London, England --- 17 May 2012 - Global mining giant Anglo American has made a priority of its struggling platinum business, admitting earlier this year that the world's largest primary producer ‒ Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) ‒ is underperforming in the face of soaring costs, imposed safety stoppages and weak demand.
 

London, England --- 17 May 2012 - Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited has resumed trading in coal derivatives more than a decade after parent Royal Dutch Shell exited the coal business and sold its mines.

Attributing this to sources close to the company, Reuters reported that Shell had declined to comment. Shell actively trades power, gas and carbon so the move back into coal fills a gap in the energy markets it trades and will enable more effective spread-trading and hedging, they said.

Johannesburg, South Africa --- 17 May 2012 - Gold Fields Limited ‒ the world's fourth-largest gold producer ‒ has reported an 18% fall in quarterly earnings, albeit above expectations, as output and the bullion price in South African rand both declined.

Sydney, Australia --- 17 May 2012 - Paladin Energy Limited ‒a TSX and ASX-listed uranium production company with two operating mines in Africa ‒ says it is confident of an early return to full production at its Kayelekera mine in Malawi, where workers have been on strike since last weekend.

Maputo, Mozambique --- 16 May 2012 - Italian energy firm ENI has announced a new natural gas discovery of up to 10-trillion cubic feet off the Mozambican coast.

“This discovery is particularly significant since it confirms a new exploration play, which is independent of those drilled so far in previous of our Mamba wells,” ENI said in a statement here quoted by Fin24.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania --- 16 May 2012 - African Barrick Gold has announced that it will pay the Tanzanian government an additional one percent in royalties, citing the current gold price environment.

Reuters reports that the company ‒ which is a unit of the world's largest gold producer Barrick Gold Corporation ‒ said in a statement issued here that the new royalty would be in addition to its prevalent three percent rate stipulated in its existing mineral development agreements with the government.

Sydney, Australia --- 16 May 2012 - Paladin Energy Limited ‒a TSX and ASX-listed uranium production company with two operating mines in Africa ‒ has announced that agreement in principle has been achieved for a return to work by striking employees at its Kayelekera mine in Malawi.

Vancouver, Canada --- 16 May 2012 - International mining company Great Basin Gold took its first, tentative steps towards turning around its South African gold development asset, the Burnstone mine, meeting its gold production targets for the first quarter of 2012.

London, England --- 15 May 2012 - U.S. explorer Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has discovered a major new gas field off the Mozambique coast ‒ a development which could trigger a bid battle for one of its partners, Cove Energy.

Reuters reports that a company statement issued here said the Golfinho discovery in northern Mozambique might hold more than 20 trillion cubic feet of gas, and would underpin a plan to develop a world class liquefied natural gas export operation in Mozambique.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania --- 15 May 2012 - A fall in national gold production caused by rising operational costs because of unreliable power supply is making Tanzania's dream to be among the four biggest gold producers in Africa increasingly difficult to realise.

Tanzania, which competes with Mali to be Africa's third-biggest gold producer, is now facing uncertainty regarding a position in the top four producers, leaving the way clear for Mali to take third place, according to an “East African Business Week” report from Kampala, monitored by allAfrica.com.

Maputo, Mozambique --- 15 May 2012 - The government of Mozambique is preparing to open up new blocks in the Rovuma basin in the north of the country, which will be offered under concession to companies interested in prospecting for hydrocarbons.

Macauhub News Agency reports that revealing this here, Mozambique mining resources minister, Esperança Bias confirmed that the government was also checking to see if any areas were still available in Tete province to grant coal surveying licenses.

Lusaka, Zambia --- 15 May 2012 - Australian-based and listed African Energy Resources has discovered another coal resource close to the two existing mines in the Sinazongwe area of Zambia’s Southern Province.

The “Times of Zambia” newspaper, quoted by allAfrica.com, reports that the company has unearthed the prospective coal mine near the Maamba Collieries and Collum Coal Mine, and is examining the possibility of adding it to the firm's African coal inventory.

Cape Town, South Africa --- 14 May 2012 - A task team report on the effect of Section 54 safety stoppages at South African mines after fatal accidents has been completed and will be released at a yet-to-be-scheduled industry stakeholder meeting.

“The report is coming out and we think it is sufficient to inform us on how best we cooperate, but I can indicate the key issue is about the extent to which we understand Section 54 as the various stakeholders,” said minister of mineral resources, Susan Shabangu.

Miningmx reports that this followed the release by the Department of Mineral Resources of mine fatality figures for April – the lowest ever according to Shabangu – with three deaths reported during the month. She said this was due to the Mining Inspectorate’s intensified enforcement measures.

Chief inspector of mines, David Msiza, told Miningmx that the number of Section 54 stoppages had decreased significantly at mines where CEO’s had visibly become involved in promoting safety measures. “We believe if CEOs are at the coalface it will send the correct message to employees,” Msiza said.

Meanwhile, court action over a Section 54 stoppage at Northam Platinum has been dropped, according to a company spokesperson.

Northam brought an application for an urgent interdict following a safety audit in March, in which the company was issued a Section 54 notice to close the mine. The Labour Court provisionally ruled in the employer’s favour.

“Post the Section 54 having been set aside both the DMR and Northam’s representatives have agreed to engage constructively to establish a more collaborative approach to enhance safety,” said a company spokesperson.

Johannesburg, South Africa --- 14 May 2012 - All is quiet at Northam Platinum’s Zondereinde mine in South Africa’s Limpopo province, and management has announced that smelting operations have been suspended.

Confirming this here, Miningmx quoted the company as saying that this followed a run-out which occurred subsequent to a rebuild of the furnace end-wall in April.

London, England --- 14 May 2012 - Platinum producer Lonmin says the company’s first-half pre-tax profit fell to US$18 million from US$159 million a year ago, hit by rising costs, weak European demand and safety stoppages that weighed on its production over the six months.

Reuters reports, however, that the world's third-largest platinum producer has stuck to its 2012 guidance for costs and to its production target of 750,000 platinum ounces, in the event of no further abnormal production interruptions from safety stoppages, labour and community unrest.