The growth of Colombia's oil and gas industries is attention-grabbing by any standards. As recently as 2007 the country was producing around 500 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) the first half of last year that figure topped a billion. Though there is an increasing number of outside players involved, the lion's share of this production boom has been achieved by the largely government-owned petroleum business Ecopetrol, today one of the 25 largest petroleum companies in the world.

“In the time since we last spoke towards the end of 2012 attendance at our Diving School has increased by around 40 percent,” states Bridget Thomson, Managing Director of SEADOG Commercial Diving School. “This increase sees us today operating at maximum capacity, which for a business that has been around for a relatively short period of time is extremely good news indeed.”

Discovered in 1866, the Mesabi Iron Range is the chief deposit of iron ore in the United States. Located in northeast Minnesota, within a jurisdiction which has long boasted a track record of successful mineral developments and operations, it is a vast deposit of the mineral that was extensively mined throughout the early part of the 20th Century through to the late 1960s, when natural ore reserves were depleted.

Though the name suggests otherwise, Port Everglades does not actually form part of the Florida Everglades, rather is it located on the south-eastern coast of the Florida peninsula within the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Dania Beach. Situated in close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes, the Florida East Coast railway, the state’s highway system and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, it serves all of South Florida from Miami to Palm Beach and Orlando.

When production begins, the Sierra Gorda mine will process 110,000 tons of ore daily, producing 120,000 tons of copper per year. In addition, the project will be one of the largest molybdenum producers in the world, averaging about 50 million lbs. of molybdenum production each year during the first years of the mine’s life.

When Rod Webster established his company Weatherly in 2005 he and his partners had been casting around for that elusive beast, a company-making project. When some assets he had acquired in Zambia turned out not to be it he shifted his attention to Namibia, acquiring the assets of a struggling local copper producer called Ongopolo in 2006. In July that year Weatherly plc was admitted to London’s AIM market, and since then has been focused on Namibia.

Nobody’s perfect. What quality or ability do you wish you had?
I wish I could sing in tune (and I am sure many other people wish that as well!).

What is the best business book you have ever read, and why?
The Concise Communicator, by Clive Simpkins. It’s a small book, with great practical tips about communicating, presenting and public speaking. I did a training session with Clive when I was working in Africa and he has even stayed in touch since.

The new company, to be called ChiquitaFyffes, will be worth around $1 billion and will sell approximately 160 million boxes of bananas annually. As part of the merger shareholders will receive shares in each firm, with Fyffes shareholders owning about 49.3 percent of the combined company.

"This is a milestone transaction for Chiquita and Fyffes that brings together the best of both companies," said Chiquita boss Ed Lonergan. He added that the deal will help the US company save costs and expand the areas it serves.

1. The seven year economic cycle is a dead concept