EXPLORATION/PRODUCTION

AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°222 - 10/03/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Hong Kong Court Upholds Debt Claim The Congolese government and the semi-state-owned companyGecamines, which have already lost out on almost half of a USD 50 million entry fee owed by China Railway Group (AMI n°220), have just suffered another setback which could set a legal precedent. (...)  [254 words]  [FREE] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°222 - 10/03/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Genius Minerals Brings Back Copper Mining Copper mining is expected to resume by the end of this year at the Mavoio mine near Maquela do Zombo in Uige province. (...)  [174 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°222 - 10/03/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Semafo Revises Resources Up By 55% Benoît La Salle, the chairman of Semafo (SMF), was smiling broadly during the Mining Indaba, in Cape Town in early February. (...)  [246 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°222 - 10/03/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Areva and Drilling Partner Row over Pollution Tension is rising between Geofor and Areva. The French nuclear group’s subsidiary in Gabon, Compagnie des Mines de Franceville (Comuf), has accused the drilling specialist of having deliberately polluted the Mounana site in the north west of the country with chemicals. (...)  [225 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°221 - 24/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION For Bamako, Not Only Gold Glitters Mali, Africa’s third largest gold exporter with annual production of 50 tonnes, of which just 4 tonnes come from small scale mining, is increasingly betting on other substances to reinforce its status as a new destination for minerals. (...)  [233 words]  [FREE] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°221 - 24/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Kinshasa Readies for International Arbitrage On February 12 the Congolese minister for the plan, Olivier Kamitatu, announced that the government of Congo would abide by the decision of the Paris International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Arbitration Court in a case against it brought by First Quantum Minerals (FQM) of Canada. (...)  [237 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°221 - 24/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Highland to Resume Tantalum Mining Highland African Mining (HAM), a subsidiary of Noventa Ltd, registered in Jersey and run by John N. (...)  [192 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°221 - 24/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Rio Tinto Targets Western Province’s Iron Ore Rio Tinto seems taken with iron ore in Western Province, which contains 5 billion tonnes according to the Agence Nationale de Promotion des Investissements (ANAPI). (...)  [181 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°220 - 10/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Commission Clears Way For TFM Accord TFM can almost cry victory. The Congolese Parliament’s Economic and Finance Commission, chaired by Modeste Bahati Lukwebo, recommended in mid-January that the government sign the contract that has been renegotiated for Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), a joint venture between Freeport McMoRan (57. (...)  [306 words]  [FREE] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°220 - 10/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION As RusAl Struggles, Beijing Waits in the Wings RusAl has 45 days to abide by the clauses in the articles of association of Compagnie des Bauxites et Alumine de Dian-Dian (Cobad) after a warning sent to it by Guinea’s minister for mines Mahmoud Thiam on February 5. (...)  [275 words]  [$5.4]   AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°222 - 10/03/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Make-Over in View for Mining Conventions? The mining sector in Niger faces uncertainty following the coup perpetrated on February 18 by the military junta led by Squadron Chief Salou Djibo. (...)  [351 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°222 - 10/03/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Way is Clear for BHP Billiton Inga Project A decision by energy ministers from countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to put the Western Corridor Joint Venture Company (Westcor) into liquidation by June leaves the way open for BHP Billiton. (...)  [267 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°222 - 10/03/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Top Names to Feature at First SIM Senegal has decided to wheel out the big guns for the launch of the Salon International des Mines (SIM), which is to take place from April 12 to 15, just as the country celebrates 50 years of independence. (...)  [167 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°222 - 10/03/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION FQM and IFC Turn Up Pressure over KMT First Quantum Minerals Ltd (FQM) and its partners in the Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings (KMT) project, in particular the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, and South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), are ratcheting up the pressure. (...)  [248 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°221 - 24/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Areva Again Tries to Cool Bangui’s Anger The more time passes, the less likely it seems that French nuclear group Areva will begin mining this year at the Bakouma deposit in the south east of the Central African Republic. (...)  [395 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°221 - 24/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Red Back Mining Revises Up Reserves The Canadian gold company Red Back Mining Inc. (RBM), quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange, is in an expansion phase. (...)  [231 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°221 - 24/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Industry Watches Habits of Young Chinese The buoyancy of the platinum sector continues apace. The reason for this is still the insatiable demand from China, the biggest buyer of platinum since 2000. (...)  [244 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°221 - 24/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Zogota Iron Ore: A Clarification from BSGR Following our article in the February 8 issue of Africa Mining Intelligence (AMI nº220), BSGR wishes to state that to its knowledge, to date, “the interim government of Guinea has no intention «of targeting» BSGR or «unvalidating» the [Zogota] convention. (...)  [234 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°220 - 10/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Cabinda Projects Delayed After Attack As a direct consequence of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda’s (FLEC) attack on the Togolese football team travelling to an Africa Cup of Nations match in Angola on January 8, mining projects in areas far from the provincial capital are to be delayed or even postponed. (...)  [283 words]  [$5.4] AFRICA MINING INTELLIGENCE n°220 - 10/02/2010 EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION Mystery of Chinese Firms’ Entry Fees In a report given to Congo’s deputies in mid-January, the Congolese parliament’s Economic and Finance Commission accuses some managers at Gecamines with “conniving with the local judiciary in Lubumbashi”. (...)  [200 words]  [$5.4]