This podcast is brought to you by the Bearing Man Group - South Africa's finest source of quality engineering components and expertise.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon O'Donnell.

Making headlines today:

Fairfax mining analyst John Meyer said that Anglo American suitor Xstrata has strong institutional shareholder backing for its merger proposal and will gain further support for the deal despite Anglo's rejection.

Xstrata spokesperson Claire Divver told Mining Weekly Online, however, that she couldn't comment on media reports that Xstrata was taking its merger proposal to Anglo shareholders. This is after being disappointed and surprised by Anglo's outright rejection of its "merger of equals".

RBC Capital Markets credit research analyst Miriam Hehir told Mining Weekly Online that any hostile approach by Xstrata was likely to require a "sweetening" of the current proposal.

Anglo's outright rejection of Xstrata's overture has, meanwhile, won the enthusiastic support of South African labour - and also the South African government, which has condemned the proposed merger as "unacceptable, unhealthy and uncompetitive".

New Mining Minister Susan Shabangu said in her first budget vote that illegal mining was a commercial crime and had to be dealt with as such.

The minister commented that these illegal activities were becoming more sophisticated by the day, risking the lives of the illegal miners, mine employees and mine property.

She noted that the recent and widely reported incidents of unnecessary loss of lives at a shaft in Welkom, was a clear indication of the magnitude of the problem facing the industry.
More than a hundred illegal miners have died in South Africa's mines this year.

A South African Parliamentary committee has proposed that the country's mining laws be improved to include legislation to criminalise illegal mining.

Also making headlines:

South Africa will develop a new business model for the State Diamond Trader.
Australian gold miner Catalpa Resources agrees to a merger with smaller peer Lion Selection's gold assets.
South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal plans a role for small coal exporters.
And, the provisionally liquidated gold junior Pamodzi receives two offers for all of its stricken gold mines.

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories please visit miningweekly.com.