Afrcan Barrick Gold Mining (ABG) faces a multimillion court battle following its draconian choice taken two years ago to freeze payments to Mwanza based firm, Simba Pipe Line, under the claim of frauds. In 2009 ABG suspended all contractor who were supplying goods and services at its Buzwagi Gold Mine, claiming that it had detect serious frauds in the supply chains, and ordered internal inquiry to take place immediately.

Two years after the investigation report was issued, no any supplier was taken to court to answer charges of frauds, but one company has been forced to close down its operations in Mwanza after failing to service the debt it rented from various banks.

While this is happening ABG has resumed business with all the suppliers it claim did business dishonestly with its Buzwagi Gold Mine, raising a concern whether the claims were part of the conspiracy to punish some suppliers in Lake zone or not.

Simba Pipe Line which was forced to close down after ABG froze its $1 million payments in 2009 has never received any bureaucrat inquiry report stating how it deceitfully traded with Buzwagi as claimed by ABG headquarters in Dar es Salaam and Johannesburg.

“We have not been charged by ABG before the court of law or being shown the so called evidence, but our expenditure has been frozen for two years now. We think this was a smear campaign to ruin us financially.” An official from Simba Pipe Line who declined to named because he is not the authorized spokesperson told.

Following the move, Simba Pipe Line has hired lawyers in Dar es Salaam in order to file civil suits against ABG in which the Mwanza based firm want the London listed firm to pay almost 2 million including attention rates, and other losses suffered by the firm during that period.

The Mwanza based firm says it has reached the decision to file the suit after various attempts to recover its billions failed, adding that command notice has already been sent to ABG informing the latter that it faces a court battle should it fail to pay the amounts within the given period.

Simba Pipe Line Ltd was among the top suppliers that supplied goods and services during the construction of $400 million Buzwagi Gold Mine, but was blacklisted in 2009 after ABG officials from headquarters claimed that they detected some deceitful dealings.

After the move, Simba agreed to wait for six months pending the outcome of the inside initiated inquiry initiated by ABG, before making any move. By Mid 2009, Simba wrote officially to ABG stating clearly that since the exploration was conducted and nothing concrete came out, it therefore needed to be paid the pending amounts.

In a verbal response, ABG said payments would be unconfined soon after verification of various invoices was complete and approval obtained from headquarters in Johannesburg. Two years down the lane neither Dar es Salaam office nor Johannesburg headquarters has issued any payments, forcing the Mwanza based solid to close down its business after deteriorating to service bank loans as well paying a range of suppliers.

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Redpath, one of the world’s leading mining contractors, has launch its committed Australian coal mining division as it aims to location itself as one of the country’s leading mining contractors. This coincides with Redpath Australia’s first devoted coal mining contract, a major coal drivage process based in central Queensland.

This project was won on the back of Redpath’s innovative work on the Kestrel Mine Extension (KME) project which is located near Emerald in Queensland. According to Rob Nichols, CEO of Redpath Australia, Redpath aims to use its extensive metalliferous, raiseboring and civil mining experience to apply new concept and innovations to its coal service contribution, with the aim of making serious inroads into the sector.

“Developing a dedicated coal mining operation has been a long term goal for Redpath as we look to found ourselves as a full turnkey service mining contractor,” said Nichols. “We have already trialled some exhilarating innovations at the KME project to great success, and we look forward to lashing new thoughts and ideas into the coal sector.”

An example of Redpath’s innovative approach to coal mining includes the unique sliding floor technology it residential for the KME project. By using hydraulic rams to move the floor in a caterpillar like sequence to allow it to act as a base for the bridge conveyor and ventilation duct system and extension systems, the system reduces the potential risks for accidents and ensured that Redpath’s payment to the KME project was without incident.

“We residential the sliding floor specifically for the KME project and it is just one example of the pioneering new direction we are look to take the mining company,” said Nichols. “We took an innovative approach to the KME project, which was the key to us securing our first contract in coal, which we wait for to be part of even further growth for Redpath over the coming months.”

The new contract requires 12.5 km of coal drivage mining to be completed over two years, equating to 180 m/week with 77 personnel operating the site. According to Gavin Ramage, the newly chosen General Manager for Coal at Redpath Australia, while determined, the new project’s targets are attainable as he looks to raise the bar for Australian contract mining performance and safety.

“We are more than convinced that we can deliver as promised within two years thanks to our strong internal structure and safety management systems,” said Ramage. “This is the first of a number of new projects that we are looking to secure and despite only just launching, our coal division is previously looking to drive some serious growth for the company in 2012 and beyond,” he added.

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Rambler Metals and Mining plc enjoyed a 2.5% bump in its stock price Thursday on news that the Toronto and London-listed Company has poured the first gold from its Ming Copper-Gold Mine in Newfoundland/Labrador, Canada.

Gold milling began on Nov. 28 and commercial production is set to begin at the end of 2012, Rambler stated. The Mining Company has 3,509 tonnes of ore stockpiled at an average score of 4.10 g/t gold,with an additional 78,599 tonnes of having been blasted, drilled, developed or designed.

“Having the Ming Mine in manufacture is a significant milestone for the company while we will see first revenues from our gold sales in early 2012.These revenues should allow the company to make stronger its assets position over the coming months,” President and CEO George Ogilvie said in a declaration. Rambler has $3.4 million in its kitty and another $5 million available upon release of an off take agreement.

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Vancouver-based Rubicon Minerals has passed a key hurdle in its plan to expand the Phoenix gold plan in Red Lake, Ontario. The Mining Company announced Dec. 2nd that the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines has approved its closure plan, meaning further edifice of the mine can proceed.

President and CEO David Adamson called the support a “significant milestone” considering the initial discovery was made only three and a half years ago. Three more permits are still outstanding, and those are predictable to be granted by the end of 2012 says Rubicon. The gold mine would begin producing in 2013.

Agnico-Eagle, a gold producer with three mines in Quebec, as well as the Canadian territory of Nunavut, Finland and Mexico, paid $70 million in July for a 9.2% stake in Rubicon Minerals. The capital injection was intended to be used by Rubicon for searching drilling and other expansion work at Phoenix, which is predictable to contain 477,000 indicated ounces of gold graded at 14.5 g/t, and 2.3 million ounces inferred at 17 g/t. The deposit is in close immediacy to Goldcorp’s Red Lake mining, Canada’s largest gold mine and one of the world’s richest gold mines and lowest cost producers.

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The Philippines said on Thursday it will offer 30 coal exploration projects that may need total savings of $600 million at a tender to be held in the first quarter of 2012, as it aims to boost local supply and diminish costly fuel imports.

The potential coal sites are located in the central and northern Philippine provinces, where mining is not yet banned.We have recognized 30 coal blocks that are ready for exploration. Bids shall be nearby before the end of March, Energy Undersecretary Jose Layug told reporters.

He said the Energy Department will assess the bids within 90 days and exploring each block may require investment of about $20 million, although the figure needs to be verified. The Southeast Asian country, which imports most of its oil supplies, produced a total 7.33 million tonnes of coal in 2010, including 7.02 million tonnes from Semirara mine in the central Antique province.

Semirara, owned by conglomerate DMCI Holdings Inc, is the country’s only large-scale coal producer. With local output not adequate to meet domestic demand, the country last year imported a total 10.97 million tonnes of coal, including 10.6 million tonnes from Indonesia.

The Philippines also bought coal mining last year from Australia, Vietnam, Russia and the United States. Coal for power generation accounted for 72.5 percent of the Philippines’ total coal expenditure of 13.31 million tonnes last year. Coal is also used in cement manufacture.

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Franco-Nevada Corporation announced today the closing of its earlier announced public contribution of 9,200,000 common shares, including the full exercise of the over-allotment option, at a price of C$42.50per Offered Share for collective gross proceeds to the Mining Company of C$391,000,000.

The Offered Shares were sold on a bought-deal basis through a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets and included CIBC World Markets Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc., UBS Securities Canada Inc., GMP Securities L.P., Merrill Lynch Canada Inc., TD Securities Inc., Credit Suisse Securities, Inc., National Bank Financial Inc., Scotia Capital Inc., and Pollitt and Co. Inc.

The Company proposes to use the net proceeds from the contribution for acquisitions, working capital and general corporate purposes. Franco-Nevada Corporation is a gold-focused royalty and stream company with additional interests in platinum group metals, oil gas and other assets.

The Mining Company has a diversify portfolio of high margin assets along with a growing pipeline of development assets with exposure to some of the largest gold discoveries in the world. Its business model benefits from rising product prices and new discoveries while restrictive operating and capital cost inflation. Franco-Nevadahas declared growing free cash flow and dividends. It is the gold investment that works.

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The Indian government set up a group of ministers to look into the future new draft Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011. The cabinet careful the advice of the GoM and has accepted the draft MMDR Bill, 2011 on 30 September 2011.

The benefit sharing model proposed in the new draft MMDR Bill, 2011, is appropriate for all mining leases, including those in tribal areas. The draft mining bill provides for suitable compensation for all exploration behavior to be allocated to the person or family holding occupation or usufruct or customary rights on the area of examination, minister of state for mines Dinsha Patel conversant the Lok Sabha in a written reply.

All mining leaseholders, including public sector undertakings and private sector companies have to make annual contribution to a district mineral foundation set up at the district level. For raw materials other than coal, this amount is corresponding to royalty while for coal this would be corresponding to 26 per cent of profit and for minor minerals, a sum arranged by the state government.

A portion of the amount paid into the district mineral foundation would be used to make recurring expenditure to people overstated by mining related operations. All mining companies should allot at least one share at par to each person of the family affected by mining, so as to give an intelligence of ownership in the venture.

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Canadian gold royalties company Franco-Nevada aims to raise C$340-million in an equity offering, it said on Tuesday. The TSX- and NYSE-listed firm said it would use the cash for acquisition, working capital and general company purposes.

BMO Capital Markets would lead the syndicate of underwriters that agreed to obtain on a bought deal basis eight-million shares at C$42.50 apiece – 5% discount to the stock’s closing price in Toronto on Tuesday.

Franco-Nevada said the underwriters had the option to buy a supplementary 1.2-million shares if there was an over-allotment, which would bring the collective gross proceeds up to C$391-million if exercise in full. The offering was set to close on November 30, the company said.

Toronto-based Franco-Nevada pays money upfront to mining companies for the right to buy some of their precious metals by-product for a fixed cost. The firm, lead by CEO David Harquail, also provides funding for mining projects in return for royalties. It employs the model with some oil and gas projects.

The company earlier this month announced a 444% rise in third-quarter earnings to $44.1-miilion as it benefitted from its earlier acquisition of Gold Wheaton and higher metal prices. The mining company ended the quarter with working capital of $420.3-million and no debt or hedges.

Shares in Franco-Nevada leapt 6% higher to close at C$44.71 on Tuesday. The company announced the bought deal finance after the market closed. The stock has gained 34% over the past 12 months. The share contribution is subject to conditions, including support by the Toronto Stock replace and securities regulators.

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The former hydro-mining operator at Pike River says he left the mine after only three months because he was concerned it could blow up. Masaoki Nishioka from Japan was giving corroboration at the Royal payment into the explosions in the West Coast mine last November that killed 29 men.

With 40 years’ international experience, Nishioka is an expert in hydro mining techniques where a jet of high-pressure water is used to break up the coal face. This is a complex process, and like all underground mining, is hazardous because methane gas seeps out of the coal.

Nishioka told the Commission he joined Pike River in July last year and wasn’t frightened.I did not see any strong guidance, neither strong organization,he said. One month before the November 19 bang, Nishioka left Pike River because he was worried it could blow up at any stage.

He said his reasons for leaving were high methane levels around the hydro monitor, pressure to create more coal, insufficient gas drainage, inadequate ventilation and the fact there was no second exit for workers.

Nishioka said he told management his concerns but did not believe they had the ability to fix the problems, so he left.Nishioka told the Commission several members of the association team put pressure on workers to manufacture more coal, even though methane levels were high and the ventilation system wasn’t working properly.

And he said when Peter Whittall, who was the Pike River Coal chief administrative, offered staff bonuses, the heaviness was even greater. Outside the hearing, Bernie Monk, spokesperson for families of Pike River victims, said he thinks aeration, rawness and the rush to get coal was the issue all the way through at Pike River.

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