Kenya to set up gold refinery to help small miners

Eritrean National Mining Corp. has agreed to pay US$32 million for a 30 percent stake in Chalice Gold Mines' Zara gold project, Bloomberg reported Wednesday:

Diversified Australian miner Astra Mining announced on Wednesday plans to list on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange before the end of August after two days earlier inking a deal to enter the Nigerian market and further expand its global presence. Deal-hungry Astra Mining’s global portfolio includes gold and tin interests in south east Asia and southern India, coal mines in Australia, iron ore in India, manganese in Africa and the commercialisation of a new high-strength steel technology from a base in Hungary.

South Africa's MDM Engineering Group has been awarded the increased throughput design update and cost revalidation of the Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for Africo Resources' Kalukundi copper/cobalt project, located in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which borders Zambia to the south. In May 2006 MDM completed a BFS, based on a throughput of 800,000 tonne/year plant, on the Kalukundi project.

Helio Resource Corp. on Monday reported the first diamond drill results from the current drill programme at the Gold Kop Target, on its 100%-owned Damara Gold Project in Namibia. The Gold Kop Target is situated 45km northeast of AngloGold Ashanti's Navachab gold mine. On Monday, Helio which also owns gold projects in Tanzania was trading up almost 5% on the TSX Venture Exchange on the news. The tightly-held company is worth some $44m with 104m shares outstanding.

Ivory Coast can double gold output within two years from the current 7 tonnes per year as more miners seek to tap its estimated 200,000 tonnes of reserves, an industry association official said on Friday. "We can double production very quickly within the next two years, because there are several companies carrying out exploration, and it is likely that new sites could start production," said Michel Mian, president of the Interprofessional Mining Group (GPMCI) and head of Australia's Newcrest (NCM.AX) Ivorian operations.

Rhodium will climb as much as 35% to $2,800 an ounce by the end of the year on increased carmaker demand and production difficulties for mining companies in South Africa where the metal is produced as a byproduct of platinum mining, according to a report by Standard Bank released on Monday. Mainly used in emissions reducing converters and in the chemical and glass industries rhodium is down 14% this year after three annual surpluses but jumped 21% in the week after Deutsche Bank introduced a physically backed exchange-traded product at the end of May. The price of rhodium hit an all-time record high above $10,000 in 2008.

Endeavour's Youga Mine in Burkina Faso produced 20,056 ounces of gold during Q1 2011 at cash cost of $664 per ounce sold1. Endeavour reiterated its production guidance for 2011 with a production target of 84,000 ounces of gold at cash cost of approximately $600 per ounce sold1. At March 31, 2011, the Corporation had cash & equivalents and marketable securities of $196 million and was debt-free.

iverstone Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:RVS)(OTCQX:RVREF)(FRANKFURT:3RV) is pleased to report further results from the drill program on the company's Karma Project in Burkina Faso, West Africa (see map on website: http://www.riverstoneresources.com/i/maps/110608-100504_GG1_2_Cartoon.jpg). The holes are part of an ongoing RC drill program on the Goulagou I zone of the Karma Project. The program is designed to both fill-in and expand the known mineralization at Goulagou I, which remains open in all directions, especially to the west and at depth. Map of the Karma Project by Riverstone Resources Inc.

Bloomberg reports: De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, is considering an expansion of its South African Voorspoed mine to extend the life of the operation by as much as eight years as prices for the gems climb. De Beers will complete a study this year on a proposed expansion that would prolong the mine’s life to “2026 or 2028,” rather than 2020 as currently planned, Mine Manager Mpumi Zikalala said today in an interview at the site near Kroonstad. It’s too early to estimate the cost of the project, which may include an underground section, she said.