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Unrest, Transnet cyberattack cost BMW SA R200m in lost sales

By: Irma Venter 13th August 2021 The recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, as well as the subsequent cyberattack on Transnet that caused major disruptions to South Africa’s port operations, cost BMW Group South Africa (BMW SA) an estimated R200-million in lost vehicle sales, says corporate communications and... →

BMW X3s ready to be exported from Rosslyn plant

Li-ion batteries to dominate energy storage market for the foreseeable future

By: Marleny Arnoldi 13th August 2021 An acceleration in the use of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies and climate change mitigation efforts, growing population numbers and higher electricity demand per capita are all major drivers of electricity market growth and, resultantly, energy storage. To this end, University of the... →

Photo by Reuters
Lithium-ion batteries

Godongwana pledges policy continuity

By: Bloomberg 13th August 2021 South Africa’s new finance minister pledged to pursue policy continuity and said he’s committed to the Treasury’s existing fiscal framework and spending restraint. In his first interaction with investors since being appointed to the post last week, Enoch Godongwana said that while his style may... →

Gautrain a white elephant, its extension unacceptable – AA

By: Irma Venter 13th August 2021 Proposed route extensions to the Gautrain must be rejected by the Gauteng provincial government, as this will perpetuate a system which “caters for the minority of citizens who don’t need it, instead of the mass market which does”, says the Automobile Association (AA). The AA made a detailed... →

Image of a passenger boarding the Gautrain

Eskom, W Cape govt welcome amendments giving effect to 100 MW reform

By: Donna Slater 13th August 2021 The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE’s) August 12 Gazetting of its amendment to Section 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act has been welcomed by State-owned power utility Eskom and the Western Cape provincial government. The amendment permits private electricity generators to... →

SAPVIA mourns the passing of SAWEA CEO Ntombifuthi Ntuli

By: Schalk Burger 13th August 2021 Industry association the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) mourns the passing of Ntombifuthi Ntuli, the CEO of fellow industry body the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA). SAPVIA described her death as "a tragic loss of a bold and brilliant leader, who was... →

Ntombifuthi Ntuli

New renewable projects should be built in the Western Cape, North West, Free State or Limpopo - Scatec

By: Schalk Burger 13th August 2021 The recent Generation Connection Capacity Assessment (GCCA) report published by State-owned power utility Eskom shows there is limited available capacity for renewable energy capacity to be connected to the Northern Cape grid, says renewable independent power producer Scatec sub-Saharan Africa GM... →

Alien vegetation, biomass can produce electricity while saving water

By: Schalk Burger 13th August 2021 Biomass from offcuts from commercial plantations, including recycled orchards and vineyards, and cleared invasive, alien vegetation from river rehabilitation projects can be used as an alternative, clean heating solution, says biomass harvesting company African Biomass Company (ABC) founding... →

Richards Bay power outage affects TFR's services

By: Schalk Burger 13th August 2021 A power outage which occurred in the City of uMhlathuze, or Richards Bay, between the afternoon of August 12 and the early hours of August 13 has impacted on State-owned Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR's) services in the area. The outage meant that the Richards Bay Coal Terminal was unable to... →

Robots Shelby and Miles lend a helping hand at Ford Weather Factory

By: Irma Venter 13th August 2021 Ford’s Weather Factory allows engineers to simulate a range of extreme conditions under one roof. This means vehicles can be tested in conditions similar to those found in the Sahara Desert, in Siberia, or atop the tallest Alpine peaks. However, even the most experienced human test drivers may... →

Photo of robot in action at the Ford Weather Factory

Opinion: SA's bank guarantee scheme is missing the opportunity to develop nascent entrepreneurs, industrialists

13th August 2021 In this opinion article, Bongani Mankewu writes that the recent uprising requires the dual logic economy where big businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises cooperate. →

Massmart half-year sales grow 4.4%, estimates R570m impairment on Game stores

By: Schalk Burger 13th August 2021 JSE-listed retail group Massmart's total sales for the 26-week period ended June 27 amounted to R41.3-billion, which is a 4.4% increase compared with the same period in 2020, with comparable store sales having increased by 4.8%. The group expects to narrow its headline loss for the half-year... →

Report shows climate opportunities and gaps for South Africa

By: Schalk Burger 13th August 2021 Findings from the second 'State of Climate Science and Technology in South Africa' report, compiled by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), include that the country is well positioned to play a key role in the Global Commission on Adaptation to advance climate change adaptation... →

Digital platforms can provide scale and access through partnerships

By: Schalk Burger 13th August 2021 The use and growth of digital platforms worldwide will provide greater value to users, but also enable and require a variety of companies to provide their services at scale to solve specific user requirements, which necessitates partnerships and greater collaboration among value chain... →

Aveng expects to report improved full-year earnings

By: Donna Slater 13th August 2021 Infrastructure, resource and mining solutions company Aveng expects its basic earnings for the financial year ended June 30 to be between 177% and 189% higher year-on-year, at between R860-million and R998-million. That compares with a basic loss of R1.12-billion reported for the 2020 financial... →

Dam levels remain high nationally, except for the Eastern Cape

By: Creamer Media Reporter 13th August 2021 The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) reports that the Free State has "broken the record with its amazingly high dam levels" in the midst of a dry winter. Currently, the province compares favourably with the Western Cape, whose traditional winter rains have elevated the levels to 86.2%... →

Eskom's Just Energy Transition initiatives

13th August 2021 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about power utility Eskom's plans for the repowering and repurposing of the Komati power station as part of a larger just energy transition project and financing plan. →

Eskom's Just Energy Transition initiatives

Growthpoint decides against Globalworth buyout offer

By: Schalk Burger 13th August 2021 JSE-listed real estate investment trust Growthpoint's board has not accepted the offer by Aroundtown SA and CPI Property Group for Central and Eastern Europe real estate company Globalworth, in which Growthpoint holds a 29.4% stake. The Growthpoint board agreed with the independent committee of... →

Thungela confident Transnet rail challenge is transient

By: Martin Creamer 13th August 2021 New coal mining company Thungela Resources said on Friday that it remained confident that the Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) challenge is transient. Similar to the rest of the coal-mining industry, Thungela has faced a sustained period of underperformance by TFR. →

Thungela results presentation covered by Mining Weekly’s Martin Creamer. Video: Darlene Creamer.

Thermal coal price recovery buoys Thungela maiden interim

By: Martin Creamer 13th August 2021 New coal mining company Thungela Resources on Friday reported interim results for the six months ended June 30 after one month of operating as an independent business. Thungela generated half-year operating profit of R990-million, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and... →

Picutre of Thungel CEO provided by Thungela

Thungela CEO July Ndlovu

Magazine round up | 13 August 2021

13th August 2021 A video round up of this week’s magazine, highlighting our cover story, features and Business Leader. →

Magazine round up | 13 August 2021

Australian miners accelerate green investment amid net-zero flurry

By: Esmarie Iannucci 13th August 2021 With the rise of environmental activism and greater investor interest in environmental and social governance, Australian miners and the Australian government have started to give greater priority to emission reduction schemes and environmental investments. The federal government in 2020... →

Arnot Opco enters into coal supply agreement with Eskom

By: Donna Slater 12th August 2021 JSE-listed coal miner Wescoal reports that Arnot Opco, in which it holds a 50% stake, has entered into a long-term coal supply agreement (CSA) with State-owned power utility Eskom to supply coal from the Arnot mine, in Middelburg, Mpumalanga, for the next ten years. The CSA marks the conclusion... →

Mantashe publishes long-awaited amendments to the Electricity Regulation Act

By: Donna Slater 12th August 2021 Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, in an August 12 Government Gazette, published the eagerly awaited amendments to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act to enable distributed generation plants of up to 100 MW to proceed without first obtaining a generation licence. To... →

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Exxaro ups coal volume at risk owing to Transnet challenges to three-million tonnes

By: Martin Creamer 12th August 2021 Based on current performance, coal-mining company Exxaro has upped the second half of the year volume of coal at delivery risk, owing the ongoing Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) challenges, to three-million tonnes. “Previously we have highlighted what we believe will be the amount of volumes that... →

Exxaro half-year results covered by Mining Weekly’s Martin Creamer. Video: Darlene Creamer

MTN meets targets during H1, earnings down on one-off transactions

By: Natasha Odendaal 12th August 2021 MTN Group reported a contraction in its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebidta) margin to 40% during the first half of 2021, compared with 49.7% in June 2020. In constant currency terms and excluding the effects of one-off items, the margin expanded by 1.6 percentage... →

MTN Group president and CEO Ralph Mupita discusses the highlights of MTN’s results for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Re|Source cements partnership with Tesla

By: Simone Liedtke 12th August 2021 Renewable energy sourcing forum Re|Source acknowledges the progress made by electric car company Tesla in implementing the pilot project, which aims to trace responsibly-sourced cobalt, across its supply chain. Re|Source, which focuses on solutions to trace responsibly produced cobalt from the... →

Hard-to-fill vacancies prevalent in the automotive component supply base

By: Simone Liedtke 12th August 2021 Hard-to-fill (HTF) vacancies are prevalent in the automotive component supply base in South Africa, a survey has found. High Gear’s second Quarterly Skills Survey, which is administered by National Association of Automotive Component and Allied Manufacturers (NAACAM), shows that 90% of... →

Coal miner Exxaro to spell out decarbonisation strategy on Sept 20

By: Martin Creamer 12th August 2021 The investment by diversified coal, energy and ferrous resources group Exxaro Resources in the renewable energy company Cennergi will further support the company’s decarbonisation strategy, Exxaro CEO Mxolisi Mgojo said when the JSE-listed company reported sterling half-year financial results... →

Exxaro half-year results covered by Mining Weekly’s Martin Creamer. Video: Darlene Creamer

Shell to pay $110m to end 30-year Nigeria oil spill case

By: Bloomberg 12th August 2021 Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian unit agreed to pay a community in the West African country more than $110-million to resolve a long-running dispute over an oil spill that occurred more than 50 years ago. The Anglo-Dutch energy giant will pay the Ejama-Ebubu people 45.7-billion naira ($110.9-million)... →

Unique regional status to South Africa's rooibos tea can turn fortunes for crop

By: Reuters 12th August 2021 Come December, when farmers near Cape Town harvest rooibos leaves, they will become the first generation to grow and sell a tea with a unique regional status, a designation awarded to other such products as French champagne or Irish whiskey. The rooibos tea, whose name means "red bush" in... →

Merc aims to go all electric ‘where markets allow’; first EV to launch in SA in 2022

By: Irma Venter 12th August 2021 Mercedes-Benz it is getting ready to go “all electric” by the end of the decade, “where market conditions allow”. By 2022, the German car maker says it will have battery electric vehicles (BEV) in all segments of the market the company serves. →

The Mercedes-Benz EQS

Jacobs appointed to modify Koeberg’s secondary turbine system

By: Donna Slater 12th August 2021 NYSE-listed consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery company Jacobs has been appointed to carry out essential engineering modifications as part of a R20-billion programme to extend the operating life of South Africa’s only nuclear power station – Koeberg, in the Western Cape. The... →

an image of Eskom's Koeberg nuclear power plant

The Koeberg power plant

Renewable energy sustainability bound to just transition and positive impacts

By: Schalk Burger 12th August 2021 The sustainability of renewable energy is linked to its long-term positive impact within host communities and close collaboration will help bring about a socially just transition to cleaner energy, says renewable independent power producer (IPP) Scatec sub-Saharan Africa GM Jan Fourie. He adds... →

New strike patterns have been emerging in recent years, says postdoctoral fellow

By: Donna Slater 12th August 2021 An increase in strike action can be correlated with an increase in favourable economic conditions within a country, region or industry, as has been the case, for the most part, over the past 50 years, says University of the Witwatersrand Society, Work and Politics Institute postdoctoral fellow... →

Influences behind a shift in strike action trends

Nel to provide 1.25 MW containerised PEM electrolyser for US project

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 12th August 2021 Nel Hydrogen US, a subsidiary of Norwegian-based hydrogen production, storage and distribution company Nel ASA, has received a contract for a 1.25 MW containerised polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyser from a leading utility in the US. Nel Hydrogen US has received a purchase order for... →

Public Works dept calls for public comment on draft National Infrastructure Plan

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 12th August 2021 The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has gazetted the draft National Infrastructure Plan 2050 (NIP 2050) for public comment. The NIP 2050 was prepared by Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), working closely with sector specialists and other stakeholders, over a period of six... →

An image showing infrastructure and construction development

Photo by Adobe
The National Infrastructure Plan 2050 aims to promote dynamism in infrastructure delivery

MTN abandons Syria operations, drops Ethiopia licence bid

By: Natasha Odendaal 12th August 2021 MTN Group has decided to abandon its Syria operations immediately on the back of untenable operations owing to regulatory actions and demands and is reserving its right to seek redress through international legal processes. During a media briefing on the financial results for the six months ended... →

An image of the entrance to MTN's head office in South Africa

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