Business stakeholders find ‘election-oriented’ SoNA wanting

Business stakeholders agree that President Cyril Ramphosa was right to emphasise economic reforms in his State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on February 8, as these are critical to turning around... 

Standard Bank forecasts rapid solar finance demand growth

Financial services provider Standard Bank foresees continued massive demand for solar and energy-related products this year, after seeing a 400% growth in demand for LookSee’s solar installation... 

2023 was record year for global solar installations – association

Africa Solar Industry Association (Afsia) finds in its fourth yearly ‘Solar Outlook’ report that 350 GW of solar power were added in 2023, marking the highest year for solar photovoltaic (PV)... 

Marula announces new investment partner replacing Q Global

Battery metals miner Marula Mining has advised of an amendment to its subscription agreement with a subsidiary of investment fund Q Global Commodities. The company last year entered into an... 

Pensana garners customer approval for mixed rare earth carbonate from Longonjo

London-listed rare earths project developer Pensana has announced that one of its major potential customers has approved the product qualification specifications for proposed mixed rare earth... 

Xtract confirms new licences in Zambia show promising copper potential

Aim-listed Xtract Resources has confirmed there is scope for the discovery of high-grade Kamoa-style mineralisation at depth, and lower-grade Kolwezi-type mineralisation near surface on its two... 

CGA welcomes support from shipping company to boost citrus exports

The Citrus Growers Association of Southern Africa (CGA) has welcomed the announcement that global liner shipping company Hapag-Lloyd will be helping to export citrus from the ports in Durban and... 

DTSA appoints Gerber CEO   

Heavy-duty vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck South Africa (DTSA) has appointed Maretha Gerber to succeed Michael Dietz as CEO and president of the company. Dietz will be taking up a position in... 

WPIC highlights South Korean hydrogen market as driver for platinum demand

The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) is encouraged by the South Korean government’s more to accelerate the country’s transition to a clean hydrogen economy and its advancement of the... 

Pan African to post at least 41% growth in interim earnings

Gold miner Pan African Resources has advised shareholders that it expects its headline earnings per share (HEPS) and earnings per share (EPS) for the six months ended December 31 to be between 41%... 

Joint venture to revive 100-year-old DRC mine

TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines has signed a new joint venture (JV) agreement with State-owned mining company Gécamines to restart the high-grade Kipushi zinc/copper/silver mine, in the Democratic... 

New Gautrain CEO starts steering strategic expansions

Gautrain Management Agency CEO Tshepo Kgobe has assumed his role as of February 1, following the company’s announcement to this effect in September last year. He previously served as COO of... 

Bushveld completes refinancing of debt to Orion Mine Finance

Aim-listed vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals has completed the refinancing of its unsecured convertible loan notes issued to Orion Mine Finance, which it secured in 2020. The company has... 

Absa PMI dips to a low of 43.6 in January

January marked a poor start to the year for the Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), with its headline index having declined to 43.6 points, down from 50.9 in December. Absa attributes the... 

Glencore reports lower production, builds solar plant in South Africa

Diversified miner Glencore has reported lower volumes across its key commodities for the 2023 financial year, but notes that these were all nonetheless still within the guided ranges. The company’s... 

UD Trucks Southern Africa to expand feature, service offerings

As the South African logistics industry continues to undergo a shift, with cargo increasingly being moved by road rather than rail, UD Trucks Southern Africa (UDTSA) is sharpening up its service... 

Galileo identifies three targets in Botswana for follow-up exploration work

London-listed Galileo Resources has defined three potential drill targets with a combined strike length of about 6 km on its PL253 licence in the Kalahari Copper Belt of Botswana. The three... 

Caledonia will soon alter Blanket mine plan to include more resources, reserves

NYSE- and Aim-listed Caledonia Mining Corporation has reported more encouraging results from deep level drilling at the Blanket gold mine, in Zimbabwe, which it says validates the continuity of... 

Lexington starts more drilling to validate, expand gold mineralisation at South African project

Aim-listed Lexington Gold has successfully completed percussion drilling at the Bothaville project, in South Africa’s Witwatersrand Gold Basin. The drilling, which started early in December last... 

ArcelorMittal South Africa warns of losses on the back of long steel impairment charge

Primary steel producer ArcelorMittal South Africa expects to report a 238% to 261% year-on-year decrease in earnings per share (EPS) for the year ended December 31, owing to a R2.1-billion... 

OIM Consulting expands footprint into Australia

Advisory firm OIM Consulting is branching out to Australia to take advantage of opportunities in its $28-billion mining industry. The company is adapting its proven methodologies to meet the unique... 

Alphamin produced record tin output in 2023

JSE- and TSX-V-listed Alphamin Resources has announced record tin production of 12 568 t for the year ended December 31. This exceeded market guidance of 12 000 t and marked a 1% improvement on the... 

Collaboration essential for South African exporters to overcome EU carbon border tax

As the European Union’s (EU’s) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) became effective from October 1 last year, South Africa remains highly vulnerable and will likely pay high amounts of carbon... 

Highland, Kinterra starts drilling on White Pine Copper

TSX-V-listed Highland Copper Company has announced that the White Pine Copper joint venture (JV) it has with Kinterra Copper has initiated a drilling programme at the White Pine North project, in... 

B2Gold sets 2024 guidance lower, ups Goose capex estimate

Toronto-listed miner B2Gold has achieved the upper end of guidance for 2023 with production of 1.06-million ounces. The year marks the eighth time that the company has met, or exceeded, yearly... 

EU invests $30m in African digital technology aid fund

Luxembourg-headquartered lending institution of the European Union (EU), European Investment Bank (EIB) Global has announced a $30-million equity investment in Seedstars Africa Ventures’ Fund I,... 

Seifsa hopes for more PPPs this year

The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) will continue to advocate for more private sector participation in public infrastructure this year, with CEO Lucio... 

BMI predicts more stable metal prices, critical mineral deals in 2024

Research agency BMI on January 17 unpacked the key themes for metals and mining for the year, highlighting that the sector is making a modest recovery amid global deceleration. BMI commodities... 

Harmony expects at least 12% growth in interim production

Ahead of JSE-listed Harmony Gold releasing its interim results on February 28, the company has advised that total gold production for the six months ended December 31 would be between 820 000 oz... 

Wine industry upholds high export revenue despite lower volumes

Last year marked a challenging one for the wine industry as volumes declined by 17%, resulting in total export volumes of 306-million litres. However, the value of exports increased to... 

PPC concludes sale of Rwandan cement business

JSE-listed cement manufacturer PPC’s subsidiary PPC International Holdings has successfully disposed of its 51% shareholding in Cimerwa, in Rwanda, for $42.5-million. PPC confirms that all... 

Sasol posts firm production performance despite market challenges

Petrochemicals giant Sasol says its results and performance for the first half of the 2024 financial year – the six months to December 31 – continued to be impacted on by a volatile macroeconomic... 

SAB’s R19m investment in lime production proves fruitful for community, industry

Since beverage manufacturing group South African Breweries (SAB) invested R19-million in 2020 to develop a lime supply source near Hoedspruit, in Limpopo, the farm has grown to 60 ha of orchards... 

Pan African on track for further output growth

Dual-listed gold miner Pan African Resources increased its production by 6.7% year-on-year to 98 458 oz for the six months ended December 31. The company explains that its Barberton Mines... 

Endeavour looks forward to further production growth, following a strong 2023 performance

Africa-focused gold miner Endeavour Mining achieved record production at its Ity and Houndé mines, in Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso, respectively, for the year ended December 31, with production... 

Barrick hands over Kahama terminal to Tanzanian govt, revives two mines

International gold miner Barrick Gold Corporation has concluded an eight-month partnership with the Tanzania Airport Authority (TAA) by handing over a new airport terminal built at the closed... 

Oriole signs second earn-in agreement in Cameroon with BCM

Gold explorer Oriole Resources has signed a definitive earn-in agreement with BCM International, which will earn up to a 50% interest in Oriole’s Mbe gold project, in Cameroon. This is Oriole’s... 

Afsia unpacks record year for global solar installations in 2023

Africa Solar Industry Association (Afsia) finds in its fourth yearly ‘Solar Outlook’ report that 350 GW of solar power were added in 2023, marking the highest year for solar photovoltaic (PV)... 

Capital positive about growth prospects in 2024

London-listed mining services company Capital continues to see strong demand across each of its business divisions, with the group expecting to report total revenue of $318-million for the year... 

Minerals and metals prices poised for ‘only a slight improvement’ in 2024 – BMI

Research agency BMI expects only a slight improvement to mineral and metals prices next year owing to continued weak demand in mainland China and overall global growth deceleration. Global growth...