Sibanye counts hit to earnings as strike at gold mines drags on

Chinese investors are turning their focus to emerging economies as they look to expand their demand for commodities and switching away from Australia and Canada, which are getting too expensive.

EU regulators are stepping up scrutiny of the mooted $90 billion merger of the commodities trader and coal giant and the whole vetting process could take until early 2013. That is if the deal goes ahead at all.

The Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate, is said to be investigating a joint venture with South African coal producer Increase Coal.

Randgold Resources (LON:RRS, NASDAQ:GOLD) shares fell close to 13% this morning after a military coup in Mali, where the company has three gold mines that account for most of its bullion production.

Mining company boss Steve Letwin was ecstatic when he struck a precedent-setting deal with the Canadian government to work together on a training project for African youth. “I think it’s the model of the future,” says the president of IAMGOLD Corp., the Toronto gold miner that operates the biggest mine in the West African country of Burkina Faso.

The drive by major ferro-chrome producers to get the South African government to impose a $100-per-tonne export tax on chrome ore is meeting resistance.

Recently, I read an article about how Congo born, Dikembe Mutombo, an all-star NBA defender, was nicely scammed in a fake gold deal.

African diamond mining and exploration company DiamondCorp Plc., has received validation for its development plan at its Lace mine in South Africa, from SRK Consulting, an independent local consultant.

TSX- and JSE-listed Rockwell Diamonds on Monday reported the successful completion of “robust” negotiations with black economic-empowerment (BEE) partner Africa Vanguard Resources (AVR) following a restructuring of the deal.