Friday, July twenty-five, 2008.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I'm Christy van der Merwe.

Making headlines today:

Building materials producer Lafarge would finance a new 40-million rand 20-MVA, 132-kV bulk power supply at the proposed Middelvlei substation, which would supply electricity to its new one-million ton a year cement grinding plant, in Randfontein, in Gauteng, the firm announced on Thursday.

The construction of the new plant, which formed part of its 1,2-billion rand Project Rainbow cement capacity expansion project, was on schedule for commissioning at the end of this year, despite international freight rate increases and power disruptions bringing the activities to a halt at times.

The South African branch of China-based CBMI Construction was undertaking the turnkey construction project.

Extended rail expansion negotiations between Kumba Iron Ore, Africa's biggest iron-ore miner, and State-owned Transnet have pushed production at its nine-million ton a year Sishen South project back by a year, to 2012, the Anglo American subsidiary said on Thursday.

The project would now only begin production in 2012, while a rail deal was "imminent", new CEO Chris Griffith said.

Sishen South, located 80 km south of its Northern Cape Sishen operation, had, meanwhile, "moved to the final stages of approval", after having won its mining rights and a water licence for the project.

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Vancouver-based Teck Cominco expects that the zinc market surpluses for both 2008 and 2009 will likely be smaller than currently being forecast, partly because lower prices may force mines to close prematurely, president and CEO Don Lindsay said on Thursday.

Zinc prices have fallen sharply over the last 12 months, and Teck and its partner Xstrata announced earlier this month that they would close their Pillar mine, in Australia, prematurely because of slumping metal prices, which were compounded by a strong Australian currency.

Zinc prices have fallen sharply, from above 2 000 dollars a pound in late 2006, to below 1 800 dollars a pound this month.

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Also making headlines:

Economic growth forecast to slow to 3,2% in 2008
High logistics costs damage South Africa's international competitiveness
Competition authority files perjury charge against Vodacom executive
De Beers and NUM agree on wage increases
Iron-ore prices to remain strong as miners struggle to meet demand
And, coking coal prices expected to average 300 dollars a ton in 2009

In political news:

Zimbabwe's MDC and the ruling Zanu-PF start full crisis talks
South African is named as UN human rights chief
World Trade Organisation talks live another day, but little progress so far
And, Libya halts Swiss oil sales in Gaddafi arrest row

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