Madagascar Development

PAN AFRICAN MINING CORP. (TSX-V: PAF) (the "Company") is delighted to announce that it has now received full permitting to commence exploration and development of prospective uranium deposits in the first two of four zones delineated in its Joint Venture Agreement with L'Office des Mines Nationales et des Industries Strategiques ("OMNIS"), a Malagasy State agency. An aggregate of 10 full Research Permits or Permis Recherches were granted to the Company at this time, covering 404 Squares or Carres, each of which is 6.25 sq. km. The area presently under license is now 2525 sq. km., with other permits pending. In addition to the Permis Recherches, Environmental Permits on Forms PEE-RIM and PEE-RIS were granted to the Company in order to cover all anticipated drilling, trenching, pitting, road-building, camp establishment and other exploration activities presently contemplated in the initial phases of exploration. Eight Permis covering 377 Carres or an aggregate of ...

Mines and Energy Minister, Olivier Donat Andriamahefamparany, said Madagascar would try to learn from the poor experiences of other African mining and petrol hotspots. "Mining has not got a good record in developing countries. That's something we want to change," he told Reuters. "We are taking lessons from other countries in Africa." The Indian Ocean Island's mining sector is currently tiny, consisting of a few small chrome, graphite and sapphire mines, but officials say that is set to change. Rio Tinto, the world's second largest diversified miner, last year confirmed it would go ahead with a $775 million titanium project in southern Madagascar. The company hopes to start shipping titanium ore out by 2008. Canadian company Dynatec plans to build a $2.25 billion nickel and colbalt mine in the east and Kumba Resources has a big titanium concession in the south. Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's biggest oil company, last month set up an office in Madagasc...

ONGC Ltd is exploring the possibilities of investing in oil sand extraction projects. Oil sands or tar sands, a mined product found mostly in Canada and Venezuela, are deposits of bitumen (a heavy black viscous oil), which is treated to produce crude oil. According to available estimates, the Alberta province of Canada holds the second biggest oil reserve after Saudi Arabia through its oil sand deposits. Though denying having taken up any specific investment proposal in this regard, ONGC sources confirmed that the company was exploring investment possibilities in oil sand. Notes were also exchanged on the issue between the Indian exploration and production major and its overseas joint venture ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd (OMEL). "We (ONGC) have been discussing about the possibilities of investing in oil sand projects for some time. However, we are yet to identify any proven technology for extracting oil from the same, without which no firm decision can be taken," an ONGC official t...

ExxonMobil is to open an office in the Madagascan capital as it prepares to start drilling in two recently acquired offshore blocks, according to local sources. Last July, ExxonMobil boosted its oil and gas presence in Madagascar by taking a 70% interest in two licenses held by UK's Sterling Energy. It expects to have production of around 60,000 b/d in the next 3-4 years, much of it coming from offshore blocks on the northwest coast.

Madagascar announced that it will auction 96 offshore plots of 2,000 square kilometres each for oil exploration from April until September. "With the rise in the price of oil, all the world's oil companies are interested in our exploration blocs, so we are going to put them out to tender," Elise Razaka, the head of the National Mines and Strategic Industries Bureau, told Agence France-Presse. Currently, 10 onshore and four offshore exploration blocs in Madagascar have been awarded following bilateral negotiations or restricted tenders. Companies involved include Exxon Mobil Corp and Vanco from the United States, Norway's Norsk Hydro, Vuna Energy Ltd from Mauritius and China's Sino Union Petroleum and Chemical. The west coast of Madagascar has been the scene of oil exploration for the last 40 years, but no viable deposits have been found. "We are still not sure that we have commercially exportably oil, but we are very close," said Razaka. Madagascar curre...