Petra Diamonds revenue up as production, sales jump

The world’s fourth-largest platinum miner Aquarius Platinum increased its attributable production by 3% year-on-year to 114 260 platinum group metal (PGM) ounces, but CEO Stuart Murray said on Tuesday volumes from South African operations fell short of the company’s expectations. Challenging conditions at Kroondaal, Marikana and Everest mines negatively impacted on production, but Murray said operations were now moving towards normal production.

CDE have announced the addition of Pilot Crushtec to their global distributor network with responsibility for South Africaand sub-SaharanAfrica. Pilot Crushtec will promote the full range of CDE washing equipment including the Evowash sand washing plant, Prograde screens, M2500 mobile washing plant, Rotomax logwashers and Aquacycle thickeners.

PGM prices have been given a lift by the latest EU debt agreement but, while Europe remains a focus over the medium term, for now problems in major supplier, South Africa, are likely to come into focus.

Zimbabwe's state media has reported that the state mining corporation says it is paying government employee raises this month with revenues from controversy-mired diamond fields in eastern Zimbabwe.

Namibia's Ministry of Environment and Tourism has granted environmental approval for the linear infrastructure for the proposed Husab uranium project to Extract Resources subsidiary Swakop Uranium. The approval, covering access roads, electricity, telecommunications and water supply, is the final environmental approval needed for the project. The project mining area received environmental approval in January. Extract is now waiting to receive a mining licence from the Ministry of Mines, according to managing director Jonathan Leslie.

Bloomberg reports BHP workers in Chile voted Sunday to extend their strike at the world’s largest copper mine. Stoppages at BHP’s Australian coal operations may resume this week. Thirty thousand South African coal mine workers including Anglo American and Xstrata employees walked off the job Sunday and may be joined by 160,000 gold industry workers. Strikes that started over the weekend are impacting output from mines of diamond giant De Beers. Workers are seeking a larger slice as global producers report record earnings: Melbourne-based BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, is expected to report full-year profits of $22.5 billion next month, almost double 2010’s net income. Xstrata may report record 2011 profit of $7.3 billion and Anglo American $7.4 billion, estimates show.

About 150 000 South African coal workers seeking 14% wage increases plan to walk off the job from Sunday in a strike that could dent exports and hurt power supplies in Africa's largest economy. Hundreds of thousands of union workers have downed tools in recent weeks, or are threatening to do so, seeking raises double or triple the 5% inflation rate in the mid-year bargaining session known locally as "strike season".

Africa's biggest gold miner AngloGold Ashanti said on Friday it would acquire a 19.79 percent stake in Canadian gold and uranium producer First Uranium Corp for $30 million. AngloGold said it would buy the stake, which consists of 47 million shares and priced at $0.64 a share, from South Africa's Village Main Reef Gold Mining.

Namibia plans to raise its mining tax to 44 percent from 37.5 percent but said the hike will not apply to diamond mining companies, the ministry of finance said in a statement on Friday. The ministry said the country is facing volatility in its key revenue sources and is looking to strengthen revenue collection.