Northam Platinum reports fatality at Zondereinde Mine

Northam Platinum has reported the unfortunate defeasibility study on quarry plantath of an employee in a fall of ground at the company’s Zondereinde mine in Limpopo province on Tuesday, 22 May 2012 at approximately 01H00.

The name of the deceased has been withheld until his next of kin have been informed.

No other employees sustained any injuries in the incident which occurred some 2 000 metres underground.

Work at the affected shaft has been suspended following a Section 54 order by the Department of Mineral Resources.

Northam Platinum is the only fully independent, black-owned and controlled integrated platinum group metals producer listed on the JSE.

The company wholly owns and operates the cash-generative and long-life Zondereinde platinum mine and metallurgical complex on the upper end of the western limb of the South African Bushveld Complex near the town of Thabazimbi, and is developing as the 103Moz-resource Booysendal platinum project, located near the town of Mashishing on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex.

In addition, the company holds a 7.5% interest in the Pandora joint venture, a PGM mining operation on the lower end of the western limb of the Bushveld Complex in partnership with Anglo Platinum, the Bapo Ba Mogale community and Lonmin.

Cleveland Mining acquires Brazilian iron ore project

Australian minerals company Cleveland Mining Company Ltd. announced that it havertical raw mill cement industrys acquired a 1,000km2 iron ore project in the northern Brazilian state of Amapá. The announcement comes within weeks of the company securing a high-potential gold project in Chile and delivering a foundation resource for the Premier Gold Project in Brazil.

The greenfields Porto Grande project is bounded by iron ore projects held by Anglo American and Cliffs Natural Resources, Brazilian mega-miners Mineração e Metalicos S.A (MMX) and Vale, and is located between ASX-listed Beadell Resources Ltd’s Tucano and Tartaruga projects. Cleveland has limited geological information about the tenements; although, outcropping hematite and itabirite mineralisation has been identified within the tenements during preliminary geological investigation. Cleveland sait it will immediately commence geological reconnaissance to better understand the scope and characteristics of the mineralisation.

Cleveland Mining Managing Director, David Mendelawitz, said that the northern Brazilian state of Amapá is emerging as the world’s newest address for high-quality iron ore. “I have personally assessed iron ore projects globally for most of the past decade and am now encouraged that we may have found a location that fits the structural and economic requirements of an emerging iron ore company. Amapá is coastal, pro-mining, subject to sound legislation and taxation, and is politically stable, whilst having good infrastructure and access to low cost, yet skilled labour – all in association with high-grade iron ore,” said Mr Mendelawitz.

Cleveland said it’s management team has solid experience in iron ore exploration and production, its CEO Mr Mendelawitz and Non-Executive Director Mr Williams holding senior management positions with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. from grass-roots exploration through to project construction, start up, and into full scale production. The vendor of the Porto Grande project will join the company to drive an established team.

"The team has experience conducting exploration programs in the area and the vendor has personally supervised the construction of four iron ore mills in Brazil. This team will form the basis of an entirely discrete Iron Ore Division, comprised of people not associated with Cleveland’s gold and copper projects, with the exception of the Board of Directors," the company said.

Worker dies at Limpopo platinum mine

An employee at the Zonderwhich equipments are use for production of quartz powdereinde division of the Northam Platinum mine in Limpopo died on Friday, Northam Platinum Limited said. The employee was injured during water jet cleaning operations on May 27, spokesman James Duncan said in a statement.

“The name of the employee who died will be withheld until next-of-kin have been informed,” he said Spokeswoman Charmane Russell said the employee died in hospital, but she could not provide any more information. “Subsequent to the accident, water-jetting in development areas at the mine have stopped while the investigation takes place,” Russell said. National Union of Mineworkers spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the death was “very sad”. “We are actually very disappointed by that, because clearly the number of mineworkers losing their lives are continuing to rise. “We had hoped that the death figure would stall. Up to the end of May, 53 workers have lost their lives,” Seshoka said...

China Copper Mines to construct copper leach plant

China Copper Mines is in the process of constructing a copper leach plant on the Copperbelt at an estimated cost of US$100 million.

Thaustralian gold mines for salee project area is located in Chingola district with over 500 permanent jobs expected to be created for the local community and people in the district.

The company commenced preliminary constructions last year awaiting approval from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency to proceed with the project.

This is according to an Environmental Impact Assessment report submitted to ZEMA.

“The company proposes to exploit five mineral waste dumps in the Fitula area to produce London Metal Exchange grade “A” copper,” says the EIA.

This investment will go towards the construction of mine infrastructure, purchase of mine equipments and the development of the actual mining dumps.

Infrastructure to be constructed on site includes heap leaching pads, back up ponds, solvent extraction, electro winning plants and offices.

The project will have both negative and positive impacts on the environment and the community.

Part of the negative impacts are involuntary resettlement of one household and a church building adding that it is expected to cause indirect loss of income to some Chingola communities.

Other negative impacts include noise pollution resulting from vibration due to crushing, air pollution, and occupation and health impacts.

On the positive front the company has resolved through the Compensation Resettlement Plan to give the affected parties an amount of K100 million for them to construct buildings at the area of their choice,” says the EIA.

Over 200 informal miners who were earning their living through the reclamation of low grade copper ore in the area will be relocated but have compensation package amounts to K600 million.

CCML is a new company in Zambia and has its shareholders United Quarries Limited operating locally for the past six years.

Zimbabwe spurns all mine plans

The Zimbabwean government has intensified its showdown with foreign mining companies by rejecting all their compliasand cement block maker in nigeriance plans in line with the controversial indigenisation law. About 175 foreign mining firms, including JSE-listed Impala Platinum, submitted compliance proposals earlier this year. Zimbabwean Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has rejected their plans.

He said foreign miners that failed to comply with empowerment legislation would be kicked out of the country. This is despite Zimbabwe being desperate for foreign investment to revive its struggling economy. Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono this week described his institution as "an empty shell". Mr Kasukuwere told delegates to a conference on empowerment rules in Harare yesterday: "We have received 175 proposals from mining companies and we’ve turned down all of them." He said the main reason for turning down the proposals — which included plans by Aquarius Platinum and New Dawn Mining to list on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange — was that "26% would be done through social credits and 25% direct equity...

Uranium mining risk to local water supply 'zero,' report says

The risk to Virginia Beach's water supply, part of which cocoal particle size for power plantmes from Lake Gaston, as well as other users downstream from a proposed uranium mine and mill in Pittsylvania County is "effectively zero," a study released last week concludes. Virginia Uranium Inc. commissioned the report, which involved a technical review of a Virginia Beach study released in February that claimed uranium mining and milling would imperil the city's water supply.

The $437,000 Virginia Beach study was done by the Michael Baker Corp., a professional engineering and consulting firm based in Pittsburgh, Pa. After the Virginia Beach report was released, Virginia Uranium asked its own consulting firm, Kleinfelder West Inc. of Albuquerque, N.M., to conduct a technical review of the study. Kleinfelder concluded that Baker's study was "unrealistic" and "caused unjustified alarm." Among the most glaring flaws in the Virginia Beach study, the review said, was the location of containment cells for tailings - radioactive waste rock left after the uranium is removed. The Baker study assumed a tailings impoundment would be in the flood plain adjacent to the river channel, which is not possible under federal regulations, Kleinfelder noted...

Resource Generation's up contract sales

Resource Generation (ResGen), which for sale knelson gold concentratorsis developing one of South Africa's largest remaining coal deposits, has signed an agreement with Integrated Coal Mining (ICM), part of India's RPG Group, to extend ICM's purchases of thermal coal from Resource Generation's planned Boikarabelo mine to 139 million tonnes from 37 million tonnes.

The purchases will take place over 38 years, up from 20 years in the original contract signed in September 2010, ResGen said on Wednesday. The initial off-take of 37 million tonnes has increased to 73 million tonnes and will begin when the Boikarabelo mine commences production, which is currently scheduled for late 2013. The balance of the additional off-take of 66 million tonnes will begin after the mine's stage two expansion. The price of each shipment will be based on the international market price at the time. Stage two of the mine's development envisages doubling production to around 40 million tonnes per annum of run-of-mine coal. Beneficiating this to maximise production of export quality coal will also generate an equivalent volume of domestic product...

7 dead in China coal mine blast

A gas explosion at a coal mine in China's central province of Hunan has reportconcrete batch plant for sale in saudi arabiaedly killed seven people.

State media says the blast is the latest in a string of accidents in the country's dangerous mining industry.

Quoting local government, the Xinhua news agency says 39 people escaped the mine explosion in Lianyuan city.

The accident came as rescuers in another part of the same province were racing to save a dozen coal miners still missing after their mine flooded on Wednesday.

Rescuers have reportedly pulled four miners out of the coal mine in Leiyang city on Sunday, but 12 remain unaccounted for.

State television says rescue efforts have been complicated since water levels reached head heights in parts of the mine.

Xinhua says the accident was not reported to the government until Thursday, delaying rescue efforts by 12 hours.

It says the mine's owner, Liu Yaping, has been taken into police custody.

The local government could not be reached for comment.

According to the latest official figures, 1,973 people died in coal mining accidents in 2011, down 19 per cent on the previous year.

But labour rights groups say the actual death toll is likely much higher, partly due to under-reporting of accidents by mine bosses.

SA minister says "more stable power supply this winter"

Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba says the country will not experience powfree project reports for stone sander cuts similar to those witnessed three years ago due to electricity generation shortages. "Eskom has instituted a quarterly power system alert briefing to the public and has indicated that whilst the system is tight, it envisages being able to mitigate any power supply shortages this winter," said Gigaba.

But he noted the "tightness of the system and the need to remain vigilant and redouble our efforts to ensure that our current generating capacity is maximized in the face of a constrained system." Gigaba was responding to questions from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the National Assembly on whether he envisaged power cuts similar to those of 2008 and whether he planned to implement any saving mechanisms.

The Freedom Front Plus also echoed the same sentiments, asking him whether he had plans to prevent load shedding this winter. The minister said that much needed to be done on the energy efficiency and demand side. He highlighted that "a small contribution to reducing electricity usage through more efficient practices by each consumer would yield significant benefits in terms of system stability and security of electricity supply."

Eskom was currently running an intensive energy saving campaign - the 49 million campaign - which is aimed at voluntary participation by all South Africans to utilise electricity more efficiently, he said. This would reduce the current levels of electricity consumption in support of the electricity supply security. Gigaba said that Eskom had "interruptible contracts" with its big customers to curtail their power supply during periods of shortages. The power utility also had a programme to "buy-back" capacity from certain qualifying and contracted customers during times of need.

The minister said there were "no immediate plans to place quotas on the direct users of electricity." But he added that "a mandatory energy conservation scheme, which would seek to impose certain efficiency/savings requirements on power users is under development and a broad consultation is in progress." Among Eskom's several interventions to prevent load shedding, the company had commissioned 315 megawatts additional capacity from its return-to-service (RTS) programme.

Modifications to one of Eskom's generators had yielded an additional 30 megawatt capacity. "Eskom has also highlighted that the risks to the system are set to increase as we go forward until the delivery of power from the first unit of Medupi Power Station and that the contribution by every South African to use electricity more efficiently is needed to ensure security of electricity supply in the medium term," said Gigaba.

Rusal Seeks Norilsk Shareholder Vote on Paying Board Directors

Rusal, holder of 25 percent of OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, asked the nickel producer’s board to copper leach plant for salecall a shareholder meeting to approve compensation for independent directors.

Rusal proposes the base payment for each independent director be $62,500 a quarter, plus $31,250 in each quarter that the director is the head a board committee, Maxim Sokov, the aluminum company’s deputy chief executive officer, said in a letter to Norilsk’s board, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News. Norilsk received Sokov’s letter, said Alisa Fialko, a spokeswoman for the Moscow-based mining company, the world’s largest producer of nickel. Rusal, controlled by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, will need support to pass the measure from other shareholders, including billionaire Vladimir Potanin’s Interros Holding Co., with which the aluminum producer is battling for control of the...

C. Java receiving terminal project still alive: Pertamina

PT Pertamina will likely go ahead with its plan to build a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) off Central Java, even though the mineral processing plant equipment cost estimationgovernment has decided to relocate the planned FSRU in Belawan, North Sumatra, to Lampung.

The plan has been in limbo since the government decided to allow the company to convert the Arun liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Arun, Aceh, into a receiving terminal and relocate the planned Belawan FSRU to Lampung.

The project will be relocated because the former Arun LNG plant will replace the Belawan FSRU to provide gas for northern Sumatra.

Pertamina senior vice president for gas, Nanang Untung, revealed that his company still desired to build the Central Java FSRU because it would be strategic infrastructure for backing gas security and distribution in Java.

“The FSRU will support the operation of the Trans-Java pipeline [which was now under construction by PT Pertamina Gas, a subsidiary of Pertamina],” he said via text message over the weekend.

State power utility PT Perusahaan Gas Negara, one of main users of natural gas in the country, however, said it would need gas supply from the FSRU in the near future. The company estimated that it needs gas supply from the FSRU five years from now because the main buyer, PLN, has already secured additional gas supply for its power plants.

“In the near future, PLN will receive sufficient supply from the Kepodang block, which reaches 116 million standard cubic feet [mmsccfd], the Gundih block, 50 mmscfd, and the Cepu block, 200 mmscfd. We therefore do not need more supply for several years to come,” PLN oil-based fuels and gas division head Suryadi Mardjoeki reported.

According to the company’s work plan, Suryadi said, the firm would build a gas-fired power plant with a capacity of 1,500 megawatts (MW) in Central Java. He added that the power plant would be able to absorb around 100 mmscfd of gas from the FSRU.

“It is only 100 mmscfd because the plant will only be used to supply power in peak hours. The peak hours in Central Java are only five hours. We can absorb more if the number of customers in Central Java or East Java increases [thereby] exceeding our expectations,” he said.

As for the Trans-Java pipeline, Suryadi viewed the pipeline as very important because it would not only be used to transport gas for PLN, but also for other buyers.

The Trans-Java pipeline will include a 140-kilometer-long pipeline from the Muara Tawar power plant in Bekasi to Cirebon in West Java, a 255-kilometer-long pipeline from Cirebon to Semarang in Central Java and a 271-kilometer-long pipeline from Semarang to Gresik in East Java.

“In its initial scenario, the pipeline will not only deliver gas from the planned Central Java FSRU, but also from other sources,” Suryadi said.

On the uncertainty of the FSRU’s future, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry’s oil and gas chief, Evita Herawati Legowo, said her office was now conducting a study to map gas demands across the nation, including in Java.

“PLN says it can absorb it five years from now, but the demands do not only come from PLN. That is why we launched the study before deciding whether we need to build the FSRU or not,” she said.

Molewa calls on public to put pressure on mines

Water and Environmegraphic videos of raw mill of cement industryntal Affairs Minister Edna Molewa says it is time that SA’s mining houses came under pressure from the public to help the government sort out the Witwatersrand’s acid mine drainage problems

Projections are that if the problem is not attended to in SA’s economic hub, there will be a shortage of usable water from 2014. The effect of the additional water supply from the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Scheme will also be diminished, as at least some of the water will be used to dilute contaminated water. Ms Molewa told a media briefing that she was working with Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu to ensure that mines "came on board" to help the government deal with the Witwatersrand’s acid mine drainage problem. The Treasury has allocated R433m to the problem, but it is estimated that R900m to R1bn is needed to deal with it effectively. Acid mine water is already pouring into water courses on the Witwatersrand’s western basin, and scientists say it will flow into the region’s central and...

Tolima Gold to acquire gold exploration and development properties in Colombia

Tolima Gold announced today that it has entered into a binding letter of intent to acquire Remedios Gold Holdings SA, a Panamanian company with a Cobest gold concentratorslombian subsidiary (Remedios Colombia SAS) which is the beneficial holder of six mining concessions with an aggregate area of approximately 637 hectares; 3 applications for concessions with an aggregate area of approximately 11,500 hectares and a gold processing and recovery plant with a capacity of approximately 100 tons per day, all in the Remedios/Segovia mining district in Antioquia, Colombia.

As consideration for this acquisition Tolima agreed to pay the vendors nine million US Dollars (US$9,000,000) to be paid over a period of up to one year depending on issuance and recording to Tolima of the applications for mining concessions, including a one million US Dollar (US$1,000,000) deposit paid at signing; two and a half million (2,500,000) common shares of Tolima; an exploration commitment on the acquired mineral properties of twelve million US Dollars (US$12,000,000) over a period of three years; and a payment on mineral resources identified in the acquired mineral properties (once the exploration commitment has been completed) as per a NI 43-101 report, of US$14 per ounce of gold identified as measured and indicated resources, and US$7 per ounce of gold identified as inferred resources...

Reed Resources Provides Gold Strategy and Project Update

Australian diversified resources company Reed Resources is pleased to provide an update on its Gold assets and its strategy to resume gold production.

The Company’s strategy is to expand the existing resource base at Comet Vale through a staged RC and diamond drilling programgambar teknik detail mesin hammer mill and delineate sufficient reserves to resume production at the Sand Queen Gold Mine as a mechanised decline operation. New resource estimates and reserve calculations are expected by Christmas 2010.

These results will also determine the processing rate and scale of the Nimbus Mill refurbishment and recommissioning, for both internal and third-party requirements.

Resource Extension Drilling

A staged drilling program targeting both the existing Sand Queen/Sand George Lodes and the new parallel Sand Prince/Princess Grace lode system has commenced and is expected to be completed in early November.

Results will be released in due course. Phase 1 of the drilling will specifically target the Princess Grace structure that lies directly beneath the designed Sand Prince West Open Pit, which is also planned to host the portal for a potential decline.

Phase 2 of the drilling will specifically target any areas requiring further definition, including diamond tails of drill holes into the Sand Queen / Sand George Lodes. It is anticipated that this drilling will total 10,000m.

Regional Exploration

In addition to the resource extension drilling, a campaign of exploration drilling has been planned and will be drilled on completion of the Resource Expansion campaign. This is expected to total an initial 5,000m and is designed to test the main Comet Vale Shear both North and South of the Sand Queen mine.

Sand Prince Reserve

The Sand Prince West Pit was optimised and redesigned by Minecomp Pty Ltd. Extensional drilling is designed to delineate the Princess Grace lode system and thus provide impetus for a decline access into both the Princess Grace and Sand Queen/Sand George Lodes.

Aust, Malaysia to sign free trade deal

Trade Minister Craig Emerson will sign a free trade agreement with Malaysia in Kualacopper slag from gold ore processing Lumpur on Tuesday.

He also will travel to France, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, Germany and Russia to talk trade.

The Malaysia agreement will guarantee tariff-free entry for 97.6 per cent of recent goods, rising to 99 per cent by 2017.

Malaysia is Australia's 10th largest trading partner, with two-way trade worth $16 billion in 2011.

"The signing of this FTA will open a new chapter in Australia's relationship with Malaysia," Dr Emerson said in a statement on Monday.

Australian exporters of automotive parts and a wide range of other manufactured products, as well as exporters of iron, steel and milk, would benefit from improved market access.

The agreement built on an already solid commercial partnership by embracing services and investment.

Malaysia has committed to allowing Australian service providers majority ownership in a range of service industries, including telecommunications, insurance, education, tourism, accountancy and mining-related services.

IBM Helps Altyntau Resources Find Gold in Kazakhstan

IBM has announced that it is working with JSC Altyntau Resources, a leading gold producer in Kazakhstan, to provide a new business analytics system to help the company to improve gold yields and increase the profitability of its operations.

The new system will enable the gold producer to centralize and quickly analyze data about its mprice of iron ore processing plantining operations. It includes a dashboard of important information enabling the company’s management team to make informed decisions about which ore to mine and which extraction processes to use to achieve the best return on investment.

Once the project is complete, JSC Altyntau Resources will be able to speed up its annual financial planning cycle from two months to two weeks and ensure that investors are kept informed on the company’s operations and forecasts.

JSC Altyntau Resources runs several mines in Kazakhstan, including the large Vasilkovskoye gold ore deposit near the city of Kokshetau in the north of the country. Though the deposit was first mined in the 1960s, production had to be abandoned at various times over the years due to the relatively low grade of the ore – only of 2.2 grams of gold per tonne.

However, the construction of a new gold recovery plant in 2009 and the recent deployment of modern technologies have led once again to full-scale, commercial production. Today, Vasilkovskoye is one of the largest gold mines in the world.

“From the very moment of our company’s inception, we set ourselves the goal of becoming industry leaders by using the latest technologies and approaches to increase gold yields, decrease operational expenses and ensure maximum profitability,” said Kazhibekov Ilyas, Head of Planning and Financial Analysis at JSC Altyntau Resources. “IBM’s business analytics technologies will give us the ability to quickly react to changes in gold production and make informed decisions about our mining operations.”

Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy, is home to 4 percent of world gold deposits making it the seventh largest reserve in the world. The Kazakh government plans to increase gold production to 70 tonnes by 2015 – from 16.6 tonnes in 2011.

However, it is estimated that only 40 percent of Kazakhstan’s gold reserves is economically exploitable using current extraction technology, placing pressure on gold mining companies to use the latest technologies to achieve maximum yield.

“Business analytics systems help leaders understand and draw valuable insights from the data within their organizations,” said Adam Dosymov, Head of IBM in Kazakhstan. “In the highly-competitive gold mining industry this is crucial for effective cost management and informed decision making. It can mean the difference between whether your operations are commercially viable or not.”

The implementation of the new system based on IBM Cognos software will take place over several phases managed by IBM’s local business partner GMCS.

The first phase covers the company’s financial planning processes in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards including assets, liabilities, income, expense accounting and investments. The next stage will include HR department planning and labor costs.

JSC Altyntau Resources was established in 2011 and employs over 4,200 people in gold mining and production. The Gold Recovery Plant at the Vasilkovskoye deposit is the biggest gold mining asset of the company constructed in accordance with world standards.

The plant is capable of processing up to 8 million tonnes of ore and producing 550-650 koz of gold per annum.

IBM has a branch office in the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan. IBM recently announced the opening of 10 new branch offices across Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as part of a major initiative to capture regional business growth and increase its presence in the fastest growing markets in the world.

The move is part of an incremental investment of $6 million that IBM will make in 2012 in the Russia and CIS region to expand its operations and increase its footprint to 22 offices. IBM will also double its staff in the Russian regions and strengthen its business partner network across Russia/CIS to over 4,000 partners this year.

IBM currently has branches in the following cities in the region: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Ufa, Khabarovsk, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Samara, Krasnodar, Kiev (Ukraine), Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine), Kharkiv (Ukraine), Donetsk (Ukraine), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan).

DiamondCorp Provides an Update on Exploration and Mine Development Activities

DiamondCorp, the Southern African diamond mining and exploration company, is pleased to announce an update on exploration and mine development activities in Botswana and South Africa.

JWANENG SOUTH PROJECT, BOTSWANA

Reprocessing of ground geophysical data from Prospecting Licence PL71 covering the Jwaneng South project area by Earthmaps Consulting of Namibia has resulted in anused screeners for sale in the uk increase in the size of the geophysical target at J-12 from 15ha to 45ha, and better definition of a 4ha target at J-05. (One hectare = 10,000 sq metres or 2.47 acres)

A six-hole drilling programme targeting diamondiferous kimberlites at J-05 and J-12 will commence in August. The results from this programme, when combined with the results from the drilling of the 10ha kimberlite J-01 last November, will determine the priorities for large diameter drilling and bulk testing in PL71.

DiamondCorp managing director and CEO, said: 'We are excited by the significant increase in the size potential of the geophysical target at J-12, and we look forward to reporting drill results from both J-05 and J-12 over the coming months. The 10ha diamondiferous kimberlite we have intersected at J-01, and the targets at J-05 and J-12, each have the size potential to host a large open pit diamond mine if grade and carat value prove economic.'

The size of the J-12 target is comparable to De Beers Jwaneng pipe, 9km to the northwest of J-12. Jwaneng was a 54ha pipe at the surface when mining commenced, produces between 12.5 million and 15 million carats per annum, and is the richest diamond mine in the world measured by value.

Prospecting Licence PL71 covering the Jwaneng South project has been renewed by the Botswana Department of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources for a further two year period, following acceptance of DiamondCorp's proposed work programme and a 50% statutory reduction in licence area from 61 sq km to approximately 30 sq km.

DiamondCorp is earning a 77.5 per cent interest in PL71 from Geoperspectives (Pty) Limited by completing a definitive feasibility study on at least one kimberlite by June 2014.

After assessing existing exploration data, DiamondCorp has indicated to Geoperspectives that it is relinquishing its rights to earn an interest in prospecting licences PL59 and PL60 in order to concentrate on PL71.

Once initial core drilling and microdiamond analysis is completed, DiamondCorp will commence planning of large diameter drilling at PL71 in order to determine an indicative grade and diamond value for the kimberlites within the prospect area.

LACE MINE, SOUTH AFRICA

Decline development activities are progressing at the Lace mine, near Kroonstad in the Free State province of South Africa.

Since restarting activities on 20 April, approximately 200m of decline development have been completed. The decline size has been increased to 4.5m x 4.5m, and development activities are now progressing on a three-shift 24 hour basis. Development to date has been completed within budget.

The rate of advance will increase during July as a third LHD is re-commissioned and second 25-tonne low profile dump truck is brought into service. In total, 800m of decline development needs to be completed to access kimberlite at the -240m level, and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010. Advance will slow as the decline reaches the -165m level and intersects an existing haulage between the pipe and the vertical shaft on that level. Once the holing into the existing workings and dewatering on that level has been completed, the decline will continue its advance down to the -240m level.

The Competent Person responsible for the technical information with respect to Botswana contained in this announcement is Mr Paul Zweistra (Pr. Sci. Nat., Registration number 400016/93) a full-time employee of VP3 Geoservices (Pty) Limited. VP3 and Mr Zweistra have given their permission for their work to be quoted in this announcement.

LME copper ticks lower on U.S. debt deadlock

London copper edged lower on Monday on cement prices in north sudanconcern over a deadlock in the United States' efforts to raise its borrowing limit to avert a disastrous debt default, but supply worries due to a strike at the world's top copper mine capped losses. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange eased $10 to $9,665 a tonne by 0101 GMT. It ended nearly flat last week.

Third month copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SCFcv1 dropped 0.4 percent to 71,930 yuan per tonne. U.S. lawmakers failed to achieve a budget breakthrough and instead worked on rival plans on Sunday in an impasse that heightened prospects for a catastrophic U.S. debt fault. There were no signs of a deal emerging to head off a default in about a week that could trigger global economic calamity and downgrade the United States' Triple-A credit rating. U.S. lawmakers missed a self-imposed deadline of producing a deficit-reduction deal by the time Asian markets opened on Monday, but planned to outline a proposal later in the day. A deficit deal is needed to permit a vote to increase the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt ceiling by Aug. 2.

Denel PMP invests in new explosive manufacturing facility

Pretoria Metal Pressings, today opened a new manufacturing facility that will significantly expand its capacity to produce primary explosives for end users in the chemical and mining sectors.

The R10 million facility was opened by the chairperson of the Psandvik mobile crusherMP Board, Ms GabsieMathenjwa and the CEO, Mr Carel Wolhuter at the company’s premises to the west of Pretoria.

Speaking at the opening Ms Mathenjwa said: “PMP is a truly South African company, employs around 1 300 people and provides world-class ammunition to many customers and most notably to the South African National Defence Force and the S A Police Services. Through export, it earns foreign exchange of between R200 million and R300 million annually for South Africa”.

The new investment will expand PMP’s capacity to manufacture lead azide, by 150% to more than 5 tons per month. The main customers are Sasol and AEL, who use the lead azide in the manufacture of detonators for the mining industry.

The investment into this modern facility became necessary for two reasons:

• To respond to the higher demand from PMP’s clients; and
• To reduce risk. The new facility is geographically separate from the existing one, and can function independently.

PMP is one of the large business entities in the Denel Group. The company is internationally renowned for world-class military and commercial small and medium calibre ammunition.

According to Mr Carel Wolhuter, more than 35% of the company’s business is derived from commercial products. These include brass strip, drillbits for the mining industry, hunting ammunition and primary explosives. This baseload enables PMP to be a reliable supplier of small and medium calibre ammunition to the local Security Forces, as well as to various customers around the world.

Mr Wolhuter also emphasized that safety is one of Management’s primary focus areas. The company reached 1 million accident-free hours on 2 September 2011, and boasts a low Lost Time Injury Frequency Ratio of 0,27. This puts it in the top 5% of “safe” companies in the world.

Yanzhou says Gloucester board approves merger

Gloucester Coal has agreed to a 9 percent cut in the cash portion of a takeover offer from China's Yanzhou Coal Mining, gold mining methods used in malaysiareflecting revised debt calculations for the two groups due mainly to a stronger Australian dollar.

Gloucester's board recommended the offer on Tuesday, under which shareholders will receive A$639 million, or A$3.15 a share in cash, and a 22 percent stake in what will be Australia's biggest listed coal miner. That is down from A$700 million in cash and a 23 percent stake in the merged group proposed last December. "The Gloucester Board unanimously believes shareholders should support the proposal as it provides an opportunity to participate in the benefits of creating a world class coal producer," Gloucester Chairman James MacKenzie said in a statement. Yancoal's debt contribution has been reduced by A$300 million to about A$2.4 billion, as a rising Aussie dollar has...