Coal makes a comeback in Illinois Basin in US

Two years ago, Peabody Energy opened a new coal mine in Sullivan County, Indiana. The mine, called Bear Run, is now the largest surface mine in the eastern US and a symbol of the revival of one of America's historical coal fields. As coal mining...

Aspirant US space miners aim to break into tightly South African-held platinum domain

The platinum patch belongs to Southern Africans, or so we thought until new US aspirant space miner Planetary Resources burst on to the scene at the Museum of Flight in Seattle with a plan to mine platinum-group metals (PGMs) in outer space. The...

Company Announcement: Asteroid Mining Plans Revealed By Planetary Resources Inc

Planetary Resources, Inc. announced today its plan to mine Near-Earth Asteroids for raw materials, ranging from water to precious metals.

State capitalism: Is it a rival to market capitalism?

Since the start of the current global economic crisis in 2008, there has been renewed interest in the concept of ‘State capitalism’, as distinct from ‘market capitalism’. (The term ‘liberal capitalism’ is shorthand for ‘liberal...

Is it a rival to market capitalism? And how does it affect the natural resources industries?

Since the start of the current global economic crisis in 2008, there has been renewed interest on the concept of “state capitalism” as distinct from “market capitalism”.

DRC, Burundi to follow Rwanda minerals transparency – International Crisis Group

Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were expected to begin certifying the origin of minerals in the next few months as was already being done by Rwanda, International Crisis Group Central African project director Thierry Vircoulon...

23/03/2012 (On-The-Air)

South African banks are being engaged to fund Liberia’s first commercial gold mine; Official bungling is preventing fully trained South African electricians from proving that they are fully qualified; and South Africa and the brand new...

02/03/2012 (On-The-Air)

Global pressure is being applied on the government to make South African mining revenues fully transparent; A study on the economic viability of exporting manganese through the port of Saldanha Bay has been presented to Transnet; and Science and...

Diamond junior says expected strong fundamentals augur well for future growth

South African diamond-miner Rockwell Diamonds’ future development strategy and long-term expansion plans will rely on a combination of consistent carat production, successful proof of concept technology testing at its mines in the Northern Cape...

Energy storage trend expected to boost vanadium – American Vanadium

The vanadium market, which has been in a state of oversupply for the past decade, may be transitioning towards an extended period of potential undersupply.

27/01/2012 (On-The-Air)

South Africa is set to benefit from its strong position in vanadium, which is being developed to store electricity; the US government is now offering South Africa’s free insights into the money-making shale-gas business; and South Africa’s one...

Vale iron ore head sees Asia driving steel

Iron ore will continue to sell in the range of $120 to $180 per tonne in the near term, while China, a driver of Asian steel consumption, constrains its economy in the face of inflationary threats, a senior executive of Brazilian mining giant Vale...