From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. Kumba Iron Ore has donated an iron-ore truck from its Sishen mine in the Northern Cape to a Johannesburg inner city renewal project. Joanne Taylor has the story.

South African freight logistics group Transnet is making strides in re-establishing South Africa as a manufacturing base of locomotives. CEO Brian Molefe and Transnet Rail Engineering CE Richard Vallihu offer some insight into developments.

It’s the end of a busy working year and as has become tradition, Creamer Media reviews a selection of the most popular Real Economy Reports of 2011.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. For over 30 years, Ash Resources has turned a waste product of Eskom’s pulverised coal-fired power stations into an environmentally-friendly and sustainable building material. Schalk Burger finds out some alternative uses for this versatile product.

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. A British team will aim to break the landspeed record on Hakskeen Pan, in the Northern Cape, in 2013, and it is looking for South African companies and schools to become involved in the 1 600 km/h attempt.

Manufacturer and supplier of a wide variety of industrial and specialty gas products Air Products is intensifying the marketing for its two tyre and rubber recycling solutions, following the Water and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa’s call to curb the waste tyre challenge.

The South African Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act is a step in the right direction; however, it will need to be tied to a number of other strategies, as it will not work on its own, says Manufacturing Circle of South Africa chairperson Stewart Jennings.

With limited room left in monetary and fiscal policy, South Africa needed to focus on structural factors to promote growth and employment, and strengthen investor confidence, Business Unity of South Africa (Busa) deputy chief executive officer Raymond Parsons said Wednesday. Speaking at a pre-2012 Budget media briefing, he added that the local business sector looked to the forthcoming Budget, which Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan will deliver on February 22, to reinforce this strategic direction.

Consulting Engineers South Africa (Cesa), which has nearly 500 member firms that together earn yearly fee income of R17-billion, has made an application to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for engineering consulting services to be given ‘designated’ status under government’s preferential procurement rules. But the body has also raised serious concerns about exemptions made for certain State-owned companies (SoCs) from the new regulations associated with the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA).

South Africa’s electricity pricing policy (EPP) review which has been initiated by the Department of Energy (DoE), will interrogate ways to “protect” the economy from “pricing shocks”, but was unlikely to entail a “complete revision” of the policy, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Monday. Speaking at an Eskom briefing on the state of the system, Gigaba said officials from his department and those from the DoE were already involved in discussions on the new-look EPP, which would seek to balance the sustainability of Eskom with the growth and development needs of the economy.

The global steel industry has returned to a solid growth footing in 2010; the RMB/BER Business Confidence index fell by seven points to a level of 36 in the second quarter; and Exxaro plans to develop clean energy power projects with a total capacity of 350 MW.

The new east-to-north directional flyover at the Gillooly's interchange is opened to traffic; Eskom's discussions with Anglo American regarding a price agreement for the Skorpion zinc mine are "progressing well"; and the CrossPolo becomes the second model of the refreshed Polo series to be introduced locally.

Gautrain announces costs to use the Gautrain first-phase service; Eskom is granted an urgent court interdict to prevent union members from striking from May 26 onwards; and transport workers call for possible sympathy stoppages.

SA transport unions reach a proposed wage deal with Transnet; South Africa could sell its stake in ArcelorMittal's South Arica unit if competition authorities find the company raised steel prices without good reason; and 300 000 jobs could be created in South Africa's renewable energy sector over the next ten years.

South African iron-ore miner Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) on Tuesday effectively moved its ongoing dispute with ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) from the realm of a pure dispute over pricing, into one that could now also affect supply, indicating to Engineering News Online that it could as "a last resort" terminate supply to Africa's largest steel producer. In a note to shareholders, the JSE-listed miner said that, unless there was urgent resolution on an interim pricing and payment mechanism, the basis upon which it would continue to supply iron-ore the steel producer could be affected.

The recovery of millions of ounces of gold from old West Rand mine dumps is poised to get the go-ahead; The government is going all out to halt South Africa’s deindustrialisation and set the country on a new path of reindustrialisation; and all roads will lead to Cape Town next week when people from all over the world descend on the Mother City for South Africa’s 18th Mining Indaba.

South Africa is set to benefit from its strong position in vanadium, which is being developed to store electricity; the US government is now offering South Africa’s free insights into the money-making shale-gas business; and South Africa’s one and only orbiting satellite has been declared dead and the space mission is now being wound up.

The government is considering the creation of a Special Economic Zone to reap maximum benefit from South Africa’s unique position in platinum; South Africans are eyeing the Republic of Congo as a major iron-ore investment destination; and South Africa is leading the way in the distribution of shareholder-type wealth to mineworkers.

The US retail giant Walmart is storming into South Africa waving a big green wand; South Africa’s Sasol has bought into the new billion-dollar climate-change technology project in Norway; and South Africa has a great opportunity to use platinum, which it has in abundance, to lower its high level of carbon emission.

Anglo American says ‘hundreds of thousands of jobs’ can be created in South Africa from developing fuel cells, Brazil and South Africa are in talks to trade with the rand and the real rather than the dollar and the euro; and the local manufacture of the minibus taxi is back, thanks to a new government incentive.