Call for clarity on setup of State mining company as conflict of interest concerns persist

Despite assurances from the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) and the State-owned mining company the African Exploration, Mining and Development Corporation (AEMFC) that the AEMFC is operating without exemption or preference and under fair...

Engineering consultant to bulk up Ghana office

Consulting engineers and scientists, SRK Consultanting opened an office in Ghana last year and now plans to further expand its services through the acquisition of a local geologist in April, SRK Consultanting Ghana country manager John Kwofie...

Prices dive as stimulus hopes fade; stockpiles hit oil

Commodities fell across the board on Wednesday, with a surge in US crude stockpiles pressuring oil and as investors worried about the demand outlook for raw materials if there is no U.S. monetary stimulus this year. US gold, copper and wheat...

Company Announcement: Titan Energy To Acquire Ready To Drill Asset in Multi-Billion Barrel US Hydrocarbon Producing Region

Australian oil and gas company Titan Energy Ltd (ASX: TTE) (Titan Energy or the Company) is pleased to announce it has signed an agreement to acquire an 81% interest in a ready to drill prospect in a multi-billion barrel, hydrocarbon producing...

Nine new offshore petroleum exploration permits issued

The federal government has awarded nine new offshore permits in the second round of its Petroleum Exploration Acreage Release, with ASX-listed Woodside coming out as the clear winner. Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said that the...

Agreement signed to develop GTL project

Local energy and chemicals group Sasol and its partners Uzbekneftegaz and Petronas, have signed an investment agreement with the Uzbekistan Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investment and Trade, for the development and implementation of a...

Company Announcement: AFC and Afreximbank sign $320m Trade Finance Facility for Processing and Refining of Crude Oil in Cote d’ Ivoire

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) today signed its first transaction in Cote d’Ivoire - a USD320 million syndicated trade finance facility to finance the importation, processing and refining of crude oil by Societe Ivoirienne de Raffinage (SIR) -...

Australia’s resources exports at record A$175bn on higher prices

The value of Australia's resources and energy exports increased by some 27% in 2010/11 to a record A$175-billion, on the back of higher commodity prices. "The record level of resource and energy export earnings reflects higher prices for the...

India’s mining output is generally increasing, but the country wants more private investment

India’s Ministry of Mines last week reported that the country’s mining, quarrying and hydrocarbons output in May was 1.83% higher than in April and 1.36% higher than in May 2010. However, the production of certain minerals and metals increased...

Six firms awarded Australian petroleum exploration permits

Federal Resources and Energy Minster Martin Ferguson on Friday granted petroleum exploration permits to six companies, including US-based Chevron, Apache and Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production. The six companies have been given a total...

Q1 commodity export earnings down on lower output

Australia’s mineral resource export volumes decreased during the March quarter, as production volumes declined, the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics and Sciences (Abares) said on Wednesday. Production was hit by heavy...

BHP Billiton continues as the hardest hat in global mining

Around the turn of the millennium, the bosses of Billiton, then an ambitious South African mining company, sat in the lobby of a big fund manager waiting to talk up their firm’s prospects. At first they were welcomed warmly. But their hosts’...