New era for Barrick Gold begins

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.

Anglo American (LON:AAL) can officially take over De Beers as the European Commission granted the global miner authorization to proceed with its acquisition of the world's biggest diamond company, announced in November.

MONACO, March 6, 2012 /CNW/ - Endeavour Mining Corporation ("Endeavour" or the "Corporation") (TSX:EDV, ASX:EVR) is pleased to announce it has entered into a definitive agreement with Resolute Mining Limited ("Resolute") (ASX:RSG) for the sale and transfer of its 40% interest in the licenses and associated property comprising the Finkolo Joint Venture (the "Finkolo JV") in Mali for total consideration of $20 million in cash.

Glencore on Monday expressed surprise over health and environment officials in Zambia's decision to immediately close a Mopani copper operation over complaints from residents of a nearby town. The London-listed commodities giant is also set to appear before a British inquiry over tax avoidance in the developing world.

If 2011 was a near-record year for mining mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with over 2,600 deals worth $149 billion announced in the global mining sector, 2012 will be remembered as the year of the “African Renaissance,” concludes the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers’ report released this morning.

Two of Zambia's largest copper mines, Glencore's Mopani and Xstrata's Kansanshi were shut over the weekend; the former over health concerns and the other after workers downed tools.

Australia, Canada, South Africa and many more countries are courting a small, transient, global workforce of engineers, geologists and metallurgists to keep their mining, oil and gas, and energy operations running. What can these major corporations do to secure the right talent? If you’re Rio Tinto, you turn to content marketing.

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.

Zambia Daily Mail reports that workers at the Kansanshi copper mine have gone on strike.