Mining and Exploration

One South African mining company is producing a refractory material on whose properties the world’s iron and steel producers depend.

In the production of iron and steel, refractory materials fall into the category of consumable commodity—hovering somewhere in the background until all the glamorous hard work has been done and the melted, smelted, refined liquid metal needs moving in a refractory lined vessel from one part of the plant to another.

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

The Wealth of Nationsby Adam Smith. It reveals the theories that have inspired powerful economic and social changes in the world.

Someone you would most like to have met, living or dead, and why?

Warren Buffet. I admire thisbillionaire investor’s unique approach to management and investment. The opportunity might arise in the near future to have lunch with him and potentially do business together.

In a collaboration with Genesis Soils, dust control and soil stabilization specialist PennzSuppress has announced the introduction of PZS/Bio-Gen.

Due to the increased need for aggressive mine tailing remediation and erosion control, PennzSuppress D has been combined with mycorrhizal fungi and beneficial bacteria and grass seed in a liquid combination which virtually eliminates the need for traditional hydro seeding applications in most situations.

Richard Kelertas, senior vice president, corporate development, explains why the Dallol Project in Ethiopia is perfectly placed to satisfy the growing demand for potash.

The race is on to satisfy accelerating world demand for potash, and in this Olympic year Allana Potash is in gold medal position as its Dallol Project in the Danakhil region of Ethiopia has the finishing line in sight.

London-listed Petra Diamonds has announced that the IFC has agreed to a $25 million loan to expand Petra’s Finsch Diamond Mine in South Africa.

Petra said that given the lead times between its now larger diamond tenders (after the acquisition of the Finsch mine) and the volatility experienced over the last 12 months of both the rand and diamond prices, the new revolving credit facilities will give it additional scope and flexibility to execute its capital expenditure programme and bring its stated production and revenue growth opportunities to fruition.

London-listed Heritage Oil has invested £541 million in a number of assets in Nigeria, it has been announced.

The company is buying a 45 per cent stake in OML 30, a producing oil mining lease in Nigeria, from Shell, Total and ENI, as well as a 45 per cent interest in other assets under the OML 30 joint operating agreement.

OML 30, located onshore in the Nigerian delta, includes eight producing fields and associated infrastructure, including a segment of the 850,000 bopd-capacity Trans Forcados pipeline.

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited has built a reputation for itself as a leading producer of gold in South Africa and Papua New Guinea. With a commitment to both stakeholder value and corporate responsibility, the company is setting the gold standard for ethical mining in these regions.

Gold Fields Ghana is not only committed to ethical and sustainable mining but is also spearheading a national conservation programme as part of its vision to become a global leader in sustainable gold mining.

Maersk Oil, the petroleum arm of Denmark’s AP Moller-Maersk, is to drill a new exploration well on the Maja licence in the Danish North Sea.

The move comes after the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) granted Maersk a two-year extension to two licences in the region.

The Maja licence is situated near the Maersk Oil-operated Harald gas field and 40 kilometres north of the licences operated by the Danish Underground Consortium. The well will be drilled in water depths of 50 metres and to a total depth of around 5,000 metres.

Mining giant BHP Billiton has approved investment of US$845 million to establish a replacement mining area at its Appin Mine in New South Wales, Australia.

The replacement mining area will sustain operations at Illawarra Coal and will have a production capacity of 3.5 million tonnes per year of metallurgical coal, sustaining production capacity at nine million tonnes per year.