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Monday, October 13, 2008.

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

Making headlines today:

The Department of Minerals and Energy has reaffirmed its plans for a new crude oil refinery at the Coega Industrial Development Zone. It said it was set to start production in 2015.

The Mthombo project will produce about 400 000 barrels of fuel a day. Crude oil will be sourced from countries such as Venezuela and Cuba. However, the DME stated that African crude oil producers such as the gulf of Guinea, and possibly Angola and Nigeria, would also be approached to supply the refinery. The project will be operated by the State-owned petroleum company PetroSA.

The Coega refinery will be one of the first in the world with the ability to refine sour crude oil. This would make a supply agreement with Venezuela and Cuba practical.

PetroSA CEO Sipho Mkhize said that, by 2015, South Africa's fuel demand would have risen to 200 000 barrels a day.

Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa president Johan Fourie revealed that apprentice numbers in South Africa's metals sector rose to over 4 000 for the first time since 1999 during 2008. He said that he was optimistic that intake levels would surpass 5 000 during 2009.

Fourie said that "the tide is turning" on the technical-training front.

He added that Seifsa had been active in addressing the shortage of artisan skills and that it and its members were strongly supportive of national efforts to train 50 000 new artisans by 2010.

This training drive is seen as vital to closing a gaping skills gap in South Africa. The recently published ‘Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009' highlights the country's skills dearth as the most problematic issue facing business and threatening competitiveness.

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Diamond miner Boteti said on Friday that it had received a 15-year mining licence from the Botswana government for its AK06 project. Boteti is owned 70% by De Beers and 28% by African Diamonds.

Production was scheduled to start in April 2011, with all of Boteti's diamond production to be sold through Diamond Trading Company Botswana.

The Botswana government had undertaken to supply power to the project from the national grid, and had decided not to take equity in the venture.

It had also agreed to waive a road levy on imported diesel until 2013, should the mine need additional power.

Also making headlines:

Nigerian investors back a R3-billion South African cement plant plan.
A high HIV/Aids prevalence is found in South Africa's construction industry.
The metals industry awaits the details of the scrap export tariff.
Peter Leon says that a State mining company raises the nationalisation spectre.
High acid prices add pressure to miners' margins.
And, James Allan says that diamond demand growth may ‘slow'.

In political news:

The mystery viral haemorrhagic fever which killed three people in South Africa has been provisionally identified as an arenavirus.
South Korea says North Korea is not restarting its nuclear disablement yet.
Barack Obama has a four-point lead on John McCain.
And, Zimbabwe's Morgan Tsvangirai gives a warning on the power-sharing deal.

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