ECSA appoints new CEO

The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) on Wednesday announced the appointment of engineering firm Emzansi Engineers chairperson Sipho Madonsela as CEO of the council with immediate effect.... 

Bokoni opencast ops suspended, SAPS deployed amid community violence

The situation in the area surrounding platinum miner Atlatsa Resources’ Bokoni mine, in Limpopo, remained tense on Wednesday afternoon, with police having been deployed to the area, following the... 

SPC opens R70m HDPE pipe manufacturing facility

Pipe manufacturer Southern Pipeline Contractors (SPC) on Wednesday officially opened its new R70-million high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe factory, on the East Rand, diversifying the company’s... 

London Mining share price drops amid funding concerns

Iron-ore explorer London Mining’s share price on the LSE fell 96% in early morning trade as the company updated the market on its financing challenges. The company’s share price fell to a low of... 

Sanral planning huge capital projects, says user-pay principle necessary

In light of South Africa’s need for well-maintained roads to promote the economy, social cohesion and a prosperous society, the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has planned... 

PPC partners with provinces to upgrade 82 km road

Cement producer PPC, the Roads Agency Limpopo and the North West and Limpopo provincial governments have entered into a partnership to upgrade an 82 km secondary road between Koedoeskop and... 

Weatherly posts FY loss as lower copper prices impact on profitability

Aim-listed Weatherly International posted a loss of $5.7-million for the financial year ended June 30, compared with a profit of $1.6-million during the prior financial year, as lower copper prices... 

South African economy, business confidence in ‘desperate position’ – Sacci

Business confidence in South Africa remained at an undesirably low level in September, leaving the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) concerned about the lack of urgency in... 

African countries urged to consider innovative infrastructure finance solutions

African countries should consider innovative solutions to finance infrastructure development that would enable the continent to unlock quality growth, the Africa Progress Panel (APP) said on... 

Jobs Fund has allocated R4.96bn to projects since inception – Nene

Since its establishment by government in 2011, the Jobs Fund has allocated R4.96-billion to projects catalysing innovation and investment in activities which directly contributed to sustainable job... 

White Rivers, Harmony Gold enter exploration JV

Mineral explorer and developer White Rivers Exploration (WRE) and gold miner Harmony Gold have entered into a joint venture (JV) to explore and develop potential gold resources at WRE’s Beisa... 

Worldsteel lowers global demand forecast for 2014, 2015

The World Steel Association (worldsteel) on Monday lowered its global steel demand growth forecast to 2% for 2014 and 2015, as the positive momentum seen during the second half of 2013 abated in... 

New R1.2bn furnace boosts Nampak’s glass production capacity by 56%

Glass manufacturer Nampak Glass has increased its manufacturing capacity by 56% through the addition of a new R1.2-billion third furnace at its Germiston-based manufacturing facility. Nampak Glass... 

JSE launches African currency futures

The JSE on Friday launched three new currency futures contracts tracking the exchange rate between the rand and the Zambian kwacha, the Kenyan shilling and the Nigerian naira. These currency... 

Alecto appoints new executive chairperson

Aim-listed West and East Africa-focused mineral exploration company Alecto Minerals on Friday announced the appointment of Mark Wellesley-Wood as nonexecutive chairperson with immediate effect.... 

Mintails CEO resigns

ASX-listed Mintails on Friday announced that its CEO Anthony Ehlers had resigned with effect from October 1. Executive director Bukhosi Ndimande and nonexecutive director Mark Brune would, in the... 

Savannah on track to define Jorc-compliant Jangamo resource by end-2014

Aim-listed Savannah Resources on Thursday said that it was on track to define a potential Joint Ore Reserves Committee- (Jorc-) compliant mineral resource for its 180 km2 Jangamo heavy mineral... 

Old Mutual decreases Lonmin voting rights

Investment group Old Mutual on Thursday decreased its voting rights in platinum miner Lonmin to below 7%. Following the transaction, Old Mutual held 39.37-million, or 6.9%, voting rights in the... 

Q2 domestic cement sales down 5.1%

Domestic cement sales declined by 5.1% year-on-year to 3.04-million tons during the three months ended June 30, cement producer PPC announced on Thursday. The second-quarter sales were, however,... 

Gauteng Transport Month addressing public transport as pillar of economic development

Through its October Transport Month campaign theme of ‘Transport Moving the Economy Forward’ the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport was responding to Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s call for... 

TNPA appoints new Durban port manager

Transnet National Ports Authority on Thursday announced the appointment of Transnet Port Terminals head of strategy Moshe Motlohi as the new Durban port manager. Motlohi, who had previously held... 

Firestone to conclude Botswana asset disposal in 2015, to focus on Liqhobong

Aim-listed Firestone Diamonds plans to conclude its Botswana asset disposal process next year, allowing the company’s management team to focus their attention on the successful completion of the... 

Tulu Kapi cost estimates below global average

Aim-listed Kefi Minerals on Wednesday announced that the total operating costs for its Tulu Kapi gold project, in Ethiopia, had been estimated at $626/oz, with all-in costs being estimated at... 

Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation shortlist announced

The shortlist of innovations in the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation was announced on Wednesday, comprising 12 new innovations from seven African countries. The shortlist announced by the... 

Cement production at Aganang to start this month

Cement production at Sephaku Holdings subsidiary Sephaku Cement’s (SepCem’s) Aganang integrated plant, in the North West, was scheduled to start this month, following the successful start of... 

Village earnings drop as restructuring continues

Gold producer Village Main Reef on Wednesday reported a 34.7% decline in headline earnings a share from continuing operations to 26.12c for the financial year ended June 30. Earnings a share from... 

IFM, Portnex to acquire Australian coking coal retort assets

London-listed International Ferro Metals (IFM), in conjunction with mining and commodities trading company Portnex International, has made an offer to acquire the assets owned by Australia-based... 

Positive legacy becoming important part of responsible mining

Leaving behind a positive legacy was increasingly becoming an important component of responsible mining, University of the Witwatersrand Centre for Sustainability in Mining and Industry director... 

Gijima to raise R100m to underpin next stage of turnaround

Information and communication technology services group Gijima on Tuesday announced that it would undertake a rights offer and restructure its existing trade receivables securitisation funding... 

BlueRock to start commercial mining at Kareevlei

Aim-listed BlueRock Diamonds has reached the end of its trial mining period at its Kareevlei tenements, in the Northern Cape, and was ready to move on to commercial production, executive... 

Namib project development still priority for North River

Aim-listed North River Resources will continue to prioritise the development of its 1.25-million tons Namib lead/zinc/silver project, in Namibia, North River MD Martin French said on Tuesday.... 

Sacci survey shows e-toll service still poor

A recent study by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) has shown that the service quality of the South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (Sanral’s) e-toll system was... 

York Timbers earnings down 53%

Forestry and forest products group York Timber Holdings on Tuesday reported earnings of R49.76-million for the year ended June 30, down 53% from the R106.86-million achieved during the prior year,... 

Employment up 1.5% in Q2, employment stats sampling being reassessed

The number of people employed in the formal, nonagricultural sector of the South African economy increased by about 155 000 people, or 1.8%, from March to an estimated 8.67-million employees in... 

Q2 turnover of all industries in SA economy down 0.5%

During the three months ended June 30, the total turnover of all industries in the South African economy, excluding agriculture, financial intermediation, insurance and government institutions,... 

Municipal electricity purchases up 27.8% quarter-on-quarter

Purchases of electricity by municipalities increased by 27.8% quarter-on-quarter for the three months ended June 30, to R15.26-billion, while purchases of water increased by 1.4% over the period,... 

Redistribution to combat water interruptions, situation to be ‘normalised’ within two weeks – Mokonyane

State-owned water utility Rand Water has resolved to use load shifting to correct current imbalances in water supply around areas in Gauteng, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) said on... 

Stakeholders have until Oct 31 to submit comments in LPG enquiry

The Competition Commission has made a call for submissions in terms of its enquiry into the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry, giving stakeholders until October 31 to submit their comments.... 

Coca-Cola, BT offering free Internet access to impoverished communities

Beverage manufacturer Coca-Cola South Africa, its bottling partner Coca-Cola Fortune and information and communication technology provider BT Global Services have partnered to provide impoverished... 

Kibo prioritising fast-track development at Imweru

Given the potential of mineral asset explorer and developer Kibo Mining’s flagship 550 000 oz Imweru project, in Tanzania, to generate early cash flows, Kibo said on Friday that it had decided to...