Little attention being given to sidestream beneficiation – Baxter

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Side-stream beneficiation required more recognition in South Africa, with much of the focus having been on defining downstream beneficiation, Chamber of Mines... 

Shabangu announces gold, platinum rescue plan

Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu on Tuesday announced that her department would develop a rescue plan, aimed at placing South Africa’s wrecked platinum and gold sectors on a recovery... 

Jubilee sells noncore assets to GRE for $14m

Aim- and JSE-listed Jubilee Platinum has agreed to sell its Jubilee Smelting and Refining (JSR) subsidiary, as well as its 70% shareholding in Power Alt, to Global Renewal Energy (GRE) for... 

Zondereinde operations halted after fatal accident

Operations at JSE-listed Northam Platinum’s Zondereinde mine, in Limpopo, have been halted following the death of a worker and the injury of another during a fall-of-ground incident on Monday. The... 

Side-stream beneficiation needs more recognition

Side-stream beneficiation required more recognition in South Africa, with much of the focus having been on defining downstream beneficiation, Chamber of Mines (CoM) senior executive Roger Baxter... 

Amplats, unions and govt agree on measures to preserve jobs

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats), its recognised unions and the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) said late on Tuesday that they would resume talks at the Commission for Conciliation,... 

Lonmin, AMCU fail to reach agreement on union recognition

Platinum producer Lonmin on Wednesday indicated that no agreement had been reached on forming a new union recognition agreement with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). As... 

Waterberg ordered to issue supplementary bidder’s statement in Firestone takeover

The Australian Takeovers Panel has declared the Waterberg Coal Company’s statements in relation to its hostile takeover offer for Firestone Energy as being deficient and ordered the company to... 

Labat Africa moves into Namibia oil and gas

JSE-listed Labat Africa on Monday said it aimed to invest in five oil and gas leases in Namibia. Labat Africa had executed a letter of intent with Amicitia Holdings to purchase all the issued... 

NUM seeks up to 60% wage hike from SA gold producers

South Africa’s Chamber of Mines (CoM) on Monday confirmed the reciept of proposals by the the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) regarding the revision of wages and conditions of employment of... 

Lonmin accelerates union recognition process to ease Marikana tensions

Platinum producer Lonmin , which on Friday welcomed the return to work of its employees following a two-day unprotected strike this week, said that it would accelerate certain aspects of the union... 

SA at forefront of intra-Africa investment

South Africa has been at the forefront of growth in intra-African trade and broader emerging market investment during 2012, with intra-African investment showing a 33% compound growth rate,... 

Gauteng factory invests in R5m roof-mounted solar facility

Photovoltaic (PV) project development and construction company Soventix South Africa has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract worth more than R5-million to build a... 

Palabora temporarily closes north hoisting tower

South African copper producer Palabora Mining indicated on Wednesday that it would have to revise its forecast hoisting volumes from its underground mine, as its north hoisting winder would be out... 

Paladin Energy reports fall in profit, despite high sales volumes

Dual-listed uranium producer Paladin Energy reported that lower prices resulted in a drop in its gross profit for the nine months ended March, to $28.9-million, from $30.3-million in the 2012... 

Expansion at Centamin’s Sukari mine on track

Toronto- and London-listed Centamin on Wednesday reported that the Stage 4 plant expansion of its Sukari gold mine, in Egypt, to ten-million tons a year, remained on track for the bulk of... 

TFR shuts coal line to catch up on maintenance

State-owned rail utility Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) on Monday said it would shut its coal-export line for 12 days, from May 14 to 25, to catch up on its maintenance backlog. The South African rail... 

Platinum market records 375 000 oz deficit in 2012

The global platinum market experienced a deficit of 375 000 oz in 2012, owing to a steep decline in output from South Africa, platinum group metals authority Johnson Matthey’s ‘Platinum 2013’... 

Bushveld Minerals announces takeover offer to acquire Lemur Resources

Aim-listed Bushveld Minerals on Monday announced an off-market takeover offer to acquire Madagascar-focused Lemur Resources. The offer, which was not subject to a minimum acceptance condition,... 

Lonmin raises full-year output guidance to 700 000 oz

Platinum miner Lonmin on Monday raised its production guidance for the full 2013 financial year to 700 000 oz of metals-in-concentrate, up from previous expectations of 680 000 oz. The company... 

African Copper Q4 output up 45%

Aim-listed African Copper produced 2 429 t of copper in concentrate at its wholly owned mines in Botswana in the quarter ended March 31, a 45.2% year-on-year increase in production. The Mowana... 

Continental Coal finalises Mashala Resources deal

ASX- and Aim-listed Continental Coal in April said its 74%-owned South African subsidiary had completed the acquisition of the outstanding minority interests in coal mining junior Mashala... 

African airport operators urged to collaborate with governments to foster growth

To drive economic growth and competitiveness in Africa, there was an urgent need for the continent’s airport operators and governments to collaborate, Airports Company South Africa acting MD... 

Small-car sales not yet reflecting reduced consumer spending

Notwithstanding the South African Reserve Bank’s projection that the country’s gross domestic production would grow only by a marginal 2.7% during 2013, local new car sales were showing good growth... 

Lobby group calls for monetary policy to be aligned with manufacturing push

The time was ripe to review South Africa’s monetary policy, which was cited as one of the main challenges facing the country’s manufacturing sector, Manufacturing Circle executive director Coenraad... 

London Mining reaches record Q1 production

Aim-listed London Mining achieved record production and sales volumes at its 100%-owned Marapa mine, in Sierra Leone, during the first quarter of its 2013 financial year, CEO Graeme Hossie reported... 

Lonmin welcomes AMCU’s referral of union negotiations to CCMA

Platinum producer Lonmin on Thursday said it welcomed the Association of Mining and Construction Union’s (AMCU’s) decision to refer the negotiations around a new union recognition agreement to the... 

2013 collective bargaining season to be ‘particularly important’ – DoL DG

Despite a volatile labour market, this year’s bargaining season was going to be particularly important in proving that collective bargaining was still the best way of bridging differences between... 

Stratex evaluates potential acquisition opportunities

Aim-listed Stratex International continues to evaluate potential acquisition opportunities and its management was optimistic that it could use its cash balance of £17-million to provide further... 

Edenville seeks to partner Tanzania govt on power projects

Aim-listed Edenville Energy will, in the coming year, focus its activities on assessing the commercial viability of mining near-surface coal at its Rukwa or Mkomolo operations. The company... 

Aureus Mining places order for ball milling system at New Liberty gold project

TSX- and Aim-listed Aureus Mining on Tuesday said it had placed an order with NCP International for the supply, delivery and installation of a ball milling system at its New Liberty gold project,... 

Afferro announces maiden mineral resource for Ntem

Cameroon-focused iron-ore exploration and development company Afferro Mining on Monday announced a maiden National Instrument (NI) 43-101-compliant mineral resource for its Ntem iron-ore project. A... 

Keaton’s Vanggatfontein mine delivers 58% more coal to Eskom

JSE-listed coal miner Keaton Energy delivered 1.5-million tons of washed 2- and 4-seam thermal coal from its Vanggatfontein colliery, in Mpumalanga, to State utility Eskom during the year ended... 

Supply side factors to continue impacting platinum price

The price of platinum this year would, in large part, continue to be determined by supply side factors, Thomson Reuters GFMS mining research director William Tankard said on Friday. Discussing the... 

Marcus warns that cautious optimism is giving way to renewed concern

Despite a marked improvement in South Africa’s terms of trade since 2010, the country’s exports has seen a slow recovery, weighed down by lagging global recovery and widespread stoppages in the... 

Report looks at how domestic capital could be mobilised for African infrastructure

The African Development Bank (AfDB) launched its 'Structured Finance – Conditions for infrastructure project bonds in African markets' report at the International Monetary Fund–World Bank Spring... 

R300m air separation plant to cater for new E Cape industrial prospects

Site clearance and preparation for the construction of industrial gas supply company Air Products’ R300-million air separation unit (ASU) in the Coega Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) would start... 

Long-term fundamentals of SA’s platinum sector remain strong

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The long-term fundamentals of South Africa’s platinum mining industry remained attractive, despite labour unrest, increasing electricity prices and high operating... 

Sylvania reports sustained Q3 production, despite various challenges

Despite operations being impacted by safety stoppages at its host mines, Aim-listed Sylvania Platinum managed to keep production from its dump operations fairly unchanged at 10 583 oz of... 

London hearing on AASA silicosis claims to start Wed

On Wednesday, a two-day hearing would start in London’s High Court to decide whether 2 500 gold miners who worked at Anglo American South Africa’s (AASA’s) gold mines can pursue their silicosis...