Thursday, August seven, 2008.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Shannon O'Donnell.

Making headlines today:

On Wednesday, Ernst & Young Ethiopia managing partner Zemedeneh Negatu said at the Africa Investor Summit, that the aggregate of the combined economies of the 53 countries in Africa, collectively represented the fifth largest economy in the world.

Negatu added that the combined GDP of the remaining countries, collectively still represented the tenth largest economy in the world.

He said that the challenge is to ensure that Africa obtains its fair share of positive global comment as well as seeking ways of increasing growth through stock market listings.

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Economists said on Wednesday that the national stayaway organised by the Congress of South Africa Trade Unions was likely to aggravate the slowdown in the economy. It would also have no real financial benefit for those that participated in the strike action.

Bernard Jacobs Mellet economist Elna Moolman said that South Africa's economic growth had already been slowing down in response to tighter monetary policy. She said that the strike would make matters worse.

Tens of thousands of Cosatu members supported the trade union federation's call for a one-day national strike. This was against rising food and energy prices. The protest action paralysed businesses across the country, hitting the manufacturing and mining industries particularly hard.

Diversified mining giant Xstrata has signed a binding heads of agreement with minerals resources company Genorah Resources, and its platinum mining subsidiary, Nkwe Platinum. This will grant Xstrata the option to acquire a maximum of 50% interest in five platinum-group metal properties on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex.

Nkwe nonexecutive director Mxolile Nkuhlu said that the group found it necessary to engage with a strategic partner with the financial capacity and technical expertise to further enhance its projects.

Xstrata Alloys chief financial officer Mark Moffett added that this represented an exciting opportunity given the miner's stated objective of becoming a significant player in the PGMs market.

Mxolile Nkuhlu:
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Also making headlines:

Afrimat wins a 90-million rand contract to supply aggregates for the Medupi construction
Alec Erwin insists that penalties will be paid if offset obligations are not met
Transnet awards security contracts worth 27-million rand to Jasco
Merafe's 40-MW cogeneration plant is to be operational by the end of 2009
Xstrata announces a 121-million Canadian dollar expansion at a Canada copper mine
And, Intrepid Mines awards an engineering contract to a local firm for its new Argentina mine

In political news:

Zimbabwe's ZANU-PF and the MDC call for an end to the violence
The African Union condemns the coup in Mauritania
Zimbabwe security chiefs meet South African mediators
And, France says Rwanda's genocide charges are "unacceptable"

That's a round up of news making headlines today. For more on these and other stories, visit engineeringnews.co.za, miningweekly.com and polity.org.za