Tomorrow, I leave for South Africa. I’ve got an interesting itinerary lined up, and a couple surprise “cancellations” along the way, which I’ll tell you about as I go along. Here was my general itinerary:

April 1 - Flight to Johannesburg; Arrive @ 4:40 p.m. on April 2
April 2 - Zurich Club Chapter Meeting – MoneyWeek SA, local university
April 3 - Lunch Meeting with MoneyWeek SA
April 4 - Flight to Cape Town; Arrive @ 2:10 p.m.
April 5 - Tour of Cape Town
April 6 - Flight to Port Elizabeth; Arrive @ 10:20 a.m.; Lunch with VIP Subscriber F.S.; Return to Johannesburg @ 6:55 p.m.
April 7 - Will arrange a tour through the hotel, perhaps to Pilanesberg Game Reserve (90 min. north of Johannesburg)
April 8 - Flight home; Arrive @ 11:53 a.m. on April 9

I’m having lunch with one of our very own Taipan VIP Inner Circle subscribers, F.S. He’s lived in the country for 30 years, and he had this to say in a response to one of my Taipan Insider articles…

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It’s time for another peek at our exclusive newsletter for Taipan Publishing Group subscribers, Taipan Insider.

I told you on Monday that the Chinalco-Rio Tinto deal was delayed for another 90 days. I think the deal will eventually go through, and that would mean another bump in share prices in the mining industry.

In the meantime, I wanted to share with you an article I wrote for Taipan Insider about China buying up assets and natural resources around the world. From March 5… Enjoy.

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Here’s the hitch…

In January and February, I told you about Rio Tinto’s (RTP:NYSE) search for cold, hard cash. I went into greater detail in the pages of Taipan Insider, our exclusive communique to Taipan Publishing Group’s subscribers.

I thought the most recent deal - the $19.5 billion deal that would give China’s state-owned aluminum company Chinalco, a 50% stake in RTP’s mining assets and $7.2 million in convertible bonds - was done and done.

Not so…

Australia announced it was extending its review of the Rio Tinto/Chinalco deal for a further 90 days.

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I had lunch with the Taipan Publishing Group’s executive publisher, Sandy Franks, today. I collaborate with Sandy on my Taipan Insider articles that come out every Tuesday and Thursday.

We talked about my next trip… I’d been considering Australia, and contributing editor Archie Bayvel has offered to help me put together some great contacts, but he said I’d have to be nuts to come visit during “The Wet.” So I’ve pushed that trip back.

In the meantime, South Africa is on my radar.

In the past few days, I’ve seen a number of negative articles about Africa:

• Botswana Diamond Firm Shuts Mines
• South Africa Sees Economy Shrink
• Zambian Miners Hit by Copper Slump
• Wilting Flower Ecports Hit Zambia
• Economic Ill Winds Hitting Africa

So my goal will be to find out how South Africa, the economic hub and biggest market south of the Sahara, is fairing. South Africa is supposed to be hosting the World Cup in 2010. That means a lot of hotel construction and infrastructure investments. I have to say, there’s been a lot of discussion about whether or not the country will be ready in time, but tickets have already gone on sale, and there’s no turning back.

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