Off The Wires

ZANU-PF criticised Impala Platinum and Aquarius Platinum for proposing to cut 100 jobs at their jointly held Mimosa platinum mine.

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.

Gecamines, the Democratic Republic of Congo's copper deposit, sold its Chabara mine permit to Glencore for $10m as it sought to meet transparency rules.

Tony Hayward has been appointed chairman of Glencore Xstrata, a role he currently holds on an interim basis.

Chinese group Shandong Iron & Steel Group bought 75% of African Minerals' Tonkolili mine in Sierra Leone for $170m and will spend $600m expanding it.

Coal of Africa has completed a share placement and loan agreement with China's Yishun Brightrise Investment raising a combined $24m for its Makhado project.

The National Union of Mineworkers failed in a court bid today to halt the planned retrenchments of 3,300 workers at Amplats' Rustenburg mines.

Transnet Freight Rail, a division of Transnet, said the Richards Bay coal line will shut for 12 days for annual maintenance and expansion development reasons.

Universal Coal said it had secured R525m in debt from Investec Bank to fund the second phase of its New Clydesdale Colliery.

Australian gold junior, Stonewall Mining, which mines gold in South Africa's Mpumalanga province, said it was considering a Johannesburg listing.