Tunis, 28 April 2010 – The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) on Wednesday, 28 April 2010 approved a ADF grant of UA 12.9 million* (equivalent to USD 20 million) to support a higher education development project in Eritrea.

The project is aimed at scaling up human resources development in order to further enhance economic growth programmes and reduce poverty in the country. The project will specifically contribute to building capacity for teaching, research and service in the country’s higher education institutions.

The project is estimated at UA 15.66 million. The Eritrean government will contribute UA 2.76 million. The activities to be supported by the ADF grant are so vital to the country that they are being closely coordinated in line with those provided by other development partners.

Commenting on the Board’s approval, the Chief Education Specialist, Abdi Younis, explained that Eritrea’s higher education sub-sector had been facing several challenges, which the ADF project would address.

These include, in particular, the shortage of qualified national staff and inadequate infrastructure.

“The Project will contribute to the building of capacity for teaching, research and service at the country’s higher education institutions, through assistance in staff development for teaching and research at the seven higher education institutions in the country,” Mr Younis said.

“The provision of technical assistance for these institutions in the areas where competencies are not currently available in the country as well as the necessary infrastructure development for teaching and research at two of the institutions are also imperative for the sustainable development of Eritrea,” he added.

* UA1 = USD 1.51824 as at 28/04/2010

Asmara, Eritrea

Chalice Gold Mines (ASX: CHN) - This presentation may contain value references and “forward looking statements“ which are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.

Investors are cautioned that such statements are not guarantees of future performance and results.

This presentation does not include all available Information on Chalice Gold Mines Limited and should not be used in isolation as a guide to investing in the Company.

Any potential investor should also refer to Chalice Gold Mines Limited Annual Reports and to ASX releases and take independent professional advice before considering investing in the Company.

For further information about Chalice Gold Mines Limited, visit the website at www.chalicegold.com

The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled by Dr Doug Jones, a full-time employee and Director of Chalice Gold Mines Limited, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and is a Chartered Professional Geologist.

Dr Jones has sufficient experience in the field of activity being reported to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Minerals Resources and Ore Reserves, and consents to the release of information in the form and context in which it appears here.

The Independent Resource Estimate for the Koka deposit was prepared by Mr Brian Wolfe whilst employed as a Specialist Resource Geologist for Coffey Mining Pty Ltd. Mr Wolfe, who is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, has sufficient experience in the field of Resource Estimation to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Minerals Resources and Ore Reserves, and consents to the release of information in the form and context in which it appears here.

LINK: CHALICE GOLD PRESENTATION 2010 ‘POISED FOR PRODUCTION IN EAST AFRICA’

The UAE is seeking to expand its trade and investments with Africa, especially in the west and centre of the continent where it has no significant presence.

Giving a keynote speech at the second conference on Africa and the Indian Ocean, organised by NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the Minister of Foreign Trade, said the Emirates already had some investments in east, south and north African countries and was planning to expand its reach. She said the African continent’s population was estimated to rise to 2 billion within the next 20 years.

Sheikha Lubna said the UAE would seek to collaborate with Africa on tourism, infrastructure, oil, gas, mining, energy, transport, logistics, ports services and the IT and mobile phones sector, noting that “Africa has one of the fastest-growing number of mobile phone users in the world”.

However, she cautioned that Africa would need to increase the quality of its goods and services for trade relations to be mutually beneficial.

“Product competitiveness will be very important,” she said. “So African products will need to be able to compete with other products from elsewhere.”

A high-level delegation from the UAE visited nine African countries last year to explore further investment opportunities with the continent.

According to the WAM news agency, the government is looking to invest in the energy, agriculture, food and infrastructure sectors in Zambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.

A number of UAE companies have made significant investment inroads in the continent. DP World runs the port of Dakar in Senegal and own ports in Mozambique, Algeria and Djibouti.

Dubai Investment Group owns 35 per cent of Tunisia’s Tunisie Telecom. Istithmar has invested in aviation in the Horn of Africa and hotels and other facilities in Rwanda, Tanzania and other places.

Etisalat owns 82 per cent of Sudan’s Canar Telecom, a 51 per cent stake in Tanzania’s Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel) and 50 per cent of West Africa’s Atlantique Telecom operating in Benin, Burkina Faso, Togo, Niger, Central African Republic, Gabon and Ivory Coast.

The conference is seeking to promote better trade relations between the Emirates, Africa and the Indian Ocean nations.

The conference also highlights and examines the major aspects of relationships among different Indian Ocean nations, other African nations and Gulf countries. Source:( The National)

Executive Summary

SOUTH BOULDER MINES:

• ASX Listed October 2003 (ASX: STB), (SO3-Ber), (SO3-Fra); and
• Three outstanding projects: potash, gold and nickel.

PROJECTS:

Colluli Potash Project

• Potentially “world class” buried evaporite potash project in Eritrea; and
• Acquisition of an Exploration license granted in July 2009.

Duketon Greenstone Belt Projects, Western Australia.

• Gold discovery at surface “Terminator Prospect”; and
• Other excellent targets proximal to Moolart Well (ASX: RRL)
• Nickel JV with Independence Group (ASX: IGO):
  • IGO earning 70% of nickel upon completion of BFS; and
  • Targeting massive and matrix nickel sulphide deposit, currently drilling, sulphides intersected, announ. 8th Feb.

STRATEGY:

• Conduct resource confirmation and definition drilling ahead of JORC resources and feasibility studies at Colluli. Drilling scheduled for March, first since 1968; and
• Follow up RC drilling planned for Terminator at end February and work towards defining an initial JORC gold resource at Terminator POW approved; and
• JV partner conducting nickel drilling to define JORC resource.

Eritrea

FORMATION

• The country gained its independence in 1991;
• UN supervised referendum made it official in 1993;
• Population ~ 4 million people; 80% dependent on subsistence agriculture;

CURRENTLY

• Stable Government:
  • Previous minister for mines was in place for 12 years.
• Supportive government for foreign investment in mining and exploration.

MINING REGIME

• Mining code based on Northern Territory, Australia, with royalties of:
  • 5% on precious metals; and
  • 3.5% on base metals and salts.
• Corporate tax rate ~ 38%;

GOVERNMENT INTEREST

• Government 10% free carry; and
• After BFS Government has option to purchase an additional 30% equity participation interest at an independently determined price.

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Habi Hazaimeh from the Jordan Times reports that an updated feasibility study on a Jordanian Government-led mega-project to invest in Sudanese agricultural lands has been finalised.

“The study was expected to be sent to the Cabinet last week, however, the change of government put it on hold. We are optimistic about the project and we believe that it will soon see the light of day,” Masri told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday.

He noted that the government is considering a proposal by a regional private sector company to participate in the project.

“We have been officially contacted by a financing and agricultural company based in the [Arab] Gulf, which showed interest in taking part in the Sudan project,” Masri said, stopping short of naming the potential partner.

In a previous statement to The Jordan Times, Masri said the main challenge facing the project’s implementation is securing the required funds for infrastructure. The government’s decision to go ahead with the project hinges on the findings of the feasibility study, which will determine the financial needs of the agricultural project, he said.

Sudan has yet to cancel the project, however, and Masri said yesterday the ministry has received “positive indications” from the Sudanese embassy in Amman that the Khartoum is considering a one-year extension of the deadline.

The feasibility of the project, which entails Jordan cultivating agricultural products near the Nile to be shipped directly to the Kingdom’s markets, needed to be reviewed due to the economic climate, according to the ministry.

The government conducted a $359,000 feasibility study on the project in 2003, funded by the Islamic Bank in Jeddah.

Citing the findings of that study, ministry officials have said that yields from the project would provide the Kingdom with at least 60 per cent of its annual needs of meat, 100 per cent of clover, 40 per cent of garlic, 100 per cent of bananas and 100 per cent of mangos. Source: (Jordan Times)

African Chinese Entrepreneurs

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) reports that it participated at the third Conference of African and Chinese Entrepreneurs in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt from 7th to 8th November 2009.

The organization was represented by Assistant Secretary General (Programmes), Mr. Stephen Karangizi, who pointed out that there is increasing evidence that Regional Economic Communities on the continent are working more closely together to realize the dream of Africa which is to integrate Africa.

A good example of this was the launch of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite arrangement in October 2008, at which the 26 Heads of State of the three regional economic communities agreed to establish a Grand FTA stretching from Egypt and Libya to South Africa. In addition, the Heads of State also agreed on the eventual merger of the three institutions.

This augurs well for regional integration in Africa and for all potential investors as the removal of trade barriers of such a large region offers huge economies of scale. “We also believe that this new impetus opens the best way in which the building blocs recognized by the African Union, can rapidly contribute to the establishment of a larger African Economic Community”.

Mr. Karangizi added that through regional integration, Africa intends to create one large continental market of approximately one billion people that is competitive and offers all the productive and service sector economies of scale. Indeed the China example, which is the single largest integrated market in the world, offers the best lessons. The rapid growth of the economy of China over the past 20 years owes much to the large market of over 1.3 billion people.

In order to create a large continental market, the RECs have been concentrating on: removal of tariff barriers which has already been done by COMESA with the establishment of Free Trade Area stretching from Egypt and Libya in the north, to Swaziland and Mauritius in the south, reducing the range of non-tariff barriers, improving customs procedures and charges; and improving access to market information.

Mr. Karangizi said it is easier to invest in infrastructure projects on a regional basis in order to enhance intra-regional trade and address the uneven historical focus of having infrastructure designed to serve only the metropolis and export of raw materials.

However, RECs do recognize that there are several challenges to increase investment in infrastructure. One of the challenges is that most countries do not have the financial resources for investment in infrastructure projects, which require large capital outlays and are characterized by long gestation periods.

The traditional approach has been to obtain funding from multilateral development banks and development partners. This type of funding increases the debt stock and burden of countries. Hence, the need for public/private sector partnerships. It is gratifying to note that this is happening with respect to power and telecommunications projects.

Mr. Karangizi revealed that emphasis by Heads of State on regional integration is intentional so as to focus on five important factors, namely: Establishment of a large regional market to enhance competitiveness, Investment in infrastructure (energy, transport network, water and ICT), Investment in Productive and Services Sectors, Policy Harmonization and Regulation and Addressing Peace and Security Issues.

On expanding private/public partnerships, creative and innovative approaches are required for infrastructure financing such as the regional funds like the COMESA Infrastructure Fund, which has been established for pooling together resources to be leveraged for private sector investment in selected priority projects. In the near future, Member States of the Infrastructure Fund will be approaching selected private sector institutions that can participate in infrastructure investment in the region in partnership with the public sector.

UIA

In the period July to September 2009, the authority licensed 104 projects worth $265,765,528.

Out of the 104, 58 projects owned by Ugandans, 14 are owned by Indians while 37 are from 13 other countries. Apart from jobs, the country ill benefit from taxation and social infrastructure if the companies develop friendly social responsibility policies.

Major investors are from India, United Kingdom, China, Nigeria, Russia, Kenya, Virgin Islands, Sudan, Eritrea and Lebanon.

The major sector in attracting investment is the manufacturing sector that has attracted 36 projects with a planned investment of $93.4 million and is expected to create 4001 jobs, according to a quarterly released by the Uganda Investment Authority last week.

“The manufacturing sector continues to attract more investments and to create the urgently needed jobs for the Ugandans,” said the UIA Executive Director Dr. Maggie Kigozi.

She said some of these projects take off immediately while others delay because they have to carry out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) and others delay due problems in sourcing funds.

She said this is in line with the government’s strategy to create jobs and adding value to the agro-products and other raw resources.

“The steady increase in the manufacturing set ups is in response to the regional demand for Uganda’s edible oils, maize flour, and other food stuffs, dairy products, plastics utensils, from Uganda’s surrounding markets of Rwanda, DCR Congo and Sudan,” she said.

UIA Board Chairman Patrick Bitature said the authority is on course with the establishment of the 22 industrial parks as per the 2009/2010 budget with an objective of intensifying the drive to add value to Ugandan products and eradicate poverty through the provision of incomes.

He said the Kampala Industrial and Business Park (KIBP) located at Namanve on Jinja road, 10 kilometres East of Kampala is being implemented on a fast track arrangement.

This is a $150 million World Bank project that is also expected to create over 5000 jobs when industrialists start using it.

“Most of the earthworks that include construction of a road network to sub-grade level have been completed,” he said.

The authority also procured 70 acres of land for establishment of the an industrial park at Luzira, a Kampala suburb and factory construction by the beneficiaries is going on.He said the master plan for another 50 acres in Bweyogerere another Kampala suburb has been prepared and approved by the National Industrial Park Planning Committee.

The authority has also acquired 12 acres for the small and medium scale (SME) industrial park and is in the process of acquiring 640 acres of land in Western region town of Mbarara. Foreign Direct Investment in Uganda has grown significantly over the years and Uganda is set to draw in a lot more foreign investors courtesy of the young oil and gas sector that is just getting off the ground.

Phaunos Timber

The Phaunos Timber Fund (AIM: PTF) announced that it has increased its stake in Norwegian company Green Resource AS, invesring a further US$2.36m in the privately owned company. The deal is the third of similar transactions and it takes fund’s total investment in Green Resources, including loans, to approximately $35m.

Phaunos Timber Fund is a closed ended investment company which aims to achieve long term returns through a diversified portfolio of timberland and timber-related investments. FourWinds Capital Management is the appointed investment manager of the company.

Green Resources manages over 14,300 hectares of timberland in East Africa, including forests in Tanzania, Uganda and Mozambique. Green Resources’ industrial operation, Sao Hill Industries (SHI), is East Africa’s largest sawmill and one of the largest transmission pole producers in the region.

There have been many positive developments in recent months at Green Resources. Earlier this year it agreed long term borrowing from the Norwegian development financial institution ‘Norfund’ and the IFC subsidiary of the World Bank. Through the agreements, Green Resources raised $25m.

The proceeds from the loans are being used for additional plantation development and for industrial operation improvements in Tanzania. The IFC loan is the largest ever to a private company in Tanzania.

In July, Green Resources’ plantations Mapanda and Uchindile were the first forest projects, outside of the US, to receive Voluntary Carbon validation (VCS). VCS is considered the world standard for voluntary carbon projects.

In August, Green Resources signed a framework agreement with the Government of Mozambique to establish a world scale forest plantation of up to 100,000 ha in Northern Mozambique.

Most recently, Green Resources’ subsidiary SHI signed a 20 year log supply contract with Tanzania’s Department of Forestry and was awarded a large contract with Tanzania Electric Supply Company Limited to provide transmission poles. The majority of these logs will be harvested from Green Resources’ eucalyptus plantations established in the late 1990′s in Uganda and Tanzania. Source: (ProactiveInvestors)

China in Africa

DALIAN, China, Sept 11 – Standard Bank (SBKJ.J: Quote), Africa’s top bank by assets, said on Friday it had obtained a $1 billion loan facility from four Chinese banks, drawing on its equity tie-up with China’s biggest bank to push into Asia.

China has been pouring money into resource-rich Africa, welcomed by some, but drawing criticism from Western aid groups, who say the country is turning a blind eye to misrule and corruption.

China argues it is spreading prosperity in the world’s poorest continent where the West has failed.

One of the four Chinese banks behind the facility is Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (1398.HK: Quote) (601398.SS: Quote), which owns 20 percent of Standard Bank and is the world’s biggest bank by market value, Standard Bank said in a statement.

The other three banks are Bank of China (3988.HK: Quote) (601988.SS: Quote) China Development Bank and China CITIC Bank (601998.SS: Quote) (0998.HK: Quote), according to the statement.

“This deal will serve as a platform for future cooperation between Standard Bank and these banks across a range of different banking products and geographies to support Chinese companies going global into emerging markets,” said Standard Bank Chief Executive Jacko Maree in the statement.

CHINA PARTNERS

Standard Bank and ICBC aim to jointly support Chinese companies going out into emerging markets especially into Africa, Maree said.

The facility between Standard Bank and its Chinese partners is a five-year fund-raising deal, repayable in a bullet capital single tranche at maturity, and the facility is a “debut term loan for Standard Bank’s fund raising in the Asian market”, the bank said in the statement.

Standard Bank expects to seal a dozen major lending deals in Africa with its China partner next year, as resource-hungry Chinese firms begin returning to the continent, Reuters reported earlier this week. [ID:nHKG127767]

Standard Bank has said that Chinese companies are looking for opportunities in Africa with focuses on mining, oil and gas and mineral sectors, where the African bank expects to see fast-growing and huge demand for financing in these resources and infrastructure-related sectors. Source: (Reuters)

The first phase of the port will cost 4 billion riyals ($1.07 billion) with operations expected to start in 2012 and have a capacity of 1.7 million containers, it added.

The statement did not say if the agreement with SBG meant the cancellation of another initial agreement signed in April, 2008 by EEC with DP World for the same purpose.

The agreement with DP World also aimed at developing and operating the port at King Abdullah Economic City, except that it predicted operations to start towards the end of 2010 and to have a 1.6 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) capacity by mid-2011.

DP World officials were not immediately available for comment. Earlier on Monday, EEC announced that it had has cancelled a 1.4 billion riyals contract which it awarded to SBG in 2008 due to a drop in costs. Dubai-based Emaar Properties is a key shareholder in EEC.

King Abdullah Economic City is the most prominent among a series of “economic cities” that are part of Saudi Arabia’s plan to diversify the country’s oil and gas-based economy and provide more jobs for the country’s growing population.

EEC has faced some delays delivering housing and business units, as well as a 6-12 month delay on the first phase of the city’s port which it expects to complete in 2011. Source: (BusinessMaktoob)

Trade

South Africa, Egypt and Morocco have been ranked the best destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) on the African continent for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.

A report by the FDI Intelligence, a specialist division of the London-based Financial Times, made the disclosure on Tuesday in New York, US.

It said that the study considered numerous criteria for making such a ranking, i ncluding infrastructures, local strategies for encouraging FDI, the economic potential, human resources, living standards and market openness.

The report, entitled: “African Countries of the Future 2009-2010”, was develop ed by a panel of independent experts, ranking 59 African countries according to the results from the criteria.

The FDI Intelligence provides products, services and business tools that allow companies and economic development organisations to make informed decisions regarding foreign direct investment. Source: (African Manager)

afrochina

China’s economic expansion abroad can give rise to resentment in the countries it targets — risks that are likely to increase as China channels more foreign exchange reserves in overseas investments.

Africa has received billions of dollars in Chinese investment, and China last year overtook the United States as the continent’s biggest trading partner.

Here are some experiences of Chinese investment in Africa:

SUDAN

China’s commercial ambitions have pushed its workers into some of the most hazardous corners of Sudan, where they have had to face political as well as cultural hostility.

Sudan’s rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has repeatedly ordered Chinese companies to leave the oil-producing region of Southern Kordofan and in 2007 attacked two oilfields there run by China’s CNPC, kidnapping workers. The insurgents’ main grudge is against Beijing, which it accuses of arming and supporting Khartoum in the conflict-torn Darfur region. But they also have problems with staff on the ground.

“The real problem we have with them is accountability,” said JEM spokesman Al-Tahir al-Feki. “If something goes wrong between the locals and the Chinese, there is nowhere for the locals to go … We have established relations with the West. But we have nothing with the Chinese,” he said.

ZAMBIA

This country of 12 million people has become one of Beijing’s largest economic partners in Africa. Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Zambia in 2007 and pledged $900 million in investments in mining, while China’s Zhonghui Mining Group said last month it will invest $3.6 billion in Zambian projects over the next five years.

But opposition politicians have tapped into anti-Chinese sentiment, fed by clashes between workers and management at Chinese-run enterprises in Zambia. Michael Sata, leader of the opposition Patriotic Front, has won popularity with his anti-Chinese stance.

In a reflection of anger at the government’s close relationship with Beijing, its candidates have lost the last three parliamentary and presidential election in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province.

MAURITANIA

Chinese firms are heavily involved in infrastructure projects. They have built an industrial port in the capital, Nouakchott, and a sports stadium. Chinese firms are also involved in construction of a pipeline to supply clean water to the city.

“The Chinese have an incredible capacity for work,” an engineer on the pipeline project told Reuters, on condition of anonymity as not authorised to speak to the media. “They work seven days a week, they never fail to show up and respect their contracts rigorously.”

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

A $9 billion minerals-for-infrastructure deal between Congo and China is presented by Congolese President Joseph Kabila as a cornerstone of his plan to rebuild after years of war. Chinese companies are to rebuild thousands of kilometres of road and rail connections and build schools and hospitals.

In exchange, they will be granted mining rights to concessions estimated to contain millions of tonnes of copper and cobalt reserves.

The deal requires the Chinese to hire Congolese manual labour in an effort to create jobs in a country plagued by rampant unemployment.

But many Congolese remain sceptical. “It’s a good thing. They said they’d build motorways and everything,” said Michel Nzuzi, a street vendor in the capital, Kinshasa. “But they don’t pay enough (to local workers). Even the kids shining shoes in the street earn more than those guys.”

CONGO REPUBLIC

In the neighbouring Congo Republic, Chinese firms are also heavily involved in infrastructure projects. President Denis Sassou-Nguesso rejects allegations that Chinese workers take jobs away from local people.

“Contrary to certain assertions, it’s not just Chinese on the various construction sites, there are also numerous Congolese workers,” he said. Ordinary people said they also welcome the presence of Chinese traders, who run shops in the two main cities of Barazzaville and Pointe-Noire selling clothes, electrical appliances and toys.

“Because of competition from the Chinese who sell at low prices, the other foreign traders, especially the West Africans, have cut their prices,” said Pierre Koumba, a 42-year-old bricklayer.

ALGERIA

Chinese diplomats say there are around 30,000 Chinese people working in Algeria. Most are involved in massive infrastructure and housing projects the government is funding using revenues from oil and gas exports.

Executives in Algeria’s construction sector say they need Chinese workers because, even though 7 out of 10 Algerians under 30 years of age are unemployed, they cannot find enough qualified manpower. Many Algerians view Chinese workers with a mixture of resentment and awe at their capacity for work.

Tensions spilled over this month in a suburb of the capital, when about 100 local residents and Chinese migrants fought a mass brawl using knives and bludgeons. Nacer Jabi, who teaches sociology at Algiers University, said cultural differences played a part.

“Mixing with others, understanding other people, that won’t happen overnight,” he said. “The Chinese should do more to let Algerians know about their rich culture.” (Compiled by Christian Lowe in Algiers, Reporting by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum; Shapi Shacinda in Johannesburg; Joe Bavier in Kinshasa; Christian Tsoumou in Brazzaville; Vincent Fertey in Nouakchott and Lamine Chikhi in Algiers) Source: (Reuters)