Off The Wires

West African nation, Ivory Coast, is to dismantle 148 illegal mining sites in an effort to stem violence and environmental destruction in the country.

HSBC lifted its rating of AngloGold saying that the company produced a solid operating performance in the third quarter.

De Beers is to sell more of diamonds it mines in Namibia to local cutters and polishers rather than abroad.

Eskom dismissed a rumour it had informed the South African government the country was close to a blackout as a "malicious hoax" that first went viral in April.

A letter from Zimbabwe's mines secretary, Francis Gudyanga, instructs the country's diamond producers to sell their gems to the government so it can raise a loan.

UASA said South African gold producers tabled "a good opening offer" in wage negotiations last week, but the deal's five-year term was too long.

South32 was open to buying Anglo American's stake in Samancor, the South African-based manganese producer in which it is the joint venture partner.

The Workers and Socialist Party has hit out at former trade unionists for failing to negotiate a living wage for miners in the past.

Trans Hex said it would retrench 125 employees at its Baken and Bloeddrif mines in the Lower Orange River of the Northern Cape province.

BHP Billiton would not close down production as its rivals, including Glencore, had done because its assets were high-margin.