Africa

Rio Tinto’s Richards Bay Minerals operation is South Africa’s largest mineral sands producer. (Image courtesy of Rio Tinto.) Rio Tinto Group’s new $463 million mining project in South Africa will remain on hold until the security problems that halted work two years ago are resolved. Richards Bay Minerals, the South African unit of Rio Tinto, is in talks with the country’s authorities to permanently address violent protests around its operations before resuming work on the Zulti South project, said Werner Duvenhage, RBM’s managing director. RBM was forced to halt work at...

Thor Explorations Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: THX) (“Thor” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with Barrick Gold Corporation (“Barrick”), which terminates the 2015 Earn-In Agreement between Thor and Acacia Mining PLC (Acacia Mining PLC has subsequently been acquired by Barrick), on the Central Houndé Project (the “Project”) in south-western Burkina Faso (the “Agreement”). Following the signing of the Agreement, Thor has acquired Barrick’s 51% ownership of the Project in exchange for a 1% Net Smelter Royalty. Thor now holds 100% of the Project. The...

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has discontinued some major market indices, including the closely watched gold index, to reflect the change in prominence of some companies and sectors in the economy, it said on Tuesday. The JSE Ltd follows international standards of classification of sectors and it modified some indexes to reflect a more realistic and detailed evolution across sectors, JSE said in an emailed response to Reuters. Under the modified index, it has decommissioned gold and platinum indexes and has moved all of them, including diamond mining companies, under...

TORONTO/JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s Anglogold Ashanti does not need to pursue mergers and won’t add scale for its own sake, its interim chief executive said on Wednesday, tamping speculation it could take part in further consolidation of the sector. https://c5x8i7c7.ssl.hwcdn.net/vplayer-parallel/20210209_0916/ima_html5/minimal.mp4 Interim CEO Christine Ramon declined to comment directly when asked about a potential tie-up with Gold Fields during a roundtable at the Mining Indaba Virtual Investment Programme alongside Froneman and Barrick Gold head Mark Bristow. Consolidation can bring benefits including operational synergies, but can also add complexity and costs, she...