In 2010, Aviva acquired an interest in the highly prospective West Kenya gold and base metals project, through joint venture with AfriOre International, a wholly owned subsidiary of leading platinum producer Lonmin Plc. The project comprises 2,800km² of the highly prospective Ndori Greenstone belt in Kenya, with excellent infrastructure access. Previous exploration has identified significant potential for gold, as well as copper, lead and zinc. Aviva’s initial exploration programs confirm the high grade tenor of mineralisation at the project, with early results exceeding expectations in terms of the scale and grade of mineralisation.

In 2007, Aviva and Mawana Minerals Pty Limited of Botswana entered into a Joint Venture over the Mmamantswe coal project which is located 70km north of the capital, Gaborone on the South African border. Aviva has identified a large coal resource of 1.3 billion tonnes, including a probable run of mine reserve of 895Mt. The potential development options for Mmamantswe are well understood. Since acquiring the project in 2007, Aviva has undertaken numerous studies, the most recent of which demonstrates that Mmamantswe could yield two products streams; namely 200Mt of export grade thermal coal and an additional 100-150Mt of domestic power coal capable of supporting a 300MW domestic power station over a 60 year mine life.

In Western Australia, Aviva owns the information and development approvals for the Coolimba Power and Central West Coal projects. Environmental approval was successfully secured for the Coolimba Power project in 2010. The approval process for the Central West Coal project is ongoing. The company wrote off its investment in the Coolimba and Central Coal projects in 2009.