World economy in deep trouble

Washington – (Reuters, Pedro Nicolaci da Costa) The global economy is on edge – and that’s without the US “fiscal cliff.” Among rich nations, the US outlook remains the least troublesome. But given a recession in the eurozone and a recent contraction in Japan, that’s not saying a lot.

Expert laments state of SA mining

Johannesburg (By: Mzwandile Jacks – Fin24) – South Africa’s resource sector continued to de-rate because of the risk associated with the mining sector, according to a Cape Town-based fund manager. Johnny Lambridis, a fund manager at Element Asset Management, said this had been driven by the miners’ strikes that have engulfed the sector in recent months.

Gold Fields takes $1.5bn demerger loans

London (Reuters, 2012-12-03) – Barclays, Credit Suisse and JP Morgan have underwritten a $1.5bn financing package to back Gold Fields’ demerger of two gold mines and refinance existing Gold Fields [JSE:GFI] debt, bankers said on Monday. The three banks have opened a $900m loan to participation by other banks and will hold the remaining $600m as a bridge loan to a planned bond issue, the bankers said.

IMF halts Congo loan over mining contract concerns

Dec 3 (Reuters) – The IMF has halted $240 million in planned loans to Democratic Republic of Congo for failing to publish mining contracts as requested, the IMF’s representative in Congo said on Monday. President Joseph Kabila, grappling with a costly war in the eastern borderlands, had sought to woo investors with promises to tackle rampant corruption.

Rio Tinto to axe $7bn in costs; sell more assets

Like its peers, Rio Tinto has been cutting costs, reviewing other projects and closing coal mines in Australia due to depressed commodity prices, high costs and the strong Australian dollar. MELBOURNE/SYDNEY, 29 Nov 2012 (Reuters) – Rio Tinto aims to axe $7 billion in costs over the next two years and sell more assets to cushion against weaker commodity prices, while at the same time beefing up output in its lucrative iron ore business.

Conflict minerals not fueling M23 rebellion

johannesburg (Osisa.org) – The capture of Goma by M23 rebel forces is the latest demonstration of the ineffectiveness of the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its army (the FARDC). Whatever the political machinations behind the military’s most recent capitulation may be, the overarching themes are the longstanding institutional and governance weaknesses of Congo’s central authorities – weaknesses that the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW) has highlighted multiple times in its reports and analyses.