Labour strife hits Anglo’s South African thermal coal output

Industrial action and geological constraints hit diversified Anglo American’s South African thermal coal production in the third quarter (Q3) of this year. Anglo’s non-Eskom Q3 2011 production was down 11% at 5 198 000 t compared with 5 813...

The Port Nolloth railway – SA's first large-scale industrial infrastructure

One of the greatest challenges that has and continues to influence the profitable exploitation of South Africa’s mineral resources is the distance of those natural commodities from a market.

Nepotism – an age-old phenomenon in South African politics

As media headlines have, again, been dominated by allegations of nepotism and corruption by a public figure, it is opportune to point out that the unethical relationship between politics and business interests is not a phenomenon unique to...

Chile names new expanded board for Codelco

The government of Chile has increased the number of directors on the board of its copper-mining company, Codelco, and named new members to the board. President Michelle Bachelet this week appointed Andrés Sanfuentes, Alberto Arenas, Nicolás...

Chinese mining giant on the prowl 
for copper investment opportunities

China’s largest diversified mining company, the State-owned Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco), is looking worldwide for investment opportunities in copper, a metal which now has greater demand growth potential in China than aluminium....

Winder refurbishment 
reduces costs, delivery 
times for gold mine

Johannesburg-based winder consulting company DRA Technical Services (DRATS) has secured a contract for the refurbishment and delivery of two winders for the Burnstone gold mine near Balfour in Mpumalanga province. The mine is a greenfields project...

Metorex chair slams South Africa's shares-for-cash curbs

South African companies were being placed at a distinct disadvantage to their peers in other English-speaking countries by being prevented from readily placing shares for cash, Metorex chairperson Rob Still said on Monday. Still told the annual...

Van der Stel’s journey to the copper mountains of Namaqualand

The initial attempts to discover valuable metals and minerals in the Cape of Good Hope in the mid-seventeenth century proved largely unsuccessful.

Chile’s Congress acts to strengthen national mining company

The Chilean government is to grant the country’s State-owned copper mining company Codelco $1-billion over a period of 12 months, to be used in the company’s investment programme. (Codelco is an acronym for the Corporación Nacional del Cobre...

Zambia’s Lumwana Mining inks five-year concentrate offtake deal

Zambian copper mining company Lumwana Mining Company (LMC), part of the Equinox group, has signed a five year concentrate offtake beneficiation agreement with Konkola Copper Mines (KCM). The deal is for between 70 000 t/y and 80 000 t/y of...

Rio Tinto’s Palabora to sell more magnetite, conclude BEE – MD

The Rio Tinto copper-mining company Palabora Mining would be stepping up the export of its mountain of low-cost magnetite and would also be presenting its final black economic empowerment (BEE) proposal to the board next week, Palabora MD Matt...

KCM’s Chingola copper smelter to be commissioned this month

Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) is expected to fully commission its Chingola copper smelter, in Zambia, this month, following delays caused by technical hitches, a company official says.