RioZim demands $92m from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

TimesLive reports diamond giant De Beers plans to put hazardous waste - and up to 1,000 prisoners - into its disused property and diamond mines in the picturesque Namaqualand region (depicted), in the northwest of South Africa. The company, which also had to settle a two-week strike over wages on Thursday, said the projects were just two of several potential business ideas for the disused old mine areas and that the Department of Minerals have asked for further public consultation and an impact study. Last month De Beers concluded a deal with the state power utility Eskom to build a 150MW wind farm on a large stretch of coast north of Kleinzee, one of two towns that form part of the De Beers properties.

Sesa Goa, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, on Saturday said it will buy 51% stake in an iron ore making firm in Liberia for $90 million in an all-cash deal. Located in Western part of Liberia and spread over 270 sq km area, the company has an estimated reserve of over 1.05 billion tonnes iron ore. Vedanta's investment follows iron ore giant ArcelorMittal which after five years of ground work started operations at the country's Tokadeh mine earlier this year and is spending $800 million in the first phase of the project to rehabilitate the rail link and port. ArcelorMittal exported the first iron ore from Liberia after a 20 year hiatus on June 11 from the port of Buchanan.

The Economic Times reports Botswana is the world’s biggest rough diamond producer by value in 2010. According to statistics release by the Kimberley Process, a UN certified scheme, despite Russia producing more rough diamonds in 2010 at 34 million carats worth around $2.38 billion, Botswana’s 22 million carats mined in 2010 were worth around $2.59 billion — $210 million dollars more than Russia.

According to a new report by Research & Markets high uranium prices, paralleled by growing global demand for energy, will result in Namibia doubling its uranium production to approximately 12,000 tonnes by 2015 from the 5,300 tonnes the country produced in 2009. Namibia's extensive uranium deposits, coupled with the expansion of existing mines, will result in the country's uranium production increasing sharply in the short to medium term.

A wage agreement between De Beers Consolidated Mines and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has been signed, the diamond producer said on Thursday.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG), which owns the world’s deepest mine, will within two years trial new mining methods in South Africa to access almost $118 billion worth of gold lying more than three miles underground as it expects gold prices to keep rising from this year’s record. The world’s third-largest gold producer wants to gain access to an estimated 70 million ounces of gold more than 3.1 miles below the surface to extend the lives of its South African mines. The metal is worth $117.6 billion at current prices.

AngloGold Ashanti reported record quarterly profits on Thursday of $342 million, up a whopping 68%, boosted by the precious metal's longest winning streak in almost a century. The world’s third-largest gold miner cut production guidance by over 4% and said it expected its cash costs to rise as much as $80/oz however. The Johannesburg-based company's CEO said the gold market is entering "a perfect storm" and that gold could “easily” break through $1,700 an ounce. December gold reversed its record setting pace by midday on Thursday to trade at $1,661.70 after touching $1,684.90 in early trade.

Up 103% since the start of the year stock in Allana Potash Corp, advancing a project in Ethiopia was trading steady on Thursday after the company announced it had intersected strong potash mineralization in an area not previously drilled at its 160 square km Dallol project in Ethopia. Listed on the TSX-Venture exchange Allana's East Africa project has the backing of the World Bank and most the latest announcement comes on the heels of a string of discoveries at its land position in Dalol, part of the Danakil Depression (pictured).

Base metals miner Metorex is expected to delist from the JSE in early December, following the completion of a takeover by Chinese group Jinchuan which made a R9.1bn ($7.3bn) offer for Metorex last month. Jinchuan said that the acquisition of Metorex provided it with an opportunity to acquire a scalable African copper producer with a strong management team and substantial growth potential.