Growth south of the Sahara will surge to 6.1% next year, well ahead of the global average of 4%, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said this week. The second annual Africa Mining & Investment Conference Sydney (AMI) promises to be an outstanding opportunity for investors and mining companies to network and learn about developments in the rapidly developing continent.

Frontier Resources (ASX: FNT)  has received results from the four remaining drill holes of the 2012 drilling program at the Andewa copper-gold project in Papua New Guinea, further demonstrating the gold and copper potential of the JV project with Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM).

Rimfire Pacific Mining (ASX: RIM) has commenced rotary air blast drilling to the south of known gold mineralisation at Trench 31 within the highly prospective Sorpresa project area in New South Wales.

Phosphate Australia’s (ASX: POZ) share price has jumped 78% to $0.057 today on news reports about a substantial copper discovery by BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) in the significantly underexplored West Musgrave region of Western Australia.

Condor Blanco Mines (ASX: CDB) has seen its share price double over the last two days to $0.046 per share after announcing on April 2 that it had commenced production of iron ore tailings at the Marianas Magnetite Tailings Project in northern Chile.

Renaissance Minerals (ASX: RNS) 25,000m drilling program is expected to provide an insight to the ultimate resource potential of not only the Okvau deposit, but also other regional prospects in the unexplored terrain in Cambodia.

Cassini Resources (ASX: CZI) share price spiked 30% to $0.13 yesterday on the announcement it had defined a large scale high priority nickel-copper sulphide exploration target in a recent VTEM geophysical survey over its West Musgrave Project in Western Australia.

Peel Mining’s (ASX: PEX) shares have soared today on the news that it has intersected a broad zone of variable stringer/breccia chalcopyrite-dominant sulphide mineralisation at its Mallee Bull Copper-Polymetallic discovery in New South Wales.

Tribune Resources’ (ASX: TBR) shares spiked 31% to $1.70 yesterday after media reports highlighted that Rand Mining (ASX: RND) and Tribune have low debt, high profits, locked-in gold production and exploration potential at the the East Kundana Joint Venture (EKJV) near Kalgoorlie.

In a significant step forward for Finders Resources' (ASX: FND) Wetar Copper Project, the Maluku Provincial Forestry Department has completed its final boundary and inventory surveys on Wetar Island, Indonesia. Finders is seeking to expand the existing demonstration plant and lift production to 25,000tpa.