Zimbabwe`s gold production plunged by 64.5 percent in October compared to the same period last year, the Chamber of Mines said Wednesday, underscoring the woes of the once-vital industry.

Gold output in October was 125 kilogrammes in October, down from 352 kilogrammes in the same month last year, the chamber said.

Zimbabwe`s gold production plunged by 64.5 percent in October compared to the same period last year, the Chamber of Mines said Wednesday, underscoring the woes of the once-vital industry.

Gold output in October was 125 kilogrammes in October, down from 352 kilogrammes in the same month last year, the chamber said.

Safety conditions in Romanian mines came under scrutiny Sunday after the country`s deadliest mining accident in recent years left 12 dead and 13 injured.

`This is too big a tragedy not to wonder about the causes,` said President Traian Basescu, who travelled overnight to the scene.

GOMA, DR Congo, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Seven people were killed and eight injured when a tunnel collapsed on illegal miners digging in workings in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official said Saturday.

Dieudonne Tshiku, administrator of the Walikale district, 90 kilometres (55 miles) north of the Nord-Kivu provincial capital of Goma, said local people had pulled the victims out after the collapse happened on Thursday.

He said an investigation had been launched into the accident at the workings operated by the Mining Processing Company.

MOSCOW, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - At least seven people were killed after going down in an abandoned mine in south Siberia, the Russian emergency situations ministry said Sunday, according to the Interfax news agency.

Local officials said 19 people on Friday went down into the mine which had been closed in 1996. Seven left the mine by themselves, three were hospitalised with injuries, one wasfound alive, while seven were found dead and one is still missing.

Ministry officials later said that up to 22 people could have gone down into the mine.

GABARONE, Oct 20, 2007 (AFP) - The world's richest diamond mine, which produces up to 15 million carats a year, celebrated its silver jubilee in Botswana on Friday amid concerns about the growing cost of diamond mining.

'When these gemstones are cut and polished, they produce eight million pieces of jewellery in a year. This means over the last 25 years Jwaneng mine's diamonds have been worn by over 100 million customers all over the world', said Gareth Penny, chief executive of De Beers, the world's biggest mining company.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - South Africa's mining industry, which records an average of 200 fatalaties every year, is seeking to reduce death rates by at least 20 percent by 2013, the chamber of mines said on Thursday.

'To be world class by 2013, an annual milestone of reducing fatality rates by at least 20 percent a year is needed,' the chamber's chief executive Zoli Diliza said in a report to a conference on sustainable development in mining.

'Mining is dangerous, but this is no excuse for harming people,' he added.

ZUG, Switzerland, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) - Swiss mining giant Xstrata said on Wednesday it has approved a nickel mining project in New Caledonia with a local partner worth a total 3.8 billion dollars (2.7 billion euros).

Xstrata will fund around 80 percent of the investment and will receive in return the same percentage of cash-flows generated by the Konimabo mine over the next 25 years, a spokeswoman told AFP.

'The project will be funded through Xstrata's internal cash revenues and ongoing strong cash flows from the group's operations,' the company said in a statement.

SHANGHAI, Oct 15, 2007 (AFP) - The bodies of 16 workers buried alive after an explosion in an east China mine have been found, state media reported Monday.

Rescue workers were still searching for three more miners trapped after Saturday's explosion in Jiangxi province but there was little hope they were alive, Xinhua news agency reported.

The blast in the Jianxin mine, which has a history of problems due to high concentrations of gas, happened while 283 miners were working in the pit, it said.

BOGOTA, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - A rock slide at an open-pit gold mine in Colombia has killed at least 21 people, officials said Saturday.

Another 24 people were injured in the accident that occurred on Saturday morning in Suarez, in the country's southeast, Jairo Amaya, head of civil defense for the Cauca region, told AFP.

The casualty toll was expected to rise as between six and 10 persons remained unaccounted for, authorities said.

But rescue work was suspended late Saturday because of rain and darkness. It was expected to resume on Sunday.

BOGOTA, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - A cave-in at a gold mine in Colombia has killed at least 21 people, officials said Saturday.

Another 24 people were injured in the accident that occurred on Saturday morning in Suarez, in the country's southeast, Jairo Amaya, head of civil defense for the Cauca region, told AFP.

The casualty toll was expected to rise, authorities said.

Carlos Gomez, with the Cauca government, said local residents had begun mining on their own account in an area with no security measures in place, local radio reported.

TOKYO, Oct 13, 2007 (AFP) - Two Japanese mining firms will invest up to 1.7 billion dollars in jointly developing copper production bases in Peru and Chile to secure supplies amid growing demand worldwide, a report said Saturday.

Nippon Mining and Metals Co. and Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. plan to build the facilities by 2011 to produce up to 250,000 tonnes of copper ore a year, the leading business newspaper Nikkei reported.

The project will be undertaken by Pan Pacific Copper Co., a joint copper smelting venture set up by the two firms last year.

YANGON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Military-ruled Myanmar said Thursday it will hold a new auction of gems and jade next month, despite calls for a boycott on precious stones from the country.

The official New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the sale would take place from November 7-19, the fifth such auction this year.

The announcement came in the wake of a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that left at least 13 dead and drew international condemnation, in the biggest anti-government rallies in nearly 20 years.

JAKARTA, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - An Indonesian court has thrown out a lawsuit brought by a mining executive against the New York Times over reports the firm dumped toxic waste into an Indonesian bay, lawyers said Thursday.

Richard Ness, an executive with US mining giant Newmont, sued the newspaper and one of its reporters for more than 64 million dollars for defamation over articles published in 2004.

The stories alleged Newmont polluted the bay with tonnes of waste from its now-defunct gold mine on the island of Sulawesi.

WASHINGTON, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - American jewelers asked the authorities Wednesday to effectively plug a legal loophole allowing gems mined from Myanmar to be sold in the United States despite punitive sanctions against the military-ruled state.

Myanmar-mined gems are exported to the United States by third countries such as Thailand, where the precious stones are cut and polished for jewelers, industry officials said.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - Four South African mineworkers died in two separate incidents on Wednesday, the day after the country's main mining union threatened to launch a strike over the safety of its members underground.

A spokeswoman for the Gold Fields company said three miners had been killed in an accident at the Kloof gold mine, west of Johannesburg, and a fourth had died in a rock fall at another complex to the south of Johannesburg.

The first incident at the Kloof mine happened as workers were hoisting up a skip-full of rock when the rope broke.

NEW YORK, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - Newmont Mining announced plans Tuesday to buy Canadian rival Miramar Mining Corp. for some 1.5 billion dollars in a deal giving the US firm the massive Hope Bay gold fields on Canada's Arctic coast.

The deal gives Miramar owners 6.25 Canadian dollars (6.32 US dollars) per share or about 1.52 billion US dollars, amounting to a premium of some 29 percent over Miramar's 20-day average trading price through the end of last week.

Miramar's board has approved the deal and recommended it to shareholders, according to a joint statement.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - South Africa's largest mining union threatened Tuesday to launch a strike to protest poor safety conditions, days after 3,200 workers were trapped underground for more than 30 hours.

'We are contemplating embarking on a strike over our safety conditions. The strike is to make a statement on the unsafe working conditions in the mines,' Frans Baleni, general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), told AFP.

OUAGADOUGOU, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - After 'white gold' -- cotton -- failed to live up to expectations in recent years, the impoverished west African nation of Burkina Faso Faso has turned its energy to digging for real gold.

To make up for low prices on the cotton market that have hit hard its top export earner, Burkina Faso Faso has relaunched its large-scale mining sector.

Cotton, dubbed 'white gold' during its heyday in this country which is Africa's top producer of the commodity, used to bring in about 60 percent of export earnings.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - The bodies of 23 miners who were killed in an underground fire in South Africa's central Free State last week were discovered on Sunday, police said.

The victims, who were all believed to have been working illegally, were killed when the blaze broke out at an unused shaft of the St Helena mine in Welkom on Tuesday.

Although the authorities had previously said that a fire had broken out at the mine, it was the first confirmation of casualties.

PARIS, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) - One of the world's poorest countries, Myanmar is also home to a hidden treasure: rubies, sapphires and other gems, among the finest in the world, whose trade is thriving despite the political unrest gripping the country.

'At the jewellers fair in Hong Kong, gems from Myanmar were on display and the buyers and sellers were all there, none of them looking particularly nervous,' said Emmanuel Piat, a top figure of the Paris gem trade.

'For the rarest stones, its true prices have shot up but that has nothing to do with Myanmar,' he said.

MOSCOW, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Mining giant Arcelor Mittal was excluded from an auction in Moscow for two Siberian mining assets on Friday that went to Russia's Mechel for 2.29 billion dollars (1.62 billion euros), officials said.

'We were very surprised to have been informed that we did not qualify for participation in the auction,' Jean Lasar, a spokesman for Arcelor Mittal, told AFP by telephone, saying the company was only told on Friday.

'We are waiting to be told the reasons for this,' Lasar said.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - President Thabo Mbeki ordered a safety review Friday of all South Africa's mines after a successful operation to rescue thousands of workers who were trapped more than a mile underground.

A statement from his office said Mbeki had called on Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjicaon to conduct an across-the-board audit following an accident at a gold mine near Johannesburg on Wednesday which left 3,200 miners stuck below the surface for up to a day-and-half.

PRIESKA, South Africa, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Robert Devenish has resigned himself to an agonising death of asbestos-induced cancer, a silent but cruel killer stalking mining communities in South Africa's Northern Cape province.

'Nobody wants to die suffering, but we don't all have a choice,' said the 64-year-old former mine employee who was diagnosed with mesothelioma last December and given months to live.

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Rescuers completed a marathon operation Thursday to bring 3,200 workers to the surface after they had been trapped more than a mile underground at a gold mine in South Africa.

'It has been 30 hours of suffering. We had no food, no water and we are exhausted,' Richman Maneli told AFP, as he became the last miner to exit a makeshift lift at the Elandsrand mine, southwest of Johannesburg.

CARLETONVILLE, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - An operation to rescue 3,200 trapped South African miners finished Thursday as the last group of workers was brought to the surface, mine officials said.

'This is absolutely the last batch of miners to come out,' said Stan Bierschenk, general manager at the Elandsrand mine, southwest of Johannesburg where workers were trapped since their lift broke on Wednesday morning.

GABORONE, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - An airship used by the world's biggest diamond company to search for gemstones in the Kalahari desert has been permanently grounded after a crash in Botswana last month, the company said on Thursday.

De Beers spokesman Tom Tweedy said that a damage assessment on the Zeppelin, one of only three such airships in the world, had concluded it was effectively beyond repair following the crash in central Botswana on September 22.

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - More than half of some 3,200 miners trapped in a South African gold mine were rescued Thursday after spending over 24 hours more than two kilometers (1.2 miles) underground, mine officials said.

No severe injuries were reported among the miners, who were stranded underground after a lift cable apparently snapped at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Wednesday, and officials were positive they would all get out alive.

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Thousands of miners were being painstakingly brought to the surface on Thursday after spending hours trapped more than two kilometers underground at a gold mine in South Africa.

No injuries were reported after the accident at Elandsrand mine, southwest of Johannesburg, on Wednesday when some 3,200 miners first became stuck underground after a lift cable apparently snapped at 10:00 am (0800 GMT).

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Rescuers began an operation Thursday to bring 3,200 miners to the surface, more than 15 hours after they became trapped underground at a gold mine in South Africa.

Around 150 workers had been hoisted out of the Elandsrand mine, southwest of Johannesburg, by 2:30 am (0030 GMT) but all the workers were not expected to be rescued for another 10 hours, said a spokeswoman for mine owners Harmony Gold.

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Rescuers began an operation Thursday to bring more than 3,200 miners to the surface more than 15 hours after they first became trapped underground in South Africa.

Around 150 had been hoisted out of the Elandsrand mine, southwest of Johannesburg, by 2:30 am (0030 GMT) but all the workers were not expected to be rescued for another 10 hours, said a spokeswoman for mine owners Harmony Gold.

'So far, 150 have been evacuated,' the spokeswoman Amelia Soares told AFP at the site of the mine on the outskirts of Carletonville.

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Rescuers began bringing dozens of miners to the surface Thursday more than 15 hours after around 3,200 workers were first trapped underground in South Africa, their employer said.

Around 75 of the total 3,200 miners trapped at the Elandsrand mine, near Carletonville, were found to be in 'good condition' after their ordeal, Harmony Gold spokeswoman Amelia Soares said.

'We have been able to hoist the first 75 people out using a much smaller lift,' Soares told the Sapa news agency.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - Fears were growing for the safety of more than 3,000 workers on Thursday after they were trapped at a gold mine in South Africa when the power was cut to their underground lift.

While the owners of the mine southwest of Johannesburg were confident that the 3,200 workers were safe and would soon begin to be rescued after more than 12 hours underground, unions warned that they were in danger of suffocating as a result of the high temperatures.

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) - More than 3,000 mineworkers were trapped at a gold mine in South Africa on Thursday after the power was cut to their underground lift, their employer said.

Engineers were working to rig up a second cage which would rescue the workers after falling material had damaged the main lift at the Elandsrand mine, near Carletonville, said a spokeswoman for Harmony Gold.

'Nobody was injured, but there was extensive damage to the steel work and electrical feeder cords,' Harmony Gold spokeswoman Amelia Soares told the Sapa news agency.

LONDON, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - Global mining giant Anglo American said Tuesday it will cut its stake in AngloGold Ashanti, the South African-based gold producer, to below 20 percent by selling shares worth about 2.9 billion US dollars (2.04 billion euros).

The sale of 67.1 million AngloGold Ashanti shares will cut Anglo American's holding to 17.3 percent from 41 percent, the company said in a statement.

The offering, which was launched on Monday, will complete on October 9.

SYDNEY, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - Shares in BHP Billiton rose to record highs Tuesday as investors bet on the world's largest diversified miner again securing significant price increases for coal and iron ore, dealers said.

Shares in BHP Billiton have soared 41 percent since the credit market slump of August, largely due to upgrades in price assumptions for key commodities.

The stock closed up 1.55 dollars, or 3.5 percent, at a record 46.04 dollars on Tuesday, well beyond the low of 32.44 dollars of August.

DAKAR, Sept 24, 2007 (AFP) - Australia's Mining Deposits Limited on Monday signed an agreement with Senegal to begin mining zircon, a mineral used in jewellery, from the sands of coast north of the capital Dakar, national media reported.

Signed by MDL Managing Director Jeffrey Wayne William and Senegalese Mining and Industry Minister Madicke Niang, the agreement allows the exploitation of deposits that 'represent seven percent of world production' of zircon beginning in 2009, the Senegalese news agency APS reported.