Mining and Exploration

High pressure grinding rolls offer financial and environmental benefits to mine owners over more conventional crushing and grinding technology—and in Australia, one supplier is leading the market.

Take-up on alternative technologies within the operational side of the mining industry can sometimes take a while to gather momentum; but when the financial and environmental benefits are made clear, the case for adoption becomes hard to resist.

Swakop Uranium is about to develop Namibia’s largest uranium deposit. CEO Norman Green talks about the challenges of the project and how the company is protecting the sensitive desert environment.

Following the recommendation of Xstrata’s board of directors to its shareholders to back the merger terms offered by the commodities trader, a vote will now be held on whether to accept the offer of 3.05 Glencore shares for every Xstrata share.

Should said offer by accepted, the merger is expected to bring together the respective strengths of the two companies, thus creating a unique natural resources company boasting a virtually unparalleled level of experience, industry know-how and expertise.

Mineral Processing Manager Greg Rasmussen talks about the role of one of the leading exponents in new mining technology in the introduction of new ideas to the industry.

Ralph Waldo Emerson promised that if we built a better mousetrap, the world would beat a path to our door. It’s a common theme, though, within the mining industry, that customers aren’t so easily weaned away from the technology they know and love.

Part of a strategy by the government to counteract the loss of oil revenue following the session of South Sudan in 2011, the Sudan Gold Refinery is expected to produce more than 328 tonnes of gold per year.

According to the Reuters news agency, Sudan hopes to sell gold worth up to $3 billion this year, a figure that works out to double that of 2011’s gold revenue. The refinery, which will also process silver, is the first project of its kind in Sudan and the second in Africa for producing and extracting the two minerals with high quality and purity.

Gold Fields aims to be the global leader in sustainable gold mining. That does not mean staying in business for ever; but rather leaving behind a viable economy, a clean environment and a thriving community.

One of Turkey’s most important home-grown mining companies is weathering the decline in demand for chromium ore and continuing to supply its customers year-round.

Fortescue Metals Group has seen its share price rise by up to 17 percent after the Australian miner confirmed it had secured a $4.5 billion credit facility to pay down debts and boost liquidity. What this means is that the company has effectively extended its repayment deadline for its to debts to November 2015.

Temporary power generation and temperature control services provider Aggreko has officially opened its new service centre in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

The new facility was formally inaugurated by Honorable Willem Isaak, Deputy Minister of Mines of Namibia and Martin Foster, head of local business, Aggreko Southern and East Africa. Cleophas Mutjavikua, the governor of the Erongo region, was also in attendance. 

The facility is Aggreko's sixth service centre in Southern and East Africa and is the first operation to be based in Namibia.

Nobody’s perfect. What quality or ability do you wish you had?

I wish I had the ability to choose the right employees and the patience to train them. It seems anytime I find the right person, they get hired away from our small company and those that want to stay don't always develop skills.

What is the best business book you have ever read, and why?