Anglo’s top shareholder to call vote on assets sale plan

The South African government has ok'd a $443-million platinum mine located north of Rustenburg.

Gold dropped more than $57 or 3.4% an ounce in early afternoon trade while ever volatile silver tanked more than 6%. Platinum crashed through the $1,600 an ounce level and palladium fell almost 4%.

Production at Blanket in Zimbabwe doubled and the Toronto-based company said it paid direct and indirect taxes, royalties, licence fees, levies and other monies to the Government of Zimbabwe totalling $13,6 million.

Gold’s been knocked down lately, but several enduring factors have conditioned the yellow metal for an inevitable comeback.

South Africa took a step closer on Thursday to create a standalone mining company that will take charge of the government's role in the country's rich resources and with ambitions of becoming involved in the continent's mining sector.

The Business Standard reports now that platinum trades more in line with the gold price, Indian jewellery buyers are moving back into gold.

A new survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit finds when institutional investors interested in frontier markets were asked to choose two regions out of five, two-thirds see Africa – projected to be the fastest growing region on the planet this year – as holding the greatest opportunity.

Shares in Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (LON, ASX: AQP), the fourth- largest producer of the metal, dropped 11% this morning in Johannesburg, the deepest decline since October 2008, after the company announced that Zimbabwe has rejected a joint proposal with Impala Platinum Holdings Ltd. (PINK:IMPUY) to meet local ownership rules.

The Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines says the government's hike of pre-exploration fees for the majority of minerals – by as much as 8,000% – together with increased royalty rates will cripple the industry.