Mining and Exploration

2010 has been a stellar year to date for Rockwell Diamonds Inc. CEO John Bristow talks to Jayne Flannery about the trends and factors moving in the company’s favour.

2009 was an awful year for the diamond industry, with markets recording an unprecedented plummet in prices of around 50 per cent. As the global recession hit, it seemed that diamonds were no one’s best friend. Girls the world over were finding themselves compelled to downgrade and weigh up cheaper options.

By focusing on the potential to develop near-future zinc resources in Poland combined with the potential for new discoveries in Ireland, Rathdowney Resources has created an attractive package for investors. CEO John Barry explained the strategy to John O’Hanlon.

The challenging task of bringing mining projects to fruition isn’t just a question of solving engineering projects, as Alan Swaby learns.

They say that what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. On that basis, the guys at the Chelopech Mine in Bulgaria must be feeling on top of the world.

Dr Doug Jones, managing director and CEO of Chalice Gold Mines Limited, speaks to Jane Bordenave about the company’s work in Eritrea, and the shining opportunities it presents.

The saying “Go West, young man” has been a part of our language for over 150 years; and while its origins may have referred to America’s growing empire, the idea has been followed to the letter by one gold mining company, as Andrew Pelis discovers.

For the past 16 years, Avocet Mining Plc has had its focus on South East Asia, firstly mining tungsten and latterly, gold. However, a major refocus is now underway that has indeed seen the company go west—specifically, to West Africa.

Advent Energy is about to begin drilling the first ever exploration well off the coast of New South Wales, in what may become one of the largest natural gas discoveries of the decade. Ben Sansom talks to managing director David Breeze about the exploration and why the prospects look so good.

The Nigerian unit of Africa-focused oil and gas company Afren has agreed to buy a stake in oil fields in Nigeria from Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Eni.

First Hydrocarbon Nigeria (FHN), in which Afren has a 45 per cent stake, has agreed to buy a 45 per cent stake in OML 26 in the Delta State for $187.5 million (approximately €135 million). The price includes the cost of the acquisition and FHN's share of planned development.

The remaining 55 per cent stake will be held by the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

Thompson Creek Metals has emerged as the sole owner of Terrane Metals Corp. after closing transactions with Goldcorp and Terrane shareholders.

Goldcorp will receive an aggregate of C$240.5 million in cash plus 13.9 million common shares of Thompson Creek (representing approximately 8 percent of Thompson Creek's issued and outstanding shares).

Terrane Metals is an exploration and mine development company focused on the development of the Mt. Milligan copper-gold and Berg copper-molybdenum-silver projects in British Columbia, Canada.

Mining giant Xstrata has said it will spend R4.9 billion (€510 million) to boost capacity of ferrochrome production and cut costs with a more energy-efficient smelter in South Africa.

Xstrata, one of the world's biggest producers of ferrochrome, has approved the second phase of expansion at its Lion ferrochrome complex, which is struggling to meet power needs.

Under the plans, a new smelter will be built with a capacity of 360,000 tonnes per year, boosting the group's overall ferrochrome capacity to over 2.3 million tonnes.

UK oil explorer Max Petroleum has announced the discovery of a zone of oil in a well in Kazakhstan, sending its shares soaring.

Testing at the UTS-1 well on the Uytas prospect in Western Kazakhstan has revealed 16 metres of oil at shallower depths than the current position, with the oil column potentially stretching for 86 metres.

The company said it would now drill ahead from the current intermediate depth of 300 metres to explore deeper targets at around 900 metres, before returning to the shallower zones to test the find.