Gold Fields is in negotiations with labor unions to implement a six-day work week for about 10,000 employees to avoid having to lay off workers, as Eskom’s proposed 35% electricity price hike threatens margins, as electricity accounts for some 17% of mining costs. The South African Mine Health and Safety Act, which requires mining companies [...]

India’s government is planning to float a 10% stake in Coal India, the state-run monopoly producer, rather than the 15% sought by the company, as regulatory provisions preclude it from reserving some shares for employees. The company wants to reserve about 2% of the shares for the employees. The company then envisions a sale of [...]

Silvinit, Russia’s largest potash producer, has slashed its 2010 investment program nearly in half from RUB5.4 bn in 2009 to RUB3 bn, just about a quarter of its main competitor Uralkaliy, to conserve cash flow ahead of its debt repayment to Sberbank [SBER RU] at year end. Most of the expenditures will focus on maintaining [...]