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Nampak produces ‘pleasing’ FY18 results despite challenging environment

By: Nadine James 27th November 2018 Packaging company Nampak has achieved positive results for its continuing operations for the financial year ended September 30, with profit up 29% year-on-year to R1.2-billion and headline earnings a share up 15% year-on-year to 168.7c a share. Nampak CEO André de Ruyter told Engineering News... →

African countries urged to sign Luxembourg Protocol at Zimbabwe PIDA meeting

By: African News Agency 27th November 2018 African countries have been urged to sign the Luxembourg Protocol by Soteri Gatera, the chief of industrialisation and infrastructure at the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Gatera made the call during his presentation titled, ‘The Luxembourg Rail Protocol: Railway Rolling Stock Financing –... →

Zimbabwe miner RioZim demands $92m from central bank in lawsuit – document

By: Reuters 22nd November 2018 Zimbabwean miner RioZim is demanding $92-million from the central bank in a lawsuit brought to force the Reserve Bank to pay for more of its gold purchases from the company in US dollars, court documents showed. Miners are struggling as Zimbabwe grapples with an acute shortage of dollars. →

Radebe hints at possible Saudi investment to boost South Africa's oil refining capacity

By: Kim Cloete 7th November 2018 Energy Minister Jeff Radebe has called for a collaborative approach to attract investment in oil refining hubs throughout the continent and has hinted that Saudi Arabian investment in refining capacity in South Africa may soon become a reality. “In South Africa we believe the time has come for an... →

South African company building new smelter in Zimbabwe

By: Victor Moolman 2nd November 2018 Foundry and engineering company Thos Begbie is working in the Great Dyke of Zimbabwe, close to the town of Shurungwi, where it is helping to construct the Unki platinum smelter, adjacent to a mining operation owned by platinum mining company Anglo American Platinum (Amplats). Thos Begbie was... →

American trade delegation in South Africa to expand business opportunities in Southern Africa

By: African News Agency 30th October 2018 An American trade delegation, comprising businessmen from more than 30 American companies and state government leaders, is in South Africa seeking to expand agricultural export opportunities in the region. The trade delegation, which arrived in South Africa on Monday and will conclude its visit... →

Zimbabwe gold producers warn currency shortage threatens output

By: Bloomberg 29th October 2018 Zimbabwean gold producers may suspend operations because a foreign-exchange shortage has left them with insufficient funds to cover production costs, the main industry lobby group said. Curbing output would deprive the country of a key source of export earnings as Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube... →

Zimbabwe lithium miner sees first production in Q2 next year

By: Reuters 29th October 2018 Zimbabwe Lithium Company (ZLC) expects to complete a pilot plant and start production of lithium concentrates in the second quarter of 2019 after a legal dispute delayed work on the project, its chief executive said on Monday. John McTaggart said ZLC was in discussion with several finance groups... →

Raubex rightsizes road rehab division as lower Sanral work volumes bite

By: Marleny Arnoldi 29th October 2018 JSE-listed Raubex Group continued to experience challenging conditions in the South African construction industry in the six months ended August 31, particularly in the road construction sector, reporting a 57.4% decline in operating profit to R157-million, compared with the R370-million profit... →

Volvo launches new 95 t rigid hauler for coal, bulk commodities industries

By: Schalk Burger 26th October 2018 Earthmoving equipment manufacturer Volvo Construction Equipment on Thursday launched a new 95 t rigid hauler for the coal and bulk commodities industries in Southern Africa. Its local partner, construction equipment company Babcock Equipment, would provide the support and services for the... →

Eskom to add 6 500 km of high-voltage transmission lines by 2028

By: Marleny Arnoldi 25th October 2018 Power utility Eskom plans to add about 6 500 km of high-voltage transmission lines and 46 000 MVA of transformer capacity in the next ten years, its latest Transmission Development Plan (TDP), for the period from 2019 to 2028, shows. The TDP, which was released on Thursday, also demonstrates... →

Flirting with populism? Ask Venezuela how that went – SARB head Kganyago

By: News24Wire 19th October 2018 South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago has warned leaders that a wave of populism sweeping a number of global economies was a sign that leaders should be more responsible and accountable. Speaking at the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals conference... →

Amid falling platinum prices, PGM miners upping chrome ore production to improve profitability

By: Nadine James 19th October 2018 Some platinum group metals (PGM) producers have become large producers of chrome ore to improve their profitability, says Kagiso Asset Management investment analyst Mandi Dungwa. South Africa is the world’s largest chrome producer, delivering more than half of the global ore supply in 2017, with... →

African Chemicals Imbizo registers impressive growth

By: Natasha Odendaal 19th October 2018 The fourth African Chemicals Imbizo, to be held in Durban from October 24 to 25, is expected to be the largest one in its four-year history. Starting as a modest concept of meetings between members of the Durban Chemicals Cluster (DCC) – a public-private partnership between eThekwini municipality... →

Containerised workshop facilitates hydraulic services

19th October 2018 Hydraulics components supplier Hytec Services Africa (HSA), part of hydraulic components supplier Hytec Group, has launched its mine site based containerised hose workshops to provide a comprehensive onsite hose and fittings service to its mining clients across Africa. Set up in refurbished and... →

Getting Africa fit for the future requires good governance – Africa Forum

By: Marleny Arnoldi 18th October 2018 Law firm Hogan Lovells Africa head and partner Andrew Skipper on Thursday opened the firm’s Africa Forum conference by stating that, in Africa, there is a combination of optimism and scepticism, but stressed that the available opportunities were enormous. “Currency, corruption and certainty need... →

Liquid eyes further expansion as Cape to Cairo links up

By: Natasha Odendaal 18th October 2018 Pan-African telecommunications group Liquid Telecom is eyeing further expansion across the African continent after completing its Phase 1 decade-long project of connecting a 60 000 km network from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cairo, Egypt. The group on Thursday reported that, following the... →

Vast Resources, Botswana Diamonds receive preliminary geological assessment on Marange JV

By: Simone Liedtke 17th October 2018 Aim-listed Vast Resources, together with Botswana Diamonds (BOD), have received an independent competent person’s preliminary geological assessment relating to the Heritage concession within the Marange diamond fields of Zimbabwe, in which specific exploration recommendations were made. As... →

Vast targeting initial Baita Plai production in H1

By: Creamer Media Reporter 16th October 2018 Aim-listed Vast Resources is moving to deploy a team of people at the Baita Plai mine to start the implementation of the restart programme, following the granting of an association licence. The Romanian government has formally approved the association licence to Vast subsidiary African... →

Southern African airlines face losses and slow growth, says industry association

By: Rebecca Campbell 12th October 2018 The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) has forecast that airlines in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region will suffer total losses of $300-million for this year. This would be in sharp contrast to the expected total profit of $33.8-billion for the global airline... →

Initiated by Schneider Electric, New Pan-African and Non-profit Data Center Professional Association ADCA, launched at Datacloud in Marrakech

11th October 2018 The new association encompasses 60 members to date including 30 data center operators committed to boosting the African digital economy The President is Fatoumata Sarr Dieng, Director of Wholesales at Sonatel, Orange Schneider Electric chairs as Vice President →

Caledonia lowers 2018 production guidance, but remains on track with 2021 production target

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th October 2018 NYSE-, Aim- and TSX-listed Caledonia Mining produced 13 978 oz gold from its Blanket mine, in Zimbabwe, during the quarter ended September 30. This is 10% above the output achieved in the second quarter but 3% below that of the third quarter of 2017. →

IMF warns African countries against spiraling levels of public debt

By: African News Agency 11th October 2018 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday warned African countries that their increasing indebtedness and failure to service their public debts was creating poverty for its citizens. Montfort Mlachila, senior resident representative for IMF in South Africa, said that countries like... →

Dollar shortage 'short-term problem' for miners in Zimbabwe – Minister

By: Reuters 10th October 2018 A dollar shortage that has sparked outrage from mining companies operating in Zimbabwe is a "short-term problem" that will be remedied by a stronger economy, the mines minister told Reuters. Zimbabwe is suffering acute shortages of US dollars, deterring foreign capital from helping the ailing... →

RioZim to sue central bank over dollar payments

By: Reuters 9th October 2018 Zimbabwe's gold miner RioZim on Tuesday said it would take legal action to force the central bank to pay it in US dollars for part of its output, signalling impatience by mining companies over acute dollar shortages afflicting the economy. The shortages have worsened since 2016 and are the... →

Tharisa on track to meet 2020 targets after record FY18 production

By: Marleny Arnoldi 8th October 2018 The financial year ended September 30 bode well for JSE- and LSE-listed platinum group metals (PGMs) and chrome miner Tharisa Minerals, with record production from its Tharisa mine, in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex, record high recovery rates and a best-in-class safety accolade. “The... →

Science fair affords students learnerships, prizes to promote science skills development

By: Marleny Arnoldi 5th October 2018 During the Eskom Expo International Science Fair, which was held from October 3 to 5, the Eskom Senior Grand Prize was awarded to a Curro Klerksdorp Grade 12 learner Aqil Variava, who developed the “pollution index” – a tool to investigate water quality. He won a R75 000 cash prize. →

Botswana Diamonds agrees development of concessions in the Marange Diamond Fields of Zimbabwe with Vast Resources plc

4th October 2018 Botswana Diamonds, (‘BOD’) the AIM and BSE listed explorer, is pleased to announce that it has concluded an agreement with Vast Resources plc (‘Vast’) the AIM listed mining and resource development company, for the development of their concessions in the prolific Marange Diamond Fields (‘MDF’) of... →

Botswana Diamonds, Vast firm up Marange concession development partnership

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 4th October 2018 Explorer Botswana Diamonds has concluded an agreement with mining and resource development company Vast Resources for the development of its concessions in the prolific Marange Diamond Fields (MDF) of eastern Zimbabwe. A separate agreement will cover the joint development of diamond properties... →

Zimplats held up as mine safety benchmark at Joburg Indaba

By: Martin Creamer 4th October 2018 Zimplats platinum mine in Zimbabwe was held up as a safety benchmark at the Joburg Indaba, which on Thursday observed a minute’s silence for mining colleagues fatally injured at work. Opening the second day of the well-attended event, Gold Fields, Kumba Iron Ore and AfriTin director Terence... →

Technical study sets RHA underground mine restart costs at $1.06m

By: Creamer Media Reporter 3rd October 2018 It will cost about $1.06-million to bring Aim-listed Premier African Minerals’ 49%-owned RHA underground tungsten mine, in Zimbabwe, back into production. The mine was put under care and maintenance late in 2017 amid cash flow constraints. →

Caledonia Mining declares quarterly dividend

By: Simone Liedtke 2nd October 2018 Exploration and development company Caledonia Mining has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.06875 a share. Additionally, it is expected that the current dividend of $0.27 yearly, paid in equal quarterly instalments, will be maintained, the company said on Tuesday. →

Hwange Colliery narrows interim loss, signs of recovery shown

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 28th September 2018 Hwange Colliery Company has narrowed its loss for the six months ended June 30 to $23-million, compared with a loss of $24.5-million reported for the six months to June 30, 2017. Despite the loss position, the financial results indicate signs of recovery. →

Post-Mugabe policies raising expectations for Zim platinum-sector growth

By: Nadine James 28th September 2018 Amid Zimbabwe’s policy changes after former President Robert Mugabe’s removal in November 2017 and the subsequent air of expectation, the country’s platinum sector is poised for positive growth, if not for the challenges presented by the depressed global platinum market. The Zimbabwe Geological... →

Flicker of hope in Zimbabwe?

By: Martin Zhuwakinyu 28th September 2018 The main opposition party across the Limpopo insists that “we wuz robbed” in the July 30 elections that returned Zanu-PF to power and gave Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had been caretaker President since the November 2017 ouster of Robert Mugabe, a fresh, five-year mandate. Not even a Constitutional... →

Infrastructure Africa 2018 to Highlight Opportunities for Stakeholders in Zimbabwe Infrastructure Development Sector

By: Creamer Media Reporter 21st September 2018 The Infrastructure Africa event of 2018 is expected to assemble 350 infrastructure business leaders and investors who are planning to revolutionise the future of the African infrastructure development landscape. The conference will host a Zimbabwean Ministerial and private sector panel to unpack... →

Company eyes expansion into Africa

By: Evert Wasserman 21st September 2018 Owing to its ability to adhere to State-owned power utility Eskom’s stringent electrification infrastructure requirements, electrical solutions and engineering provider Gridbow has expanded its services into other African countries. “Contrary to popular belief, Eskom has very stringent rules with... →

Culture imperative in facilitating safe workplaces

21st September 2018 Creating a safe working environment is a complex issue and requires a concerted effort by all stakeholders over a sustained period of time, posits cement, lime and related products supplier PPC technical and lime executive Hardie de Beer. “It is this understanding that is at the core of PPC’s... →

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