One of the most searing indictments levelled against the mining industry is that it has consistently short-changed governments. Read on page 17 of this edition of Mining Weekly of several governments being allowed to accrue earnings without having to declare them, which can potentially facilitate corruption. There is now a growing willingness to implement full dis- closure on all payments to governments, which comes against the background of the influence of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and the Dodd-Frank Act in the US. Now Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced that mandatory disclosure is on the way in Canada as well, with government including State-owned enterprises and disclosure seen as being investment positive.

The new Australian Business Chamber of Commerce Southern Africa is setting out to strengthen bilateral relations between Australia and the Southern African countries by providing a networking platform for business development and trade. Read on page 20 of this edition of Mining Weekly of South Africa and Australia already enjoying strong trade and investment ties, with two-way trade representing 27% of Australia’s total African trade, and two-way investment being mining focused. More than 200 Australian companies, with more than 700 projects in mining exploration, extraction and processing, are currently operating in 42 African countries and the new chamber intends drawing on the large number of Australian mining companies that have business interests in Southern Africa. Australians are committed to upskilling the local workforce.

The tin supply chain initiative in the Great Lakes Region, which aims to stop metal proceeds from fueling conflict, has returned to the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo following the ousting of the M23 rebel group. Preparations are under way to put equipment and personnel in place for tagging. The first minerals are expected to be tagged in the next couple of weeks to ensure traceability. Independent evaluators of iTSCi, as the initiative is known, have reported an absence of non-State armed groups illegally controlling mine sites and extorting money.

Australian oil and gas explorer Challenger Energy has applied for a right to explore for shale gas in South Africa’s Karoo, where its 95%-owned South African subsidiary, Bundu Gas & Oil Exploration, was the first mover in the shale gas belt where Shell and Falcon, with Chevron, are also awaiting exploration licences.