Oil sands mining are not typically associated with Africa and the continent's two mega-projects, one in the Congo Basin and another on the island of Madagascar, are running into trouble. The $3bn deal between the Republic of Congo and Eni, Italy's state-owned oil major, runs out this year amid criticism about its lack of transparency and environmental impact. In Madagascar, the partner of France's Total, Madagascar Oil declared a force majeur after the Malagasy government apparently threatened to seize one of the London-listed company's oil fields.

H2O Innovation, a complete water treatment solutions company providing custom designed high performance systems for the municipal, industrial, and natural resources markets, announces today that it has been awarded a major $9.4 million contract by Fort Hills Energy for the Fort Hills Oil Sands Project operated by Suncor Energy Operations. This contract will see H2O Innovation design, build, install, and commission a water treatment package that will provide potable water for the workers of Fort Hills Project currently in development 90 kilometers north of Fort McMurray, Alberta.

The board of Botswana Diamonds (AIM: BOD) is pleased to announce that its geologists have identified sequences of sedimentary rock layers in several localities in the east of its Cameroon diamond licence. These layers include a distinct conglomerate horizon, which is geologically correlated with the paleo-conglomerate that C&K Mining has identified as being diamondiferous.

Thoroughtec has announced that the Rio Tinto Limited project in Mongolia - Oyu Tolgoi - will be using their Cybermine mining simulators to enhance operator skill and safety. The full press release is as follows; for more information see the Thoroughtec website at http://www.thoroughtec.com.

African Barrick Gold said it was not aware of plans by the Tanzanian government to impose a "super tax" on mining profits, responding to reports that the country could introduce a windfall levy. Worries over the tax helped drag the miner's shares down 7.8 percent by 1125 GMT, underperforming a sector battered by fresh concerns over the economic recovery.

The top 40 global mining companies are poised to break through the US$1 trillion asset mark this year, due to record levels of cash, property and equipment on balance sheets, says a new PwC report. In their report Mine 2011: The game has changed, PwC called the financial results of the top 40 "spectacular" as total revenues increased 32% to US$435 billion, breaking the $400 billion mark for the first time.

Edward Lee, President of Molycor Gold, reported that drilling has commenced on its 100% owned Beaverdell Silver property, located 4km southeast of Beaverdell, British Columbia. The exploration program will be focused on the North Kokomo – Tiger and Duncan Bounty vein areas where high grade rock chip samples were taken during an assessment program carried out during fall 2010 up to 61.98 oz/ton silver.

Molycorp, Inc. (NYSE: MCP), the Western hemisphere's only producer of rare earth oxides, today announced that, subject to market conditions, it intends to offer $200 million principal amount of its Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 (the “Notes”) in an offering exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933. The Notes are being offered only to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933. In addition, Molycorp intends to grant the initial purchasers of the Notes an option to purchase an additional $30 million principal amount of the Notes.

The Rapaport Group, global manager of diamond data and international group of companies, has given a thumbs up to India, the world's largest importer of diamond roughs. With the country's polished diamond exports rising 6% year-on-year to $2.04 billion in April 2011, the agency has forecast that India will overtake the United States and become the biggest consumer market for diamond jewellery over the next three years.