13-1/2 month highs on Tuesday as the dollar rose and inventories marched higher, but new investor cash offered some support. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange closed at $6 826 a ton versus $6 855 on Monday. It...

Vale says wants to start iron ore talks end-Nov

Brazilian iron ore miner Vale said on Tuesday it wanted to start next year's benchmark iron ore negotiations by the end of this month. Renato Neves, president Vale International and Global Iron Ore Director, made the remark to journalists on the...