Johannesburg - South Africa's experience in harvesting mineral resources has on the whole allowed local mining firms that have entered Australia to do quite well, but a number have run into trouble Down Under.
At the same time Australian mining houses are increasingly setting up shop in Africa, including South Africa.
South African firms with operations in Australia include Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Exxaro Resources and Uranium One.
Groups with Australian roots that have operations here include BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Platinum Australia, Aquila Resources, International Ferro Metals (IFM), Aim Resources and Chrome Corporation.
In terms of joint ventures, Gold Fields and Australian-listed Sino Gold are together exploring for gold in China. Gold Fields also has a 17 percent stake in Sino Gold.
AngloCoal Australia, an arm of Anglo's coal division, is studying the viability of four coal projects that could add as much as 27 million tons of annual production.
However, these coal projects will all depend on overcoming rail and port constraints, especially in Queensland. These constraints have forced the company to cut back on production as it had built up stockpiles of coal that were too large.
AngloGold could lift its gold output in Australia to its best level of between 700 000 and 800 000 ounces in 2009 as the Boddington project comes on stream.
Construction of this mine, in which AngloGold owns one third, is 40 percent complete and about 80 percent of the engineering work is done.
Boddington, an open pit mine in Western Australia, is expected to produce 850 000 ounces of gold and 30 000 tons of copper a year for 17 years. Production is expected to start late next year or early in 2009.
The mine remains within its budgeted costs of between $1.35 billion and $1.5 billion (R9 billion to R10 billion).
In 2001 Gold Fields bought St Ives and the Agnew mines from Australian group WMC Resources for $232 million. The assets produce a total of 700 000 ounces of gold a year.
Exxaro has mineral sands and coal interests in Australia. It and US group Tronox could spend $45 million on expanding pigment production at their Tiwest heavy minerals joint venture in Western Australia.
Tiwest is set to complete a feasibility study next month. A decision on whether to proceed with the expansion, which could reach full production by mid-2009, is likely to be taken before year-end.
While some companies have successfully taken up positions in Australia, others have missed the boat Down Under.
In 2000 Anglo was outbid by Rio Tinto for Australian iron ore company North. Given the massive increase in iron ore prices since 2003, Anglo must rue this lost opportunity.
A successful acquisition of North would have given Anglo a foothold in the lucrative Australian iron ore market, which is largely controlled by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
In 2001 AngloGold lost out on Australian gold producer Normandy Mining to US-based Newmont. Such a takeover would have given AngloGold access to some of Australia's largest gold mines.
Harmony Gold's foray into Australia has been unsuccessful. It is now shutting or selling off its Mount Magnet and South Kal operations in Western Australia.
The talk in the Australian market is that Harmony overpaid for a bunch of poor, hyped up gold mining assets.
Kumba Iron Ore missed out on a huge opportunity when Australian business woman Gina Rinehart forced its forerunner, Kumba Resources, to sell its share of the Hope Downs iron ore joint venture to Rio Tinto.
Rinehart's firm, Hancock Prospecting, and Rio Tinto are together spending $1.33 billion on growing production at the Hope Downs iron ore mine to 30 million tons a year by 2009.
Australian mining companies are increasingly seeking and mining metals and minerals in Africa, with up to 130 believed to be operating on the continent. Canberra estimates that these firms have invested $15 billion in Africa.
BHP Billiton has coal, manganese and heavy minerals interests in South Africa, but the diversified mining house is looking elsewhere in Africa for potential new projects or mine expansions.
Incoming chief executive Marius Kloppers said early last month that the group could spend $80 billion expanding its output over the next 10 years.
Rio Tinto's exposure to South Africa will increase with its $38 billion acquisition of Alcan, which will give it a large stake in the $2.7 billion Coega aluminium project.
Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese said last month that Coega would certainly be one of the new sources of aluminium smelting capacity in the Rio Tinto-Alcan group.
IFM, the world's fourth-largest ferrochrome producer, is developing plans to spend R3.2 billion on expanding its local ferrochrome operations.
The expansion would increase the number of furnaces at the Lesedi chromite operation in the North West from two to five by March 2010. This would lift IFM's annual ferrochrome output by 150 percent to 665 000 tons.
Exploration for iron ore in South Africa that is planned by Australian mining junior Aquila Resources could pave the way for an outside steel producer, possibility from Japan, to challenge ArcelorMittal South Africa's local position.
Aquila intends to explore for iron ore around Thabazimbi in Limpopo and near Sishen in the Northern Cape.
Platinum Australia is looking to triple the platinum group metal resource at its Kalahari Platinum (Kalplats) joint venture with African Rainbow Minerals to about 10 million ounces. It hopes to start mining at its Smokey Hills project early next year.
Aim Resources, which is listed on the London and Australia stock exchanges, is looking to spend $18 million on turning its Mokopane project in Limpopo into a mine producing platinum group metals and nickel.
Australian-listed Chrome Corporation could spend as much as R50 million on reopening the Ruighoek chrome mine near Sun City in North West as well as establishing a processing plant.