Marriage of spun-out diamond assets may be best for Rio, BHP

With Rio Tinto broadcasting that it is joining bigger rival BHP Billiton in considering selling its diamond businesses, analysts said on Tuesday the diversified giants might rather combine the assets and list them. For starters, both have major...

Resource rents will dent investor confidence in South African mining – Solomon

With the South African mining industry shrinking at a time of global commodity boom, now is hardly the time to burden it with further with impositions like resource rents. As a priority, the industry needs to be encouraged to grow its output and...

Resource rents will render South African mining uncompetitive – Solomon

The imposition of resource rents in South Africa would render the South African mining industry uncompetitive, mining industry executive Michael Solomon said on Friday. Solomon was commenting, at a mining law seminar hosted by law firm Bell...

New TSX gold listing targets 1Moz/y by 2016

Russian-owned miner White Tiger Gold, which listed on the TSX on Friday, aims to produce one-million ounces yearly of the precious metal by 2016, CEO Geoffrey Cowley said. The company was formed when SL Resources, a private Canadian firm, was...

Attitudes becoming ‘more hostile’ to mining in 80% of jurisdictions – Fraser Institute

Attitudes are becoming more hostile to mining, the Fraser Institute’s latest ‘Survey of Mining Companies: 2010 Mid-year Update’ finds. No less than 41 of the 51 jurisdictions surveyed - some 80% - made that point. The institute conducted...

Law already in place for Lonmin to mine, sell and compensate rights holder Keysha

A statutory facility is already in place that allows Lonmin to extract and dispose of the nonplatinum minerals it mines, and to pay compensation to mineral rights holder Keysha, says former Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) DDG Jacinto Rocha,...

Petropavlovsk eyes 2010 gold growth after Q1 transition

Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk said on Thursday it was on track to produce between 670 000 oz and 760 000 oz this year, at least 38% more than in 2009, after a "transitional" first quarter. Petropavlovsk, Russia's third-largest gold miner, said...

‘Provisional' iron-ore prices poised to become settlement prices – analysts

There may not be an iron-ore price settlement at all this year, and the "provisional" prices that are being charged by iron-ore producers may become the effective benchmark settlement prices, analysts tell Mining Weekly Online. Drama clouded this...

Xstrata drops proposed bid for Anglo

Diversified miner Xstrata on Thursday announced that it had no intention of making an offer for Anglo American, five days before the close of the UK Takeover Panel’s deadline. Xstrata, in June, proposed a “merger of equals” with fellow...

Gold price of $1 070/oz in short term ‘possible’ – analyst

The price of gold “looks likely” to break through $1 050/oz this week, with $1 070/oz in the short term “possible”, Fairfax analyst John Meyer said on Wednesday, as the precious metal hit a new spot price record of $1 045,85/oz. The price...

Xstrata gets Oct 20 deadline to bid for Anglo American

Diversified miner Xstrata would have until 17:00 on October 20 to announce a firm intention to make an offer for Anglo American or to walk away, the UK Takeover Panel has announced. Xstrata, in June, proposed a "merger of equals" with fellow...

Resource-intensive nature of Chinese growth to drive raw materials consumption, says BHP Billiton

After the global financial crisis created the worst business environment in more than 60 years, the major world economies are starting to rebuild their inventories and a more predictable demand for products may be experienced in 2010, stated...