This deserted African mining town is almost flooded by sand… and ghosts

In late morning trade shares in Miraflores-based Portage Resources had gained more than 12% after announcing a 10:1 future stock split that would, after cancellation of some of the shares held by its CEO, bring the total number in issue to a whopping 4.45 billion. When MINING.com reported on Portage Resources a fortnight ago the counter had gone from 2c to 65c a share in the matter of three months. The explorer has been snapping up properties in Peru hitting pay-dirt with reserves of 58 million ounces of silver at one of them. Portage is a prime example of how volatile stocks in juniors miner can be: its 52-week high is $1.24 and despite Monday's 12% jump to 32c, the stock is worth half of what it was just five trading days ago.

Global giant Caterpillar Inc. announced on Monday plans to significantly expand its remanufacturing facility in West Fargo, North Dakota. The increased capacity will help meet the strong demand for remanufactured drive train components for large off-highway trucks and other mining equipment, including final drives, transmissions, torque convertors and steering clutches. The $50 million investment will include a 225,000-square-foot addition that will house increased production capacity for high-tech machining and metal additive processes, as well as a state-of-the-art metallurgical lab. 85-year old Caterpillar boasts annual sales in excess of $40 billion.

SF Diamond Co., a Chinese maker of drill bits and cutting tools, gained the most since its trading debut in Shenzhen more than five months ago after saying first- half profit rose 7 percent from a year earlier. SF Diamond’s first-half earnings report implies a 53 percent increase in second-quarter net income from a year earlier, compared with a 57 percent decline for profit in the first-three months of the year. The company, based in the city of Zhengzhou in central China’s Henan province, said first- quarter profits fell partly due to one-time expenses associated with its listing.

Workers in South Africa's coal sector are expected to return to their posts on Tuesday after the unions and the SA Chamber of Mines signed a two-year wage agreement, ending an eight-day strike. 150,000 workers at miners Anglo American Thermal Coal, Delmas Coal, Exxaro Coal Mpumalanga, Kangra Coal, Optimum Coal and Xstrata Coal were on strike over wages. Talks with striking workers in the country's gold sector, where 200,000 workers are on strike continued on Monday. Mineworkers are asking for a 14% wage increase – far above the inflation rate in Africa's largest economy which hovers around the 4% level.

Two separate accidents at mines in Ukraine have claimed the lives of 37 miners, Reuters reported Sunday: Rescue work ended on Sunday at two Ukrainian coal mines where accidents killed 37, and the former Soviet republic held a national day of mourning. An explosion in a mine in the Luhansk region early on Friday killed at least 26 people and injured two, according to an updated report on the Emergencies Ministry website. Also early on Friday, 11 miners died and four were injured at a state-owned mine in the neighbouring Donetsk region when a piece of heavy machinery collapsed.

Sunday's resignation of a state-level Indian politician brought down by a fraud scandal related to iron ore exports is likely to shake the confidence of foreign investors in Canada, says a top Indo-Canadian banker. Hari Panday, founder of the ICICI Bank in Canada, urged the Indian government to explain its mining policies to Canada — the "mining guru of world" — as well as to important mining jurisdictions Australia and South Africa.

A grassroots movement opposed to coal-seam gas (CSG) mining got a boost of star power on Saturday, when 70s pop singer Olivia Newton-John panned the controversial practice. The Australian singer, who starred alongside John Travolta in the hit movie-musical Grease, launched a scathing attack on the mining industry after learning several sites near her luxury Byron Bay resort were under threat, The Sunday Telegraph reported. In an open letter to Australians warning about the health effects of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, Newton-John says she is "horrified to learn of the extensive plans for coal-seam gas and shale gas exploration in Australia." Image of Olivia Newton-John is from Wikimedia, by gdcgraphics.

A giant Afghan iron ore deposit may provide hope for the prosperity of the country, but the Afghan government is not able to ensure the mine is managed properly and profiteering warlords could spark further violence, a graft watchdog said on Sunday

Mining and exploration company Firestone Diamonds has announced a financing plan that will raise £13.5 million and provide updated development plans for its diamond mining and evaluation projects in Lesotho and Botswana.