The insurgence of Niger Delta militants continued yesterday, as unidentified gunmen blew up the Tebidaba oil pipeline, belonging to Italian oil giant, Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), in Southern Ijaw local government area of Bayelsa state.

It was announced last May that the Activox Refinery project being built near Francistown by Tati Nickel, a subsidiary of Russia's Norilsk Nickel, was to be postponed indefinitely.

The future of the 461 ex-employees of Debswana, who were fired in 2004 gets bleaker every day, as the resolution to their case continually shifts into the distant future.

Seven companies and one individual have been selected in a tender to prospect for diamonds in the basin of the Save river, which marks the conventional boundary between southern and central Mozambique.

Albert Milton has been appointed the General Manager of Morupule Colliery Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Debswana Diamond Company, with effect from 1st of August 2008.

Australian explorer Impact Minerals has struck a strategic alliance to explore for and develop nickel-platinum deposits in southern Africa with World No. 2 global platinum producer, Impala Platinum.

The government is trying to attract cement companies into the country, as it responds to a growing demand from uranium mines and to a backlog in housing, Steve Motinga, Director of Industrial Development in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, says.

NamPower has turned to the mining sector to break protracted negotiations on the sale and buying agreement of Kudu gas with Tullow and Eskom.

According to the preliminary report of the Central Statistical Office of 1991, the rural areas account for 58 percent of the population while the urban areas account for 42 percent.

RIDGE Mining, the London-listed company building a $200m platinum mine at Blue Ridge near Groblersdal in Mpuma- langa, is talking to several parties about financing a second project, the nearby $707m Sheba's Ridge mine.

THE good news from Eskom's results is that it does not anticipate any further power cuts this winter.

THE Competition Commission said yesterday it had uncovered a cartel in the steel industry, which it believed involved all producers in the industry.

Angola's Oil minister Desidério Costa Thursday ended a 24-hour visit to Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

THE FLAGBEARER of the main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor John Fiifi Atta Mills, has accused the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of being the cause of the rift between illegal miners, and mining companies in the country.

The number of companies seeking licences for mineral exploration has increased tremendously. According to Energy and Minerals minister William Ngeleja, an average of 500 licences were issued every month in the 2007/08 financial year. The previous financial year, it was an average of 240 a month.

PLATINUM processor Braemore Resources' shares hovered at 92c after its debut on the JSE yesterday, its price set initially by London's AIM market, where it holds its primary listing.

Hana Mining Ltd. (TSX-V: HMG) has appointed Kgosiemang Keith Molosiwa as Country Advisor in Botswana.

The Mozambican government is putting the map of all mining licences in the provinces where there is substantial mining activity on-line, so that it can be consulted by anyone with an Internet connection.

PRODUCTION has resumed at Trans Hex's 32%-held Fucauma diamond mine in Angola at the rate of 3000 carats a month after a two-month closure while a new management agreement was negotiated.

THE TIMING of platinum processor Braemore Resources' secondary listing on the JSE yesterday was unfortunate but, given the time taken to obtain regulatory approvals, unavoidable.

THE resources sector still held value even though evidence of "demand destruction" in precious metals such as platinum and gold had started to emerge, said Gary Quinn, portfolio manager at Prudential Portfolio Manager, at a presentation in Johannesburg yesterday.

Prof. Ibrahim Gambari's volte face at the weekend on his appointment as chairman of the Steering Committee of the proposed Niger Delta Summit by President Umar Yar'Adua is very interesting. Interesting in the sense that in the final analysis, most people conversant with the issues of the Niger Delta and those that know Prof. Gambari fairly well, will not but give him kudos for yielding at last to ...

Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has called on exporters to ensure that their ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) application forms are duly filled for easy processing and acceptance.

Dutch brewer Heineken's R7-billion brewery, which is being built in the Sedibeng District Municipality, will go a long way in helping the provincial government fight poverty and create more jobs.

TWELVE Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) workers were yesterday dismissed for allegedly disrupting work at the Nkana Integrated Business Unit (IBU) as other workers resumed work after a one-day go-slow.