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Chemicals News
Rising demand for separation compound 
By: Halima Frost 3rd December 2021 Since the partnership between global chemicals producer 2M Holdings and speciality materials company Celanese, established in 2014, demand for its methyl isobutyl carbinol (MIBC) compound, used to separate copper from ore, has grown substantially in the Central Africa region. 2M Holdings South... →
Leigh Creek finds offtake partner in Korean construction company
By: Esmarie Iannucci 30th November 2021 ASX-listed Leigh Creek Energy has inked a urea offtake heads of agreement (HoA) with South Korean construction major Daelim. The HoA covers a minimum of 500 000 t of granular urea a year, for a minimum period of five years, accounting for all of Leigh Creek’s export urea from its Leigh Creek... →
Chemicals aid sustainable mining efforts
By: Nadine Ramdass 26th November 2021 To assist mining companies in moving towards sustainable mining, customised chemical solutions specialist Clariant Mining Solutions is working with several mines in the sub-Saharan Africa region. Clariant’s assistance includes helping mines in reprocessing tails and has also launched a competence... →
Johnson Matthey shares plunge as it exits battery materials business
By: Reuters 11th November 2021 Johnson Matthey's shares plunged as much as 20% on Thursday after the British chemicals company said it would exit its battery materials business due to crushing competition and that CEO Robert MacLeod would step down next year. The London-listed company said potential returns from the battery... →
Omnia expects to report higher interim earnings
By: Schalk Burger 8th November 2021 JSE-listed chemicals company Omnia expects to report an 89% to 109% year-on-year increase in earnings a share to between 287c and 317c for the six months ended September 30. Headline earnings a share are expected to be between 95% and 115% higher at between 291c and 320c. →
Top-performing South African fund rides bet on energy stocks
By: Bloomberg 4th November 2021 South Africa’s top-performing equity fund has reaped the benefit of a wager that battered stocks, particularly in the energy sector, would flourish as economies rebounded from the worst of the pandemic. Blue Quadrant Capital Management’s Worldwide Flexible Prescient Fund has returned 125% this... →
Sasol takes lead role in feasibility study for Boegoebaai green hydrogen project
By: Creamer Media Reporter 6th October 2021 Integrated chemicals and energy company Sasol has signed a memorandum of agreement with the Northern Cape Economic Development, Trade and Promotion Agency to lead the feasibility study to explore the potential of Boegoebaai as an export hub for green hydrogen and ammonia. The Boegoebaai green... →
Multinational oil company promotes EALs growth
By: Claire O'Reilly 27th August 2021 Biodegradable, environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALs) offer companies a solution to balance productivity and environmental protection, with performance levels comparable with those of conventional fluids, says multinational oil and gas company Shell. →
Resources Watch
24th August 2021 This week: Omnia firmly in a growth phase following restructuring; Thungela speedy in putting R6m into trust for communities around its coal mines; and, Marikana massacre commemorated with second yearly memorial lecture →
Omnia firmly in a growth phase following restructuring – CEO
By: Simone Liedtke 16th August 2021 Diversified chemical manufacturing company Omnia intends to “settle down” following the completion of its strategic restructuring, and to take some time to focus on its people, culture and setting a “firm foundation to grow from”. Omnia CEO Seelan Gobalsamy tells Engineering News the company is... →
Sasol donates R10m to help rebuild businesses, communities affected by unrest
By: Creamer Media Reporter 5th August 2021 Energy and chemicals company Sasol has committed R10-million to help rebuild businesses and communities that have been devastated by the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The funds were raised through corporate donation, employee giving mobilisation and small, medium-sized and... →
Sasol joins the Hydrogen Council
By: Yvonne Silaule 22nd July 2021 Chemicals and energy company Sasol has joined the Hydrogen Council, with the aim to help secure the future of hydrogen in South Africa The Hydrogen Council is a global CEO-led initiative consisting of more than 120 companies from across the hydrogen value chain, with a united vision and long-term... →
Sasol sells cyanide business to Czech chemicals company
By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th July 2021 JSE-listed petrochemicals giant Sasol has entered into an agreement to sell its sodium cyanide business, in Sasolburg, to Czech Republic-based chemicals company Draslovka Holding Company for R1.46-billion. Draslovka is a global producer of cyanide-based chemical specialties and agricultural... →
Mining vital to economy, can help guide country's path – President 
By: Martin Creamer 5th July 2021 Mining is vital to the South African economy and the opportunities that exist in mining can help guide the country’s path to a more inclusive and equitable economy, President Cyril Ramaphosa stated on Monday. Writing in his From the Desk of the President column, Ramaphosa placed mineral and... →
Sibanye-linked Finnish developer takes next step towards battery-grade lithium goal
By: Martin Creamer 1st July 2021 Finnish lithium project developer Keliber, in which South Africa’s Sibanye-Stillwater is a significant shareholder, this week took a new step towards its goal of becoming the first European company to start producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide in 2024. Construction of the infrastructure and... →
Omnia resumes dividends after strong financial year performance
By: Simone Liedtke 22nd June 2021 Diversified chemicals group Omnia had a strong performance for the 2021 financial year, enabling it to resume dividends and return over R1-billion to shareholders, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and general economic and sector challenges. Throughout the pandemic, JSE-listed Omnia... →
Sasol able to produce green hydrogen within 24 months – CEO 
By: Martin Creamer 17th June 2021 Synthetic fuels and chemicals company Sasol is in a position to be able to produce green hydrogen within the next 24 months, Sasol CEO Fleetwood Grobler said on Thursday. Grobler was responding to Absa group industrials research head Christina Steyn, who moderated an SA Tomorrow panel discussion... →
Fluor repositions South African unit to support energy transition drive
By: Terence Creamer 14th June 2021 Global engineering and construction company Fluor, which has been closely associated with South Africa’s liquid fuels and chemicals industries since the 1960s, has restructured its South African operations to align with the unfolding transitions under way in the energy and mining sectors. Fluor... →
Varnish removal solution makes debut
11th June 2021 Oil major Chevron’s brand Caltex Lubricants launched a holistic solution for varnish removal in steam and gas turbines called VARTECH Industrial System Cleaner (ISC) in April this year. VARTECH ISC’s unique triple action technology cuts through hard varnish, captures and stabilises micro-sized... →
Battery material value-add consolidation in South Africa under consideration by Mick Davis-linked NextSource
By: Martin Creamer 31st May 2021 South Africa, which has the wherewithal to provide the value-add consolidation advantage to battery materials that the world’s electric vehicle original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) want, is being seriously considered for the role, NextSource president and CEO Craig Scherba said on Monday.... →
South Africans right to be very proud of country’s iron-ore – IMR
By: Martin Creamer 24th May 2021 South Africans are well within their rights to be very proud of the iron-ore that is produced in the country. That is the view of Sedibeng Iron Ore CEO Aneesh Misra, who is also MD of IMR South Africa. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) →
Mining policy should be hugely supportive of exploration’s multiplier magic – investor
By: Martin Creamer 28th April 2021 Mining, preceded by exploration, is the greatest economic multiplier of all business activities, including government expenditure, says Integral Asset Management chief investment officer Bruce Williamson. It therefore makes huge sense for government to enact attractive investment-friendly... →
Value of iridium in electrolysis could top R90bn mark in years ahead – HySA
By: Martin Creamer 7th April 2021 The value of iridium for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis technology alone could exceed R90-billion in the next ten to 20 years. This is the view of Professor Dmitri Bessarabov, the director of the Department of Science and Innovation's National Centre of Competence: Hydrogen... →
Australian court orders Tianqi Lithium to pay $29m to court fund
By: Reuters 1st April 2021 An Australian court on Thursday ordered China's Tianqi Lithium to pay A$38.9-million ($29.43-million) into a court fund, as the firm appeals a disputed payment for the building of a battery-grade lithium processing plant in Western Australia. Tianqi, one of the world's biggest producers of... →
Africa hosts considerable potential for green hydrogen
By: Tasneem Bulbulia 25th March 2021 While there may be many challenges, Africa has the potential to leapfrog in terms of decarbonisation and to capitalise on opportunities presented by green hydrogen, African Hydrogen Partnership secretary general Vincent Oldenbroek has said. Speaking on the second day of a two-day green hydrogen... →
Sasol, Eskom achieve dismal results in emissions benchmark study
By: Donna Slater 24th March 2021 Investor engagement initiative on climate change Climate Action 100+ (CA100+) issued its first Net Zero Company Benchmark of the world’s biggest corporate emitters, including petrochemicals and chemicals producer Sasol and State power utility Eskom. However, in a response to questions by... →
Sibanye, Johnson Matthey partner to boost battery technology, low-carbon development
By: Donna Slater 19th March 2021 LSE-listed sustainable technologies company Johnson Matthey and JSE- and NYSE-listed gold and platinum group metals (PGMs) miner Sibanye-Stillwater have formed a strategic partnership to secure critical metals and accelerate new battery technologies for a low-carbon future. The collaboration will... →
Local battery material champions planning first-mover advances into new geographies
By: Martin Creamer 15th March 2021 South Africa’s team of local battery material champions are planning first-mover advances into new geographies. Mining Weekly can today report that Thakadu Battery Materials, which is producing high-purity battery-grade nickel sulphate for export, has a pipeline of new projects in place that will... →
Sasol says unit's dollar-denominated notes offering oversubscribed more than 3 times
By: Reuters 12th March 2021 South African petrochemical firm Sasol said on Friday an offering of dollar-denominated senior notes by its unit was oversubscribed more than three times for a total orderbook of $4.60-billion. The offering consisted of $650-million of senior notes due 2026 and $850-million of senior notes due... →
Czech chemicals company expanding into Africa, the Americas
By: Simone Liedtke 11th March 2021 Czech-based Draslovka Holdings will be expanding its footprint into Africa and the Americas. The company, a family-owned group producing cyanide-based specialty chemicals, has developed a new proprietary hydrogen cyanide reactor, which has been successfully operating in a production facility, in... →
Mines anywhere, everywhere can go green – Hydrogen Optimized
By: Martin Creamer 8th March 2021 Owing to the ubiquity of the world’s sun and the wind, all mines have the opportunity to generate their own green electricity no matter where they are located in the world, Hydrogen Optimized CEO Andrew T Stuart emphasised during last week’s Fasken online panel discussion on hydrogen. In this... →
Fasken panel that discussed hydrogen.
South African mining scientist wins Wadsworth Award
By: Donna Slater 3rd March 2021 One of the top global awards in extractive metallurgy – the Wadsworth Award from The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) – has been presented to Dr Frank Crundwell of CM Solutions/Crundwell Metallurgy. Presented on March 3, during mining conference MineXchange in Denver, in the... →
South Africa urged to play to strengths as its plots role in lithium-ion battery value chain
By: Terence Creamer 3rd March 2021 A newly released study of the potential for developing a lithium-ion battery value chain in South Africa concludes that the country should prioritise minerals beneficiation and mining, as well as battery manufacturing as it seeks to carve out a niche for itself in what is a fast-growing, highly... →
AECI’s diversification strategy helped to deliver solid 2020 performance amid challenging year
By: Marleny Arnoldi 24th February 2021 JSE-listed chemicals group AECI has declared a final cash dividend of 470c apiece for the year ended December 31, 2020, despite a 55% year-on-year decrease in profit from operations to R917-million. The total ordinary dividend for 2020 was 570c apiece, unchanged from the total dividend for 2019. →
AECI CEO Mark Dytor
Greenpeace calls on Creecy to revise weakening minimum emission standards
By: Simone Liedtke 17th February 2021 Nongovernmental organisation Greenpeace Africa has called on Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy to revise the weakening of the minimum emission standards (MES) to avoid further air pollution. The organisation has also requested the Department of Environment, Forestry and... →
Albemarle CEO signs diversity, inclusion pledge
By: Creamer Media Reporter 16th February 2021 US-based Albemarle CEO Kent Masters has signed the CEO action for diversity and inclusion pledge, committing him to promote collective action to drive inclusive behaviour strategically and deliberately. "We are committed to a culture where our values are clear, all are welcome to collaborate and... →
Energy multinational outlines South Africa’s $100bn green hydrogen export opportunity
By: Terence Creamer 2nd February 2021 French energy multinational Engie says that South Africa is ideally positioned, by virtue of its solar and wind endowments, to emerge as a global leader in the production of green hydrogen and derivative carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals, which could generate domestic and export revenues worth... →
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