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GOLD ONE yesterday said it had secured additional prospecting rights in Gauteng province's East Rand Basin, where there were gold-mining resuscitation opportunities. CEO NEAL FRONEMAN said the contiguous prospecting rights over 16 000 ha had an inferred resource of 5.2m ounces of gold at a grade of 3.39g/t and was separated from the East Rand and Central Rand water basin, where mining had to be accompanied by costly water pumping. FRONEMAN also drew attention to other shallow East Rand Basin resources that could deliver an additional 50kg of gold a month to the company's new Modder East gold plant serving the company's Modder East gold mine. Modder East's depth of 300m - 500m, was a fraction of the SA average gold mine depth of 3 000m. The initial eight-year-life-of-mine Modder East would produce from 10 000 oz to 120 000 oz of gold in 2010 and reach steady-state production of 180 000 oz a year from 2011. Modder East's cash costs were below $300/oz, and the costs were continuing to fall.

The Department of Mineral Resources has confirmed that the 21.4% undivided share that ARCELORMITTAL SA had hitherto owned in the Sishen iron-ore mine had reverted to State custodianship, in line with the prescripts of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. Spokesperson JEREMY MICHAELS said that the DMR saw the dispute on the matter as one between two private entities and that it was "treating it as such". KUMBA said that it was not aware of the DMR pronouncement, but confirmed that there had been communication between the company and the department. SISHEN IRON ORE COMPANY was still supplying ore to ARCELOR and had proposed an interim pricing arrangement.

URANIUM ONE is looking for uranium assets in Africa to diversify its production base away from Kazakhstan. The company is finalising a capital raising of C$250m to put towards growth, with an earlier C$270m raised in a deal with a Japanese consortium providing it the money needed for acquisitions and development during 2009. URANIUM ONE is awaiting minesterial approval in SA for the sale of its Dominion Mine to an undisclosed party. The group turned in a sound set of operating results but the financials were less impressive, dragged down by a lower uranium price. Sales volumes jumped 44% in 2009 compared to 2008, hitting a record 3.2m pounds. Revenue for the yaer was flat at $152m because of an average realised price of $48/lb against $66/lb a year earlier. The company posted an adjusted net loss of $36.5m against adjusted net earnings of $22.3m. URANIUM ONE plans to increase output to 6.8m lb this year, with sales of 6m lb, and 8m lb next year, with Powder River Basin in Wyoming coming into production. Average cost of production in 2009 was $16/lb and was expected to remain at that level.

SANLAM lifted 2009 profit thanks to better returns on equity investments and as it build up new customers while existing clients kept their insurance policies. SANLAM this morning reported normalised HEPS for the year to end-Dec. jumped 133% to 218.9c, in line with its forecast of a 130-140% rise. New business climbed 3% to R103bn. The group said it was positioned for further growth in 2010, and declared a dividend of 104c, up 6% from 2008.

SANLAM remained concerned that the worst was not necessarily behind SA, and that the economy may still see further job losses this year. Other areas of concern was the impact of the proposed ESKOM price hikes as well as the rise in oil price and wage demands. SANLAM this morning reported A 12% increase in group equity value to 2 473cps. Group equity value is the measure by which SANLAM values its insurance business operations and assets under management and resembles the "embedded value" figure represented by other insurers. SANLAM has seen a sharp rise in the value of its shares price in recent weeks, from 2 250cps to 2 540cps. This puts it at a premium to the GEV figure, indicating that it is potentially expensive or that the market is factoring in better growth in the coming year. The group continued to focus on diversifying its operations internationally - it had expanded into India and other parts of Asia and has its exposure to the UK markets.

MTN posted lower 2009 profit despite its new customers increasing by 28% to 116m. The operator this morning said adjusted HEPS for the year to end-Dec. dropped by 16.6% to 754.3c. Adjusted HEPS, excluding the impact of functional currency losses, was up 8.5% to 878.9c. Movements in exchange rates in the year, mainly in the rand and the Nigerian naira, had a substantially negative impact on the group's financial results. Revenue grew 9.2% to R111.9bn. MTN may face tougher competition from its rival, Kuwait's ZAIN, in Africa as BHARTI AIRTEL seeks to buy ZAIN's African mobile operations for $10.7bn.

OLD MUTUAL today said it plans to sell its life business and partly float its asset management operation in the US as part of a strategic shake-up aimed at simplifying its complex structure. The overhaul will reduce OLD MUTUAL's debt by at least £1.5bn, and will deliver cost savings of £100m a year by the end of 2010. The group has been under pressure to slim down amid shareholder concerns its complexity is weighing on its share price. OLD MUTUAL had a 2009 adjusted pretax operating profit of £1.17bn, up from £1.14bn the previous year.

INVESTEC is set to replace RESOLUTION in the FTSE 100 index after the latest quarterly index review yesterday. At market close on Tuesday, RESOLUTION was the only blue chip stock below 111th position in the ranking based on market capitalisation, setting it up for relegation from the blue chip index. INVESTEC was the highest ranking mid-cap stock, being above 90th place based on Tuesday's closing prices and putting it in line with promotion. INVESTEC shares have jumped 22% this year on the back of a recovery in equity markets, although nine-month results at the end of Jan. were static.

RMB HOLDINGS increased the intrinsic value of its underlying investments by 15% to R31.94/share, and an unchanged interim dividend of 54cps was declared. The result for the six months to end-Dec was a satisfactory outcome, chairman GT FERREIRA said, and he didn't expect changes to the investment portfolio in the short term. RMBH has strategic shareholdings in FIRSTRAND, DISCOVERY and OUTSURANCE. FIRSTRAND's results showed a major improvement in the six months to Dec. DISCOVERY attributed a major part of its growth to new business gained and lower start-up losses where new business ventures were starting to gain traction. OUTSURANCE lifted operating profit 15% after satisfying growth in the southern African businesses. RMBH exited the emerging market portfolio in which it was invested directly, without futher cost. Normalised earnings increased 22% to 136.8cps, while attributable earnings increased 23% to R1.69bn.

BARCLAYS shares were down 1.1% at 342p yesterday after reports that it was looking to buy a retail bank in the US to build on its investment bank acquisitions there. BARCLAYS has designated an internal team to assess possible targets and is looking for a franchise with a strong branch network and deposit base, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal. Analysts said there was a long list of candidates as the US industry reshapes, and cited potential targets such as FIFTH THIRD BANCORP, PNC FINANCIAL and SUNTRUST BANKS. A sizeable deal would likely require a capital raising.

PINNACLE POINT GROUP yesterday warned shareholders it is going to report a headline loss for the year to Feb. 28. The company at the end of Oct. said it had expected to generate a profit per share of 0.3c but it now expects to report a loss of about 2.5cps. The estimate may be influenced by a property valuation process already under way. Management blamed the potential loss on the failure to sell 15 units at its Lagos Keys development in Nigeria in time together with the fact that due diligence and competition authority approval needed to be completed for the sale of the Gardener Ross Gold and Country Estate. The sale would have a positive effect on gearing and cash flow as debt relating to the development came to about R161m at Feb. 28, about 41% of the group's remaining interest bearing debt at that date. A key factor of the profit forecast had been the successful conclusion of the rights offer by Dec. 7 last year. PINNACLE said that ABSA BANK loans totalling R125m had been capitalised and than R95m cash payable in terms of the rights offer had been received by the company.

SHODEN DATA SYSTEMS and some members of management at FARITEC HOLDINGS will inject R30m of fresh equity into FARITEC by partially underwriting a R60m rights offer, the firm said yesterday. However, creditors will first be asked to either convert their debt to FARITEC equity or compromise their debt. FARITEC said SHODEN, which owns a 51% stake, and other creditors to the value of R25m, had already agreed to convert their debt into FARITEC shares.

MASSMART extended a four-day rally yesterday after saying earnings might improve and on speculation WAL-MART STORES might look to buy the retailer. Stock closed 1.48% up at R107.38. MASSMART CFO GUY HAYWARD last month said WAL-MART had been in SA to talk to retailers and should MASSMART be approached the directors would act in the best interest of shareholders.

METROPOLITAN's Kenyan operations are not doing as well as those in Nigeria and Ghana as it had difficulty finding a suitable partner in the country, but the group still believes there is a market for its product in the country. The chairman of the Association of Kenya Insurers last month said consolidation was needed in the insurance industry there as companies faced competition from other global players. The June deadline for the recapitalisation of Kenya's insurers means there will be a flurry of activity, but METROPOLITAN was not looking at making any acquisitions in the market. The group saw a huge opportunity for its products in Nigeria, especially on the employee benefits side, and there was also an improvement in Ghana on the life side of the business.

HARMONY GOLD suspended output at its Evander No.8 shaft yesterday after a mineworker was killed in a rockfall. The company said it had decided to stop production at the shaft until the Department of Mineral Resources had completed an investigation into the accident. It was not clear how long output would be suspended.

SCAW METALS was reviewing its options after the Constitutional Court rejected its bid to stop government terminating anti-dumping duties on some steel products, the group said yesterday. The court yesterday ruled against SCAW's challenge to a government plan to lift duties on stranded wire, rope and cable that have been in effect since 2002. ANGLO AMERICAN owns 74% of SCAW.

MERAFE RESOURCES CEO STEVE PHIRI will step down at the end of March to become CEO of ROYAL BAFOKENT HOLDINGS' new platinum company. He will be replaced as CEO by current financial director STUART ELLIOT, and will remain a non-executive director of MERAFE. The new company, dubbed NEWCO at this stage, is to be listed on the JSE within the next 24 months. NEWCO will own 67% of the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine JV, in which the minority partner is ANGLO PLATINUM subsidiary RUSTENBURG PLATINUM. PHIRI's management team will include NICO MULLER as COO and MARTIN PRINSLOO as CFO.

RAYMOND ACKERMAN intimated yesterday that there is a limit on how much a supermarket chain can fatten its trading margins. He argued that it was necessary to find a balance between meeting consumers needs and making profits. ACKERMAN said he would not, in today's climate, want to make a trading margin of 5%, but would knock it down, referring to SHOPRITE. PICK N PAY's last set of financial results showed a trading margin of 2.8%, while SHOPRITE recently showed its trading margin moving from 4.8% to 5%. ACKERMAN said he would not like PICK N PAY to make a margin of much more than 3% to 3.5%. ACKERMAN yesterday officially retired as chairperson of the group, handing over the chairperson seat to his son GARETH ACKERMAN.

ABSA Capital has made a high-profile appointment by securing the services of ANDREW MCNULTY to head its newly-established equities research division. MCNULTY moves from BJM SECURITIES, where he was head of research and CEO, in April. ABSA indicated it would be looking to secure the services of other equity analysts in coming months. The formation of an equities research team at ABSA Capital is a sign that the asset management industry is likely to become increasingly competitive, especially with STANLIB CEO THABO DLOTI cracking the whip on his underperforming managers. BJM also indicated that it planned to punch above its weight - the firm has a strong reputation for attracting and growing its own talent, and all eyes will be on the asset manager to see who it appoints to replace MCNULTY.

METROPOLITAN will use some of its R2bn in excess capital to buy back its own shares, according to director PRESTON SPECKMANN. SPECKMANN said that the markets were too uncertain last year and there was no capacity for share buy-backs, but the group will ask shareholders at the AGM for permission to buy back the shares. He said it would enhance the embedded value of the company, which should have a positive spin-off for investors. METROPOLITAN is trading at a 20% discount to its embedded value on an attractive forward dividend yield of 7%. The group reported a 6% increase in embedded value to 1 811cps and a 9% increase in dividend payments over the past financial year. Asked if METROPOLITAN has other capital deployment strategies in place, SPECKMANN identified greater expansion into Africa as well as further investments in METROPOLITAN's healthcare business.