Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg is looking to invest in mining projects throughout Africa as his Renova Group moves forward with a large manganese and ferro-alloy project in South Africa.
Vekselberg, Russia’s fifth-richest man, told Reuters in an interview on Friday Renova would complete a feasibility study into the manganese project in the first quarter of 2007.
“South […]

(Corrects company in 10th paragraph whose shares declined.)
David Heydon says the rock he dredged from a mile beneath the sea off Papua New Guinea looked like nothing more than a dull-brown fire hydrant. Inside were veins of copper and gold worth $300.
Two companies exploring the South Pacific seas with new remote-controlled robots are betting rocks […]

Zambian authorities have suspended operations of a Chinese-owned coal mine over safety concerns, a government official said on Friday.
Liven Apuleni, district commissioner of Livingstone City, 480 km south of Lusaka, said underground operations at Collum Coal Mining Industries Ltd had been suspended until management improved safety for its workers.
“Operations at the Chinese-owned coal mine . […]

Local diversified midtier miner Metorex has sold its Wakefield coal operation to black economic-empowered (BEE) miner Shanduka Coal for R425-million, Metorex announced on Friday.
Shanduka Coal is part of the bigger Shanduka group led by politician-turned-businessperson Cyril Ramaphosa.
The transaction was effective from July 1, conditional on governmental and regulatory approvals, including Competition Commission approval and the […]

Every time newspaper publisher Trevor Ncube visits his native Zimbabwe, he said, there seem to be more Chinese. He sees them shopping at boutiques, driving fancy cars, picking up their children from elite private schools.
And as in much of Africa, Ncube said, China’s reach into Zimbabwe’s economy is equally pervasive: The roads are filled with […]