- Home
- Covid-19 News
- Latest News
- Sector News
- World News
- Magazine
- Video Reports
- Audio
- Research
- Press Office
- Electra Mining
- Announcements
- Topics
- What's On
- Jobs
- Tenders
- Mining Indaba
- Apps
- Product Portal
- About Us
- Legal Notice
- Comment Guidelines
- Marketing Videos
- Live Twitter Feed
Martin Creamer
Martin Creamer is Creamer Media Publishing Editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly.
Tel: +2711 622 3744
First Word
Near-term weak but long-term trending to strong commodities demand
By: Martin Creamer 3rd August 2012 There is near-term weakness in the mining business but the future points to trillions of dollars worth of growth. Tough short-term demand conditions do confront the industry, but long-term demand and supply scenarios continue to point to the modern world being mining’s oyster. Projections to... →
Kumba starts work on expanding just-built Kolomela operation
By: Martin Creamer 27th July 2012 Fast-growing Kumba Iron Ore is already moving to expand Kolomela, its just-commissioned nine-million-ton project still in ramp-up phase. The JSE-listed company, which is one of the world’s best performing in iron-ore-mining companies, remains committed to producing 70-million tons of iron-ore a... →
One mining job benefits 26 people, says South Africa’s second anti-mine-nationalisation document
By: Martin Creamer 20th July 2012 For every person who works on a mine in South Africa, 26 other people benefit, South Africa’s latest anti-mine-nationalisation research document finds. The 370-page study, which was funded by the mine-dependent Bafokeng community, follows the publication by the ruling African National Congress... →
SA bets on clean coal success, Europe quickens coal burn, use mining to grow economy
By: Martin Creamer 13th July 2012 The realisation of coal’s worth to South Africa is being reinforced at the highest level; Europe is using more coal; Anglo American says mining should be used to grow the South African economy →
70Mt iron-ore target, cleaning mine mess, take-or-pay logistics
By: Martin Creamer 6th July 2012 Anglo American's Kumba Iron Ore believes it will be exporting 70-million tons of iron-ore a year from South Africa by 2019; a new JSE-listing wants to make money out of cleaning up South Africa's dirty mining legacy; and black economic-empowerment subsidiary of the ASX- and JSE-listed Resource... →
Another platinum mine closes, more platinum project rein-in, but platinum juniors march on
By: Martin Creamer 29th June 2012 Platinum miner Aquarius Platinum has placed another operation on care-and-maintenance; black-owned Royal Bafokeng Platinum has comes up with its own bad platinum news; but two sanguine platinum juniors press ahead with capital investment. →
Commodities ‘no man’s land’, New Largo coal cooperation, platinum start-up unfazed
By: Martin Creamer 22nd June 2012 Commodity prices are in “no man’s land”; public-private cooperation is on the go on the energy-coal front; and platinum’s bleak short-term outlook has not stopped the Garatau project goahead. →
Platinum cuts expected, SA policy at crossroads, deep mining innovation
By: Martin Creamer 15th June 2012 Platinum mining is in a state of flux; crucial policy choices on way for South Africa’s mining industry; and automation way to go for deep-level mining. →
Cameroon iron-ore pact, Eastplats stops project, Evander gold mine sale
By: Martin Creamer 8th June 2012 New Cameroon agreement to boost iron-ore; Eastplats stops platinum projects; Pan African happy to have the EVander gold mine all to itself. →
Indian gold demand down, commodities fall extends, court halts tungsten bid
By: Martin Creamer 1st June 2012 Gold is not playing the role of safe haven in bad economic times, Bearish conditions also persist in commodities and equities and the order against tungsten in the Western Cape is reiterated. →
Private rail participation, union rivalry intensifies, Fraser Alexander turns 100
By: Martin Creamer 25th May 2012 Private sector participation with South Africa’s State-owned rail enterprise is seen as critical to the success of upcoming expansion; there is new tension between rival mining unions; and Fraser Alexander turns 100. →
Fuel cell makes loco debut, better than asteroid mining, big demand change needed
By: Martin Creamer 18th May 2012 A platinum-using fuel cell is driving a locomotive in a South African platinum mine; a platinum miner quips about asteroid mining; and current weak platinum demand is seen as hugely problematic. →
Mining, biodiversity planning, Zim platinum miners coalesce, Congolese to manage Kibali
By: Martin Creamer 11th May 2012 South Africa is to launch a new national mining and biodiversity guideline; Zimbabwe’s three beleaguered platinum miners have formed an association; already, more than half of the new Kibali gold project's management team are Congolese. →
Anglo puts State back into steel, competitive bid for Ezulwini, CoAL beating odds at Vele
By: Martin Creamer 4th May 2012 Diversified miner Anglo American has put the South African State back into steel making;TSX- and JSE-listed gold-and-uranium miner First Uranium is about to face minority shareholder resistance over its recent disposals; and Coal of Africa Limited continues to move ahead at Vele. →
Canada softens enviro rules, Australia eases miner listings, India finds platinum elements
By: Martin Creamer 27th April 2012 Canada has unveiled a plan to streamline the environmental approval process; The Australian Security Exchange (ASX) is taking steps to making listing easier; and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) reports that it has discovered platinum group elements. →
Gold catalyst advance, mining output falls, rare earths reach far
By: Martin Creamer 20th April 2012 After years of research, South Africa’s Project AuTEK is able to supply gold catalysts for use in a range of applications; South Africa’s mining output is down again; rare earths continue to attract attention →
Court halts tungsten dig, new call for chrome tax, platinum mining right
By: Martin Creamer 13th April 2012 The Cape High Court has granted an interim interdict to stop tungsten prospecting; South African ferrochrome aspirant Ruukki has added its voice to the debate on the export of raw chrome; and Canada’s Platinum Group Metals has been granted mining rights for its flagship South African project. →
IDC invests big in revamped Platmin, Wits plans major mine research thrust, Rio moves mine automation to India
By: Martin Creamer 6th April 2012 South Africa’s State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has made its biggest single investment in five years - R3.24-billion - in Platmin’s comeback as an integrated mining and beneficiation Newco; Wits University is resuscitating large-scale mining research; and Rio Tinto is moving... →
ArcelorMittal’s iron-ore investments, Australian gold exploration in W Africa, S Africa in low mining destination rung
By: Martin Creamer 30th March 2012 Steelmaker ArcelorMittal is investing more in iron-ore in South America and Africa; Australian junior Middle Island is pushing exploration hard in West Africa, and South Africa a low 20th on mining investment destination ladder. →
No point if Zimbabwe fails to show it has $500m/$1bn cash for 31% of Zimplats
By: Martin Creamer 23rd March 2012 There is no point in Implats going back to the Zimbabwe negotiating table if South Africa’s errant neighbour is unable to show that it has access to between $500-million to $1-billion in cash to pay for the 31% of Zimplats. While it has agreed to be “fully contributory for cash at an... →
South Africa’s stricken ferrochrome industry eyes Canada’s Canpotex as potential turnaround model
By: Martin Creamer 16th March 2012 South Africa’s once mighty chrome-to-ferrochrome industry, now threatened by an unexpected local oversupply of raw ore, is looking to get itself back on its feet by emulating what the Canadians did 40 years ago for their then teetering but now thriving Saskatchewan potash industry. →
DMR duty-bound to give info on mineral rights, end disturbing reports
By: Martin Creamer 9th March 2012 Mining Weekly today formally calls on the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) to issue a media release each time it grants a mineral right or permit. This publication does so against the background of the DMR's reported refusal to provide such information. →
Strike punishing platinum, value sharing proposal, junior miner incentive
By: Martin Creamer 2nd March 2012 The plight of South Africa’s platinum-mining industry is far more crucial than most South Africans seem to acknowledge;Anglo American Platinum's Vishnu Pillay puts forward a proposal of value sharing;Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan keeps support for junior miners on the radar screen. →
Southern African platinum miners on the wrack as perfect storm hits
By: Martin Creamer 24th February 2012 Southern African platinum mining companies find themselves on the wrack, not only because of their dependence on a faltering Europe, but hit by a confluence of events that are drastically aggravating the situation. It is the perfect storm of South African government’s heavy-handed approach to... →
New exploration push, silica manganese end, infrastructure boost
By: Martin Creamer 17th February 2012 The mining industry has been given 20 days from the Government Gazette notice of February 6 to offer ideas on lapsed and revoked South African mineral rights; BHP Billiton's Samancor has permanently stopped production of silica manganese; the South Africa government is promising the mining... →
Rent rather than nationalisation, Zim will not pay compensation, Australian mining investment
By: Martin Creamer 10th February 2012 The study by South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) gives mine nationalisation a firm thumbs down; Zimbabwe will shortly seize mining assets without compensation; and the study of South Africa’s Council for Geosciences into the country’s coal resources will be release in the first... →
Govt stops lacerate platinum, supply ebb may boost price, palladium deficit forecast
By: Martin Creamer 3rd February 2012 Government-enforced safety stoppages at South African platinum mines is lacerating production; the platinum supply ebb is seen as positive for platinum prices; and palladium may be in short supply. →
Aussie PM resists foreign mine supply, South Africa’s mining production down, new Maputo coal terminal shareholder
By: Martin Creamer 27th January 2012 International mining companies face World Trade Organisation (WTO) wrath in Australia; South Africa's mining production drops; the new investor in the Maputo coal terminal has reputed balance-sheet strength. →
Transnet expects to rail 70Mt of coal, Exxaro plays its iron-ore card, Mboweni brothers in iron-ore BEE
By: Martin Creamer 20th January 2012 South Africa’s State-owned freight logistics group Transnet says that it is on track to deliver between 70-million and 72-million tons of coal to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) by its financial year-end on March 31; black-owned diversified miner Exxaro has played its long-awaited iron-ore... →
$7bn of platinum for cars, Zim banking wanted, miners keen on M&As
By: Martin Creamer 16th December 2011 The platinum glut is set to diminish just as mine production declines for the first time since 2008; Foreign mining companies operating in Zimbabwe may be required to bank their money with local financial institutions; Ernst & Young reports an increased appetite for mining mergers and acquisitions; →
Where iron-ore will find its floor, Kumba says more supply than buy
By: Martin Creamer 9th December 2011 As South Africa’s largest iron-ore producer reports that there is currently more iron-ore supply than iron-ore demand, there is a strong contention that the ferrous metal is unlikely to sink below $120/t as Chinese steelmakers replenish stockpiles. →
Canada moots diamond beneficiation, environmental impact monitoring, Kenya grants first gold mining lease
By: Martin Creamer 2nd December 2011 Canada has the potential to create diamond beneficiation jobs as new mines come into production; the South African government is urged to better manage the impact of coal mining on country water supply; and →
Codelco's pillage of Anglo American Sur is hurting ordinary working men and women 
By: Martin Creamer 25th November 2011 Chile and its State-owned copper company, Codelco, need to understand that it is the working men and women of the world who have provided the investment that underpins Anglo American Sur. In forcing Anglo to accept a pittance for its well-developed Chilean copper assets, Codelco and the... →
Nationalisation risk down, community attention up, mine water retorts offered
By: Martin Creamer 18th November 2011 The suspension of Julius Malema seen as reducing mine nationalisation risk; Anglo American Platinum is implementing a R3.5-billion mine host community development;and the government offers acid mine drainage remedies. →
Venetia boost to 2050 still on cards, Zimbabwe sees $2bn diamond sales, Tirisano back in diamond production
By: Martin Creamer 11th November 2011 The extension of the life of South Africa’s most prolific Venetia diamond mine is still on the cards; rrant Zimbabwe says it is on the way to earning more than $2-billion a year from diamond sales; the first parcel of diamonds from South Africa's recommissioned Tirisano diamond mine has met with... →
No, Codelco, what you’re forcing on Anglo is reprehensible nationalisation by stealth
By: Martin Creamer 4th November 2011 The State-owned Chilean copper miner Codelco is not playing the game with the steps it is taking to seize half of Anglo American’s Chilean assets. A howl of protest from South Africa’s diplomatic corps would not be out of order in this instance. What is happening is really mine nationalisation... →
Mozambique coking coal strength, Zimbabwe frightening investors, South Africa’s BEE needs liquidity
By: Martin Creamer 28th October 2011 Mozambique is poised to become a significant coking coal producer; Zimbabwe stands to lose significant foreign direct investment; and there is a plea for South Africa's black economic-empowerment (BEE) participants to be allowed to trade their shares. →
Global Mining Weekly on iPad, uncertainty hits commodities, mining production falls again
By: Martin Creamer 21st October 2011 Mining Weekly now has a global iPad edition; uncertainty is impacting commodities negatively; and South Africa's mining production has fallen for the third consecutive month. →
Sponsored Post
News This Week
Cartoon
Photo of the week
Mining Personality
Mine Profile
