Rio Tinto has agreed to sell its Atlanta, Georgia-based wire and cable business Alcan Cable to NYSE-listed General Cable for $185-million, the companies said on Monday. The diversified mining giant has been selling off non-core operations from the aluminium business it bought in 2007 for some $44-billion, announcing in October it was putting up 13 assets up for sale.

JSE- and TSX-listed Rockwell Diamonds said it had successfully completed the strategic in-field screen, bulk x-ray and single particle sorter plant at its Saxendrift mine, in the Northern Cape. The company stated that the capital projects supported its diamond value management principles that underpinned its strategic growth path.

West Africa is emerging as the next significant iron-ore province after Australia’s rich Pilbara and is attracting the attention of global majors and the Chinese, says the London-Aim-listed West African Minerals. Major diversified miners are attracted to the area by the potentially large, high-grade deposits generally with low impurities and low processing costs.