2merkato

Vale South Africa Exploration Ltd, the second largest metal mining company in the world, secured an industrial mining exploration licence in the Southern Nations Nationalities (SNNPR) and Peoples Region after depositing one million dollars in a closed book account last week.

The company acquired a 1,822sqm plot of land in Konso, SNNPR. And it seeks to explore cobalt, nickel and copper.

Before it applied for the mining licence, Vale South Africa Exploration Ltd had acquired last year a prospecting licence to assess SNNPR's potential. 

Gold supplied by traditional miners reaches 7,000kg

Ethiopia earned 175 million dollars from the export of 3.6 tonnes of gold (153 million dollars) and 187 tonnes of tantalum (22.5 million dollars) in the fiscal year to 7 July 2011.

All the gold was exported by MIDROC Gold, a subsidiary company of MIDROC Ethiopia, Gebregzabher Mekonnen, mining licensing and supervision core process owner with the Ministry of Mines, said.

Centamin Egypt, Egypt's major gold producer offered a 'fair valuation' for Sheba, which owns several concessions in the resource-rich northern Ethiopia.

Centamin Egypt announced that it offered a recommended 12 million dollars for a small gold exploration company operating in Ethiopia, thereby expanding its reach outside of Egypt.

Midroc Gold Mine Plc said that it had discovered a new gold deposit estimated 33,000kg in the Jilaye area of Metekel Zone, in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State.

The gold deposit was discovered seven years after the launching of the exploration activity on a 2,292 sq km area, Dr Arega Yirdaw, the CEO said yesterday.