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Reports on transformations within South Africa's gold industry, as of February 1998. Resignation of Mzi Khumalo as chairman of JCI, the country's first black-owned mining house; Details concerning Gold Fields and Anglogold, new companies; Figures for a depressed gold price; Complex corporate structures, rising costs, aging mines, low productivity and other problems to be overcome if the industry is to become competitive; Consolidation strategies; Forecasts.

In this article, the author discusses important deals of the mining industry. He informs about the merger of Glencore ltd. with the company Xstrata. He also mentions about Gold Fields Ltd. which has decided to abandon its gold mining operation in South Africa. He further informs about the agreement between Cloud Peak Energy Inc. and Ambre Energy Ltd. to settle their differences over the Decker coal mine in Montana.

The article reports on the agreement of cash takeover of Eland Platinum by Xstrata Alloys, one of South Africa's largest producers of ferrochrome and vanadium, which is valued at $1 billion. Eland's primary asset is its 65% interest in the Elandsfontein project in Bushveld igneous complex in South Africa. The Elandsfontein project is based on a shallow UG2 resource totaling 183 million metric ton and containing an estimated 22.7 million ounce of combined platinum, palladium, rhodium, and gold. At the time of the takeover announcement, Xstrata said that it had irrevocable undertakings of support from 51% of Eland's shareholders. The offer remained subject to regulatory approvals and was conditioned on acceptance by at least 75% of Eland shareholders.

Focuses on South African Government's disapproval of proposed merger of Gold Fields Ltd. and Franco-Nevada Mining Corp. Difficulty of finding a compromise acceptable to both the government and Franco-Nevada; Problems with plans to have the merged company domiciled in Canada.