[img:Strike%20-%20Pic%201_0.jpg|Eskom power ‒
the strike is off]Johannesburg, South Africa --- MININGREVVIEW.COM --- 05 July 2010 - The South African mining industry is one of the main sectors of the economy to breathe a sigh of relief, following the weekend announcement by trade unions that they have called off a planned strike at the power utility Eskom.

The unions made the announcement after receiving a higher wage offer, ending concern about power supplies during the football World Cup. Widespread power cuts could also have dented mining and manufacturing companies' output in South Africa, which is the world's top platinum and fourth-largest gold producer.

[img:BHP%20-%20ston_0.jpg|Sulphide ore at BHP
Billiton’s Mount Keith
mine prior to crushing,
grinding and flotation]Melbourne, Australia --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 23 December 2009 - BHP Billiton Limited ‒ the world’s biggest mining company ‒ has stated emphatically that it has no plans to exit nickel mining, and will not be selling its Australian and Colombian nickel assets.

[img:Arcelor%20burn_0.jpg|The electric arc furnace
at ArcelorMittal’s production
site in Luxembourg]London, England --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 23 December 2009 - ArcelorMittal ‒ the world’s biggest steelmaker ‒ says it may buy more mines in 2010 to increase its supply of iron ore as prices for the raw material used to make steel are expected to rebound.

[img:Baluba%20-%20Pic%201_6.jpg|The Baluba copper
mine in Zambia]Lusaka, Zambia --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 23 December 2009 - Zambia's Chinese-owned Baluba copper mine is planning to double its annual finished copper output to about 40 000 tonnes per year over a period of five years starting in 2011.

Luo Xingeng ‒ CEO of China Nonferrous Mining Corporation (CNMC), which owns the Baluba mine ‒ said the company was planning to raise output from the 21 000 tpa the mine had produced before its closure.

[img:Zambia%20fac_0.jpg|Luanshya copper mine
in Zambia]Luanshya, Zambia --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 23 December 2009 - China Non-Ferrous Metals Mining Corporation has announced that it has  resumed output at the Luanshya copper mine in Zambia, and adds that it aims to produce 20 000 metric tonnes of finished copper next year.

Revealing this to reporters at the mine here, CEO Luo Xiangeng said the company planned to increase output to about 40 000 tonnes during the next five years. The mine has a current throughput of about 5 000 tonnes of ore a day.

[img:Zim%20land_0.jpg|An overview of
Blanket Mine in
Zimbabwe]Toronto, Canada --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 22 December 2009 - Canadian-registered Caledonia Mining Corporation – an African focused mining company which owns the Blanket gold mine in Zimbabwe – has announced that the mine has received a renewed Gold Dealership License which enables it to continue exporting gold directly to the refiner of its choice.

[img:Mali%20-%20pour_0.jpg|Gold pour at the
Randgold Resources
Loulo mine in Mali]Bamako, Mali --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 22 December 2009 - The West African state of Mali ‒ Africa's third biggest gold miner ‒ estimates that it will produce 52.4 tonnes of gold in 2010, earning the country 130 billion CFA francs during the year.

Announcing this here, the deputy head of the mines and geology department in Mali's ministry of mines, Waly Diawara, confirmed that the projected output for 2010 would show a slight increase over the 49.5 tonnes the country would have produced by the end of 2009.

[img:Firestone%20-%20Pic%201_3.jpg|DMS crusher and
scrubber at the Tawana
operations in Botswana]London, England --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 22 December 2009 - Firestone Diamonds plc ‒ a UK-based and AIM-quoted international diamond mining and exploration company with operations in Botswana and South Africa ‒ has entered into a joint venture agreement with Tawana Resources NL involving Tawana’s kimberlite exploration and evaluation projects in Botswana.

[img:Gabon%20-%20Pic%201_0.jpg|Libreville ‒ capital
of Gabon, which will
produce its first
gold in 2011]Libreville, Gabon --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 22 December 2009 - The state of Gabon ‒ one of the more prosperous countries in West Africa due largely to its off-shore oil production ‒ is scheduled to produce its first gold in the next two years.

Groupe ONA ‒ the personal investment fund of Morocco’s King Mohammed VI ‒ revealed here that its 75%-owned unit in Gabon had been awarded a licence to mine gold in the south-east of the country.

[img:Blackthorn%20-%20Pic%201_3.jpg|Foundations being
prepared for Blackthorn’s
Perkoa plant]Sydney, Australia --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 21 December 2009 - Blackthorn Resources Limited ‒ an Australian-based resources company with a diverse portfolio of African assets including zinc, gold, copper, nickel and platinum group metals ‒ has announced that it has been granted renewal of its 100%-owned exploration permits covering the Bonzan and Naboue permits in Burkina Faso.

[img:Chinese%20-%20st_0.jpg|Tanks at Firstgold’s
Relief Canyon process
plant]Washington D.C., United States --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 21 December 2009 - United States mining company Firstgold still hopes to complete a partnership deal with the Chinese despite American national security concerns that could cause President Barack Obama to block the transaction.
 

[img:Mandela%20-%20Pic%201_0.jpg|Zondwa Mandela,
Managing Director,
Aurora Empowerment
Systems Limited]Johannesburg, South Africa --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 21 December 2009 - Twenty-six-year-old Zondwa Mandela ‒ grandson of former president Nelson Mandela ‒ plans to list the gold company that he runs on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange during the first quarter of 2010.

[img:Quake%20-%20Pic%201_0.jpg|Aerial view of the
process plant at
Paladin’s Kayelekera
mine in Malawi]Blantyre, Malawi --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 21 December 2009 - Two strong earthquakes hit northern Malawi and southwestern Tanzania over the weekend, with the U.S. Geological Survey’s initial reports indicating no serious damage or injuries.

Reuters reports from here that a 6.2 magnitude quake hit 135 km south of the town of Mbeya in Tanzania at a depth of 6.2 10 km. Another earthquake 15.2 km deep and measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale struck the uranium-rich Karonga district of northern Malawi, but once again there has been no material impact on the Kayelekera uranium mine in the area.

[img:Michael%20soloman.thumbnail.jpg|Michael Solomon ‒
re-instated as CEO
of Wesizwe]Johannesburg, South Africa --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 18 December 2009 - Shares in emerging new generation platinum miner Wesizwe Platinum Limited have risen the most in six weeks after the exploration company revealed that its shareholders had voted to reinstate former CEO Michael Solomon and director Robert Rainey.

[img:Wilkins%20-%20Pic%201_0.gif|Former Barrick Gold
president and chief
executive Greg Wilkins]Toronto, Canada --- MININGREVIEW.COM --- 18 December 2009 - Barrick Gold Corporation ‒ the international gold industry leader with a portfolio of 26 operating mines and a pipeline of projects located across five continents ‒ has announced that its former president and chief executive Greg Wilkins has died