It is fair to say that until recently Kenya was not generally renowned for being a destination for mining investment. However now, with the world’s eyes focused firmly on Africa as an epicentre for mining activities, Kenya is emerging as a location of particular interest in the wake of developments that have proven that the country does indeed hold significant mineral-based potential.

Since we last spoke to Roman Crookes, project manager of the R105 billion Medupi power station, he has refereed a game of two halves. The press has had a field day throughout the three years since June 2010, and any observer could be forgiven for thinking the site has been a battlefield. However in every problem lies an opportunity, and it was good to get a chance to hear firstly about the achievements of the project, then about the good that has come from the setbacks that have been encountered.

Located at the eastern end of the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in the province of Seville, Spain, Cobre Las Cruces (CLC) is a highly innovative open pit mine and the first industrial installation of its kind to operate within Europe.

Providing direct employment to 800 employees, as well as generating approximately 1,500 indirect jobs, CLC represents a major €840 million industrial investment into an area that also spans the Spanish provinces of Badajoz and Huelva, and extends through the south of Portugal.

The Swedish firm, famed for its flat-pack furniture and huge warehouse-like stores, announced a rise in global sales of 3.1 percent to 27.9 billion euros for the year, with like-for-like sales rising 1.8 percent during that period.

The company pinpointed Russia and China as the sources of some of its strongest growth, while also insisting that significant progress continues to be made in the US as well.

The purchase of Devex will work to strengthen Hexagon Geosystems’ market position and technology in the mining sector by complementing its established Leica Geosystems Mining business.

The licence has been granted by the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines following a detailed review by it and other government departments of the Project’s Feasibility Study and Environmental, Social and Health Impacts Assessment (ESHIA), which was approved in May 2013 by the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority and Ministry of Mines.

Having been founded under the name of New Millennium Capital Corp, it was in June 2011 that the company changed its name to emphasise its transition towards being a producer of iron ore. With that New Millennium Iron Corp. (NML) came into being.

With a head office located in Calgary, Alberta, and corporate offices in Montreal and St. John’s, NML has evolved over the course of the last decade, growing from being a capital pool company into an emerging producer controlling one of the largest iron ore resources in the world.