M&R’s Clough snaps up Canadian EPC project delivery company

Australia-based oil and gas engineering and construction company and wholly-owned Murray & Roberts (M&R) subsidiary Clough has acquired Canadian engineering services company Enercore Projects,... 

Endeavour declares record Q3 gold output

Triple-listed Endeavour Mining has announced record gold production of 124 894 oz for the quarter ended September 30, with output for the nine months to September at 379 802 oz. Over the nine... 

Firestone Diamonds, Tango extend payment date for Botswana deal

Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds has agreed to amend certain conditions of the conditional sale agreement (CSA) related to the disposal of the company's Botswana operations to Tango Mining for... 

Weatherly exceeds Q1 guidance to produce 3 554 t of copper

Copper producer Weatherly International has exceeded its guidance for the September quarter by 3%, delivering 3 554 t of copper cathode. This represented around 84% of nameplate production at the... 

Study points to possible earnings of $23.6m/y at Mbeya mine

A financial optimisation study on the Mbeya Coal-to-Power project’s (MCPP’s) coal mine, in Tanzania, has revealed that, applying an all-in cost margin of between 47.9% and 48.1%, the operation... 

Blanket mine Q3 output up 10.5% y/y

Caledonia Mining’s 49%-owned Blanket mine, in Zimbabwe, delivered 10 297 oz of gold in the the quarter to September 30, a 5% quarter-on-quarter and 10.5% year-on-year improvement. Gold production... 

Glencore looks to sell Australian, Chilean copper operations

Diversified major Glencore has announced plans to offload its wholly-owned Cobar copper mine, in Australia, and Lomas Bayas copper mine in Chile, following the receipt of a number of unsolicited... 

Tenova, SGS enter final talks over sale of Bateman Projects

Metals and mining technologies provider Tenova has entered into final negotiations with certification group SGS over the sale of Tenova’s South African engineering, procurement and construction... 

Jubilee receives R110.5m payout for Middleburg operations

Mine-to-metals company Jubilee Platinum has received the R110.5-million cash consideration from Siyanda Resources in relation to the disposal of Jubilee Smelting and Refining (JSR) and its 70%... 

Anatolia shareholders pass Uranium merger share scheme

After last month approving the proposed merger with ASX-listed Uranium Resources, shareholders of uranium exploration company Anatolia Energy have voted in favour of three share schemes of... 

Evolution delivers 174 169 oz gold in Q1

ASX-listed Evolution Mining has delivered 174 169 oz of gold in the first three months of the 2016 financial year. All-in sustaining costs (AISC) came in at A$882/oz. 

Phoenix Gold reiterates plea to shareholders to reject takeover offer

Sydney-listed Phoenix Gold has reiterated its appeal to shareholders to reject an offmarket takeover offer by Evolution Mining, saying it undervalues Phoenix’s shares and does not fairly reflect... 

Falling commodity prices, equity market jitters keep pressure on WA miners

The market capitalisation of Western Australia- (WA-) listed companies closed the month of September at A$118.5-billion, indicating a 6.4% month-on-month drop and pointing to continued pressure on... 

Low zinc prices push Glencore to slash 500 000 t/y of production, shed jobs

Diversified major Glencore has revealed plans to cut back on its production of zinc across its portfolio in Australia, South America and Kazakhstan, saying a 500 000 t/y output reduction would... 

Ivanhoe awards DRA feasibility study contract for Platreef

Multidisciplinary engineering group DRA has been awarded the contract to undertake a feasibility study (FS) on TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines subsidiary Ivanplats’ Platreef platinum-group metals, gold,... 

Intrepid accelerates exploration at Zambia target

Minerals explorer Intrepid Mines has mobilised a fourth diamond drill rig to the high-priority Kakozhi satellite target, in Zambia, accelerating a drilling programme aimed at better defining the... 

10% drop in coal sales hurts Hwange Colliery’s half-year profit

A 10% year-on-year decline in Zimbabwe-based Hwange Colliery’s coal sales to 685 759 t has dented the company’s profitability and widened its operating loss from $7.6-million in the interim period... 

Lucara, Paragon extend Mothae exclusivity period

Lucara Diamond Corporation has agreed to extend the exclusivity agreement with Aim-listed Paragon Diamonds regarding the proposed acquisition of Lucara’s Mothae kimberlite resource and the Lemphane... 

Solidarity submits R10.7m claim against Sishen Iron Ore

Trade union Solidarity has referred a case on behalf of 97 of its members employed by Sishen Iron Ore to the Labour Court, claiming that the members did not receive their full performance... 

Firestone mulls extension to Tango payment date for Botswana mine

Tango Mining has requested an extension to the due date of a $300 000 deposit owed to Lesotho-based diamond development company Firestone Diamonds for the acquisition of its BK11 mine, in Botswana.... 

New Planning Commission members named

President Jacob Zuma announced the appointment of 25 new members for a period of five years to the National Planning Commission (NPC) in the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation on... 

OR Tambo Gautrain station expansion contract awarded

Global construction and management consultancy Turner & Townsend has been appointed by the Bombela Concession Company (BCC) as the project managers of a 12-month turnkey project to expand the... 

Nampak tightens belt at home as it eyes growth in rest of Africa

Beverage, food and nonperishable goods packaging manufacturer Nampak will continue to tighten capital expenditure (capex) and cost controls as it enters the 2016 financial year, citing continuing... 

Water, sanitation risks in government’s cross hairs, Minister promises

As governments move towards the finalisation and adoption of the United Nations’ (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Water Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokoyane has described the global water... 

Intelligent grid would improve South Africa’s electricity prospects

South Africa would realise a far greater return on its energy investments were it to introduce a “smarter”, more flexible electricity grid that incorporated an appropriate transmission and... 

Ivanhoe awards DRA feasibility study contract for Platreef

Multidisciplinary engineering group DRA has been awarded the contract to undertake a feasibility study (FS) on TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines subsidiary Ivanplats’ Platreef platinum-group metals, gold,... 

St Barbara buys back $10m of senior secured notes

Gold explorer St Barbara has repurchased an additional $10-million in aggregate principal of its 144A senior secured notes, at a discount of 7% to par value. Settlement was expected to occur by... 

Acquisitions lift Ardiden graphite project area to 5 300 ha

Minerals exploration company Ardiden has significantly expanded the footprint of its flagship 100%-owned Manitouwadge jumbo flake graphite project in Ontario, Canada, with the acquisition of a... 

Castle inks sales deal with Bunda over Julie West project

ASX-listed Castle Minerals has executed a put option and sales agreement with private Australian company Bunda Resources over Castle’s Julie West project, in northwest Ghana, under which Castle has... 

Intrepid accelerates exploration at Zambia target

Minerals explorer Intrepid Mines has mobilised a fourth diamond drill rig to the high-priority Kakozhi satellite target, in Zambia, accelerating a drilling programme aimed at better defining the... 

Construction kicks off at Mt Marion

Construction has started at the Mt Marion lithium project, in Western Australia, with first production expected in mid-2016. The project would deliver about 200 000 t/y of chemical grade spodumene... 

Aurelia secures additional funding, adjusts contractor payment terms

Aurelia Metals has inked a deal with Pacific Road Capital Management to provide it with a convertible A$6-million working capital facility, a convertible A$6-million subordinated loan facility and... 

ADX Energy removes MD Zimmer, names new CEO

After recently announcing a “significant” simplification of its operating structure, Dr Wolfgang Zimmer has stepped down as MD of Sydney-listed ADX Energy. His consultancy agreement with the... 

Moz petroleum group awarded $45m Sasol supply deal

In a drive to promote local content in Mozambique, South African petrochemical group Sasol and its partners have entered into a $45-million agreement with Mozambique's State-owned petroleum... 

R267m project to kick-start South Africa’s beneficiation agenda

Described as a tangible example of its reindustrialisation and mineral beneficiation agenda, government on Friday broke ground on a R267-million greenfield project that will see the development of... 

Uptick in July manufacturing not the panacea it may seem

Much like the July mining production figures, the 5.6% bounce back into positive year-on-year growth territory for manufacturing production in July must be seen in the context of last year’s trough... 

Manufacturing Circle names new exec director

Industry body the Manufacturing Circle has appointed Philippa Rodseth as its new executive director from October 1, replacing the outgoing incumbent Coenraad Bezuidenhout, who will leave to pursue... 

Resgen rejects Noble’s appeal for board additions

JSE- and ASX-listed Resource Generation (Resgen) has turned down a request by funding partner the Noble Group to appoint additional directors to the boards of the company and its black... 

Aurora directors lose High Court appeal, to pay R1.7bn

Labour unions the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and Solidarity have welcomed a Friday judgment by the North Gauteng High Court that denies the application of five former directors... 

Sub-Saharan Africa the ‘saviour’ of South African economy – economist

South African firms would do well to shift their expansionary strategies northwards, targeting the growing economies of sub-Saharan Africa that were increasingly buttressed by an emerging African...