South African Mining Minister Susan Shabangu has revoked the mining rights for a Wild Coast dune mining venture. The move was expedited due to strong opposition from the local community ably backed by environmental and tourism groups.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
President-elect Ollanta Humala of Peru said that the county would respect the existing mining contracts. The price of mining stocks had plummeted on June 6, when the concerns over raising mining royalties and increased government control over natural resources were feared.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
In Tanzania the planning commission is considering introducing a super profit tax in the mining sector which would be similar to Australia’s resource rent tax. The country is amongst the top three gold producing nations in Africa.
Australian miner Newcrest has cut its output estimates for gold in the current year. Newcrest Mining said that a power malfunction at the Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea was the reason why they had downgraded the full year gold production guidance from 2.82 million ounces to 2.7 million ounces of gold in 2011.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gilard was happy with the new mining lease agreement that was signed between Rio Tinto and the Indigenous people this week. The bauxite mine and alumina refinery have been in operation since 1960 but only now have the Aboriginal people been given their due for the use of their traditional lands.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
Fairmont Resources has started the exploration at its Marmion South Contact Property. This property covers 8,208 ha around 200 km west of Thunder Bay in Ontario.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
Molycor Gold has begun the drilling program at its Beaverdell Silver property. This property is situated 4 km southeast of Beaverdell in British Columbia.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
Condor Petroleum has started drilling operations at the Kiyaktysay North-3 (KN-3) in Zharkamys West 1 Territory, Kazakhstan.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
Tintina Resources has announced further initial assay results from the drilling program at its Sheep Creek copper-cobalt-silver property in USA.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
Advanced Explorations (AEI) has finished the initial geotechnical drilling round for the port development study at the Roche Bay iron project in Canada.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
Breitling Oil and Gas has spud the Stepp prospect in Texas in May 2011. The company has planned to drill the Stepp NE well to a depth of around 8600' or to an adequate depth to analyze the Mississippian Chappel reef.
By Joel Scanlon
9 Jun 2011
Africa’s largest copper producing nation, Zambia, has agreed to sell its stake in 2.28% stake in Equinox Minerals for $160 million. This is part of Barrick Gold Corporation’s unconditional approval for taking over Equinox Minerals.
President Obama is being forced to take notice of the mining issues near the Grand Canyon by celebrities. An open letter with signatures of a number of prominent Americans has been printed in the New York Times urging the President to consider the 20 year extension of the mining buffer zone around the Grand Canyon National Park.
By Joel Scanlon
8 Jun 2011
By doubling its fleet of driverless trucks at its iron ore mining operations in the state of Western Australia, Rio Tinto will increase its production to 333 million tonnes annually by the end of 2015. The haul trucks are to be deployed in the largest mine site in the Pilbara region at Yandicoogina.
The Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) after playing a key role in stopping the Rudd government from introducing the Resources Super Profits Tax has decided to set up a fighting fund to finance court challenges against rulings of Fair Work Australia.
By Joel Scanlon
8 Jun 2011