Infill drilling programme at Kamoa to kick-off next month

Canadian exploration and development company Ivanhoe Mines and joint-venture partner Chinese miner Zijin Mining were preparing to accelerate a planned infill drilling programme at the Kamoa copper... 

SA Minerals Minister meets with Anglo top brass in London

Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) Minister Mosebenzi Zwane held a constructive bilateral engagement with diversified miner Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani in London last month, as part of the... 

Zero harm emphasised in Anglo’s latest sustainability report

Diversified miner Anglo American published its fifteenth annual sustainability report – ‘Driving Change, Defining Our Future’ – alongside its 2015 annual report last month. Both reports outline the... 

Glass manufacturer turns it around through operational efficiencies

Despite reporting a R76-million loss for its glass business in 2015, packaging company Nampak has recorded seven consecutive profitable months since July last year, owing to improved sales,... 

AfDB to put up $1.1bn for Tanzania’s transformation to inclusive, green growth

The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced last month that it will support Tanzania’s economic transformation to inclusive and green growth through an indicative concessional resource assistance... 

Price option contracts to secure additional funds for Canada gold project

Midtier gold miner New Gold had earlier this month entered into gold price option contracts valued at $2-million and covering 270 000 oz of the remaining 2016 production. This was done to increase... 

WCC enters into negotiations to recapitalise balance sheet

The Waterberg Energy Group (WEG), which includes dual-listed Waterberg Coal Company (WCC) and its controlled entity Firestone Energy, announced earlier this month that it was in negotiations with... 

Seifsa bemoans lack of ‘concrete plans’ to tackle slow pace of economic growth

The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has welcomed government’s announced efforts to reduce its expenditure; however, the organisation remained concerned about... 

LHWP Phase II hydropower feasibility studies to start in second quarter

Work on feasibility studies for the hydropower aspect of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II is expected to start in the second quarter of this year, says LHWP implementation body... 

Contract awarded for Western Cape offshore heavy minerals exploration

Australian resource development company Mineral Commodities announced earlier this month that its South African subsidiary Mineral Sands Resources has entered into a service agreement with South... 

With a 2024 delivery target, preparatory work begins on next Lesotho Highlands phase

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II, which comprises a water transfer system from Lesotho to South Africa and a hydropower generation scheme to improve Lesotho’s electricity... 

Draft building inspection regulations to be released this year

The first draft of the Building Inspectors regulations is expected to be released in September this year, says the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC). In November last year the... 

Telecoms firm looks to connect 80 schools to high-speed fibre

Following the success of a pilot project, which resulted in three schools’ receiving free uncapped open-access fibre-optic infrastructure, high-speed connectivity provider Vumatel aims to connect... 

Govt ‘distancing itself’ from mining sector, says analyst

Cadiz Corporate Solutions mining policy consultant Peter Major noted at the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa’s post budget speech industry briefing that there was... 

Germany to host African mining opportunities next week

The Competence Centre for Mineral Resources at the Southern Africa-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry will co-host the Mining Opportunities in Africa workshop at the House of German Economy,... 

WCC enters into negotiations to recapitalise its balance sheet

The Waterberg Energy Group (WEG), which included dual-listed Waterberg Coal Company (WCC) and its controlled entity Firestone Energy, is in negotiations with Villora, soon to be AME International,... 

South Africa’s manufacturing prowess on show in MeerKAT project

Heavy engineering company Efficient Engineering has delivered 15 radio antennas comprising a stationary pedestal and a rotating yoke, which are being used for the MeerKAT radio telescope project,... 

Fashion-inspired luxury vehicle unveiled in South Africa

Car manufacturer Rolls Royce unveiled its Wraith Inspired by Fashion vehicle last month at logistics company Bidvest Panalpina Logistics’ (BPL’s) premises, adjacent to the OR Tambo International... 

Africa central to future growth – ERG

Diversified international natural resources producer Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) highlighted the importance of Africa in its long-term international growth strategy at the recent Investing in... 

Oil conference to explore Saldanha Bay IDZ opportunities

The South African government’s planned R9.2-billion investment to develop Saldanha Bay into a world-class hub for Southern Africa offshore oil and gas drilling will create substantial opportunities... 

Contract awarded for new luxury high-rise in Sandton

Luxury accommodation provider Legacy Group announced earlier this month that it had awarded multi-disciplinary construction and engineering group Aveng Grinaker-LTA with the Leonardo building... 

Low prices, escalating costs, energy deficit and taxes take toll on Zambian copper mines

The current challenges facing Zambia’s copper mining industry because of a global downturn and declining commodity prices are further fuelled with general increases in operating costs.  Escalating... 

Namibia-bound diamond sampling, exploration vessel launched in Norway

Marine diamond miner Debmarine Namibia’s new $139-million diamond sampling and exploration vessel, the SS Nujoma, was launched at the Kleven Verft shipyard in Ulsteinvik, Norway, when the 12 000 t... 

Aggreko installs 30 MW of power generation capacity at African mines

Global temporary power generation company Aggreko’s installed generator capacity in African mining grew by 20% year-on-year, adding 30 MW of additional capacity in 2015. East Africa and Southern... 

Municipal pipe replacement projects could help relieve water pressures

South Africa is in the throes of its worst drought in decades, with the South African Weather Service announcing last month that 2015 was the driest year on record since 1904. To combat this,... 

Membrane filtration system removes heavy metals from contaminated water

Switzerland-based university ETH Zurich announced last month that its researchers had developed a new water filtration system that efficiently removes a number of toxic heavy metal ions and... 

Preliminary results of Joburg seismic study expected in March

The preliminary results of the Council for Geoscience’s (CGS’s) seismic microzonation model for Johannesburg are expected to be released by the end of March this year CGS microzonation project... 

Contract awarded to remove dredge spoil from uMfolozi river

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority signed a R10-million contract last month with local tailings storage facility specialists Cyclone Engineering Projects to remove about 100 000 m3 of dredge... 

Mineral sands miner hands over resource centre to Western Cape community

Australia-based miner Mineral Sands Resources (MSR), which owns and operates the Tormin Mine near Vredendal, in the Western Cape, celebrated the launch and official handover of a resource centre to... 

Midrand suburbs to have fibre-to-the-home services

Fibre-optic broadband connectivity service provider Metrofibre Networx has been awarded the contract to install fibre-optic cable in the Beaulieu, Heathcliff and Blue Hills estates in Midrand,... 

UCT joins international university research alliance

The University of Cape Town (UCT) last month became the first African university and the eleventh member of the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), which boast membership from... 

Fibre roll-out ushering in new connectivity future for South Africa

The roll-out of fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) promises to change the connectivity landscape of South Africa’s consumer and small-business markets, which have largely been neglected by the country’s... 

Child labour rife at DRC cobalt mines, say NGOs

Major electronics brands, including Apple, Samsung and Sony, are failing to do basic checks to ensure that cobalt mined by children has not been used in their products, according to Amnesty... 

Silicosis class action could spur reforms that usher in adequate, effective redress – lawyer

A decision by the South Gauteng High Court regarding the application for class action certification in the case of South African mineworkers who have contracted silicosis could have significant... 

Local power utility event puts water on its agenda

The sixteenth African Utility Week and Clean Power Africa conference and trade exhibition, which will be held in Cape Town from May 17 to 19, is expected to host 6 000 engineers, stakeholders and... 

Upgraded Zim oil depot to enter operation by April

Local fuel distributor Afric Oil’s $1-million upgrade project at the Beitbridge oil depot, in Zimbabwe, which Afric Oil bought in October 2014, is expected to be complete by April. Once completed,... 

Work advancing on locally made workboat

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) announced last month that significant progress has been made on the 100% locally manufactured Inyosi workboat that will support TNPA’s new R889-million... 

Silicosis class action could spur reforms that usher in adequate, effective redress – lawyer

A decision by the South Gauteng High Court regarding the application for class action certification in the case of South African mineworkers who have contracted silicosis – a degenerative lung... 

Maputo ranked African large city with highest potential for inclusive growth

Mozambique’s capital Maputo was the large African city with the highest potential for inclusive growth, according to the 2015 MasterCard African Cities Growth Index (ACGI). Casablanca, in Morocco,... 

Africa Water Facility engages stakeholders to gauge its performance

African Ministers’ Council on Water (Amcow) water resource development unit the Africa Water Facility (AWF) engaged stakeholders from November 25 to 27 in a series of meetings to evaluate its...