"The rats are relatively fast and accurate compared to other techniques, " said Christophe Cox, head of a mine-clearing group called Apopo in Morogoro, Tanzania.

WSJ: Sniffing Out a More-Efficient Mine Sweeper

Across the street from Marikana, at a mine owned by Anglo American Platinum mine, a group of workers gave management until Friday to respond to a list of demands.

CNN: South Africa mourns 44 killed in mine clashes

At the Darata gold mine, a group of men gather around several deep dark pits, waiting for their colleagues who are several dozen feet under the ground hacking away at the rock.

BBC: Cleaning up Nigeria��s toxic playgrounds

The Alpha mine project is top priority for the group.

FORBES: India's Big Bet On Australian Coal

An Italian group has leased the biggest chrome mine, and a Turkish outfit has started processing scrap metal at an elderly Chinese-built steel plant.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Which leads me to a line that a friend of mine, Scott Cronin, used to use in group sessions when someone was doing something obvious to everyone and not-cool.

FORBES: What Happens When Leaders Forget That People Are Watching

Amplats, which is majority-owned by London-listed mining group Anglo American, plans to cease production at four loss-making mine shafts in Rustenburg.

BBC: Amplats 'arrogant', says South Africa minister

Gold-mine supply is forecast to grow a little more than 4% this year and platinum group metals by around 2% to 3%.

FORBES: Thomson Reuters GFMS' Newman: Silver May Move Toward $50 Yet In 2011

Rio Tinto hired Macquarie Group to find a buyer for its majority stake in the Northparkes copper-and-gold mine in Australia, adding to a list of assets for sale.

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