THE government has forfeited about 600 mining claims of base metal minerals in the Midlands province in terms of the Mines and Minerals Act (Chapter 21:05).

GOVERNMENT, through Apple Bridge Investment - a special purpose vehicle established to facilitate chrome ore exports - has set prices at which it will buy the mineral from local producers.

The producers in India show a reluctance to reduce prices because the producers suffer from the money-losing production and the rupee becomes strong against US dollar, and there has been no price movement since the middle of September.

Glencore said on Tuesday it was strong enough to ride out current volatility in commodity market, helping to lift the mining group’s shares by a fifth.

Scotiabank’s Commodity Price Index has plunged by 10.5% month-over-month in August, to 91.3, which placed it 13.9% below the April 2009 bottom during the last recession and the lowest level since early 2005.

Gulf Manganese Corporation proposed 53 hectare block of land for its planned manganese smelter in Timor has been officially measured and issued with a Field Map reference catalogue number.

Horizonte Minerals said on Monday that it had bought Glencore’s Araguaia nickel project in Brazil for $8-million.

Afarak Group Oyj, formerly Ruukki Group Oyj, is a Finland-based company active in the steel sector. The Company’s business comprises two production divisions, FerroAlloys and Speciality Alloys, and a sales and marketing operation, RSC Limited. The