South Africa's infrastructure spend plans soar as energy woes ease

The value of South Africa’s planned investment projects increased sharply in the first half of 2024, boosted by sustained electricity supply, easing logistical constraints and slowing inflation,... 

Botswana to cut spending on cars, travel as diamond slump persists

Botswana plans to reduce spending on new vehicles and travel for government officials and may delay some capital projects to deal with a slump in diamond revenues, according to its finance... 

South Africa's coal export line will need five years to refurbish

South Africa’s State-owned rail company needs $669-million and five years to upgrade equipment to revive performance of its main export coal line, according to an internal report. Coal shipments... 

A $91bn trade means mining in one of the world's hottest places

Snaking through the russet-colored expanse of Australia’s remote Outback, vast mile-long trains ferry iron-ore — the nation’s most valuable export — across a crucial mining district that’s... 

Three farm dams collapse in South Africa, displacing hundreds

Three farm dams collapsed in South Africa’s Western Cape province, displacing hundreds of people, and the authorities are monitoring a fourth facility for potential failure. Retention walls on the... 

Private placements, carbon seen by JSE as African growth route

JSE, which operates Africa’s biggest stock and bond exchanges, is looking to expand its private placement and carbon offset platforms across the continent. The JSE Private Placements platform,... 

China drives African lithium surge to lock in key battery metal

Chinese miners and refiners are driving a surge in African lithium output, shrugging off concerns over a glut to lock in future supplies of the critical battery metal. The continent is projected to... 

Zambia closes border with DRC, blocking key copper trade route

Zambia has temporarily shut its borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the government said at the weekend, in a move that could delay exports from Africa’s biggest copper producer.... 

Gold steadies before US inflation data as recession fears linger

Gold steadied ahead of key US data prints this week, with traders focused on whether they will reinforce bets the Federal Reserve will soon pivot to monetary easing. Bullion was trading near $2... 

Canada to fund health study on how oil sands impact Indigenous communities

Canada will fund an Indigenous-led study into how oil sands development impacts the health of local communities, the government said on Wednesday, following a tailings water leak from an Imperial... 

Rio Tinto’s Serbia lithium project faces fresh protests

Environmental activists and opposition groups are set to gather in the center of Serbia’s capital on Saturday to demand a halt to the Rio Tinto Group’s $2.4-billion plans to open Europe’s biggest... 

Olympic gold medals are worth more than ever after cost of metals surged

Olympic gold medals are worth more than ever at this year’s Paris games, with the raw materials that go into them having the potential to fetch about $900 each. The medals contain six grams of... 

Chile copper export revenue rises in July despite lower prices

Chilean copper exports rose last month despite lower prices, signaling mines in the world’s top supplier of the metal are recovering from operational setbacks that dragged down production. July... 

Fertiliser giant Nutrien names new CFO amid industry downturn

Nutrien named a new chief financial officer amid an industry downturn that has eroded the fertiliser giant’s profits. Mark Thompson, who has been with the company since 2011 and is currently... 

South Africa needs more political will to exit dirty-money list

South Africa needs decisive political buy-in to ensure its exit from a global dirty-money watch list by a June deadline, a top official at the nation’s financial regulator said. Finance Minister... 

BHP seeking buyer for gold, copper mines in Brazil

BHP Group, the world’s No. 1 miner, is planning to sell Brazilian copper and gold assets it acquired with the takeover of Oz Minerals, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has... 

Namibia says just 42% of approved mining projects are operating

Namibia said less than half of the mining projects it has approved are in operation, prompting the government to take a tougher stance on issuing permits. Just 68 of the 162 licenses approved by... 

South African firms seek water investments to avoid next crisis

South African corporates — which have partnered with the government to revive failing transport and energy networks — are in talks with the state to deal with water availability, which the head of... 

South Africa growth at risk without infrastructure fix, S&P says

South Africa will need to urgently address crippling infrastructure bottlenecks or risk derailing a budding economic recovery, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. These challenges have... 

South Africa can fix backlogged ports in a year, Ntshavheni says

South Africa’s ports — ranked among the world’s worst — are improving and state-owned operator Transnet will fix them within the next 12 to 14 months, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo... 

First Quantum to trim work hours at stalled Panama copper mine

First Quantum Minerals is trimming working hours at its stalled copper mine in Panama in a bid to rein in the cost of preserving the site following last year’s shutdown order, the union said. The... 

Soaring prices have Australian gold bugs expecting M&A splurge

Australia’s gold industry — buoyed by the precious metal’s record—setting run this year — is anticipating a wave of deal-making, with smaller miners being targeted as exploration lags. The... 

Glencore ordered to pay $150m by Swiss in criminal probe

Glencore was ordered to pay $150-million for failing to take sufficient measures to prevent bribery over its acquisition of mining assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Swiss prosecutors said... 

Africa’s richest city needs R221bn to fix infrastructure

Johannesburg, billed as Africa’s richest city because of its concentration of businesses and millionaires, needs R221-billion to catch up on maintenance and overdue upgrades across its collapsing... 

Gold halts slide after market rout triggered margin-call selling

Gold steadied after being pulled into Monday’s global rout, when it slumped as some traders cut holdings to cover potential margin calls. Spot bullion plunged as much as 3.2% in the previous... 

Copper steadies after plumbing four-month low during global rout

Industrial metals found firmer footing on Tuesday, the day after commodities were swept up in a tumultuous global selloff of risk assets. Copper, aluminum and zinc all steadied after a frenzied... 

Gold gets dragged into selloff as share slide jolts investors

Gold fell as much as 1.2% in early Asian trading, dragged lower by weakness in global stocks, which offset concerns over heightened tensions in the Middle East. Spot bullion — which rallied close... 

Uranium miners say Australia to miss out on boom in nuclear fuel

Uranium explorers are calling on Australian state governments to lift bans on mining the fuel, which is set for a long-term jump in demand as decarbonisation spurs a nuclear energy revival.... 

Endeavour maintains gold production target amid Senegal strike

Endeavour Mining said a strike at the Sabodala-Massawa mine in Senegal isn’t expected to impact its gold output target this year, after the stoppage entered a second day. The company doesn’t... 

Vitol extends deal spree with purchase of fallen rival Noble

Vitol Group has agreed to buy the last remaining piece of fallen Asian commodity trader Noble, as the energy trading giant recycles its blockbuster profits to go on an acquisition spree. Vitol... 

South Africa still owns highly enriched uranium, report says

South Africa still has a stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Netwerk24 reported, citing Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe. The nation declared its holdings of the nuclear... 

Glencore overshadowed in cobalt market as Chinese rival booms

China’s CMOC Group has strengthened its status as the world’s cobalt king, churning out more than three times as much as better-known rival Glencore after a stunning output surge that’s deepened... 

Zambia warns it may shut operation at its biggest dam by October

Zambia’s State-owned power utility warned it may cease generating electricity at the Kariba dam by October because the nation’s worst drought yet is depleting water levels at the world’s largest... 

NexGen raises cost of Canadian uranium project to $1.6bn

NexGen Energy raised the cost to build its flagship uranium mine in northern Canada, citing inflationary pressures and engineering expenses in a remote region. The company’s Rook I project in... 

Workers at world’s biggest copper mine reject BHP wage offer

BHP Group workers in Chile rejected the company’s wage offer at the close of regular talks, thrusting the process into a final mediation phase in a bid to avoid a strike at the world’s biggest... 

Barbeque Index shows South African food inflation fell in July

The falling price of pap — a beloved South African cornmeal dish that forms part of a township shisanyama barbecue — is good news for the central bank as it weighs interest rate cuts. Sticky food... 

New tool to close down Asia’s coal plants is gaining momentum

Lenders to power producers see momentum building in development of a novel form of carbon credits intended to advance the phase out of coal-fired power capacity. Entities including the Monetary... 

South Africa factory mood leaps as political uncertainty clears

South African manufacturers’ sentiment improved more than expected in July as political uncertainty cleared after the formation of a centrist coalition government following the country’s May 29... 

Australia may speed tax breaks for critical minerals refining

Australia may bring forward planned tax incentives for critical minerals refining after a major lithium producer said it would be shutting half of its processing capacity in the country. Albemarle... 

South Africa to publish proposed new financial rules by year end

South Africa’s National Treasury said it is close to finalising long-awaited changes to the nation’s financial markets regulations, and plans to publish proposed amendments for comment by the end...