Competition Commission exposes alleged collusion in R4.5bn Eskom tender

A Competition Commission investigation has found evidence of alleged price fixing and collusive tendering, involving an Eskom tender worth R4.5-billion, on the part of Waco Africa, acting through... 

Stronger rand deals blow to Hulamin's FY17 earnings

Despite achieving record sales volumes of 233 000 t for the 2017 financial year, local aluminium supplier Hulamin's operating profit is expected to dip below that of the prior year, owing to the... 

Plasser agrees to pay R8.4m penalty for collusion

Railway construction and maintenance company Plasser South Africa has agreed to pay R8.4-million in a settlement penalty after admitting to partaking in collusion. The Competition Commission on... 

Upbeat business climate in January sees Sacci BCI improve

The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (Sacci's) Business Confidence Index (BCI) recorded 99.7 in January, the highest level since it measured 102.3 in October 2015. The BCI improved... 

Stronger rand, PGM sales lift Amplats' FY17 earnings

Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) expects headline earnings and headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year ended December 31, 2017, to be at least R373-million or 143c apiece, higher than for... 

DRDGold provides profit guidance for WRTRP

Dual-listed DRDGold on Tuesday said it expects the West Rand tailings retreatment project (WRTRP) to generate a profit of R229.4-million for the 12 months ending December 31, 2019. The company is... 

S2 identifies gold/silver zones at Storgroven, Sweden

Base of till drilling at the Storgroven target, which forms part of ASX-listed S2 Resources' Skellefte project, in Sweden, has identified two adjacent zones of gold/silver mineralisation, with... 

Highland Gold updates Kekura resource as DFS is completed

Aim-listed Highland Gold Mining has updated its resources for the Kekura gold project, located in the Chukotka region in Russia's Far East, following the completion of a definitive feasibility... 

Cape Lambert appoints consultant for Kipushi engineering review

ASX-listed resource and investment company Cape Lambert has appointed South Africa-based engineering consulting firm GWCH Consulting to complete the detailed engineering review of the Kipushi... 

Australian minerals sector contests 'water trigger'

Australian mining's water use, as a share of national consumption, has fallen from 3.9% to 3.7% between 2014/15 and 2015/16, a submission to the Senate Inquiry into water use by the extractives... 

GE, Arenko collaborate on building energy storage systems

Digital industrial company GE and flexible energy storage systems operator Arenko Group have entered into a strategic alliance to build grid-scale energy storage systems in the UK. The companies... 

Monetary policies, US politics weigh on 2017 gold demand

The gold story over the past two years has been one of polar opposites, with the significant demand for gold in 2016 offset by a more muted 2017, the World Gold Council (WGC) outlined on Monday.... 

Sea Harvest to make big arrival with maiden full year results

Seafood processing company Sea Harvest on Monday said it expects to report basic earnings per share (EPS) of between 110c and 124c for the year ended December 31, paired with headline earnings per... 

AfDB boosts ALBC Fund books with R140m loan

To further enhance the African Local Currency Bond Fund (ALCB Fund) portfolio and promote the development of domestic capital markets across the continent, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has... 

Standard Bank PMI remains below 50-point mark

Business conditions in South Africa continue to deteriorate, with activity in the private sector decreasing further amid lower client demand, Standard Bank and IHS Markit's latest Purchasing... 

Underground mining division to drive more than 20% uptick in M&R's interim earnings

JSE-listed Murray & Roberts (M&R) expects to have achieved at least a 20% year-on-year improvement in its diluted and basic earnings per share and headline earnings per share for the is months to... 

CompCom gives DRDGold conditional thumbs up to buy Sibanye tailings assets

The Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve, with conditions, DRDGold's acquisition of certain assets from Sibanye-Stillwater. The gold producers in November... 

PPC supported by Africa growth, while local sales dwindle

Construction materials supplier PPC's revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2017, improved on that of the prior comparable period, with interim CEO Johan Claassen noting on Friday that the... 

Lucapa completes first sale of the year

ASX-listed Lucapa Diamond Company and its partners Empresa Nacional de Diamantes and Rosas & Petalas have completed the first sale for 2018 from the Lulo diamond project in Angola, for this year.... 

PPC Imaginarium Awards takes over prestigious Des Baker Award

Architecture schools in South Africa have been invited to send in submissions for the first PPC Imaginarium Awards for Architecture, being held on May 3, at 012Central, Pretoria. Following the same... 

Barminco makes strong turnaround

Underground hard-rock mining contractor Barminco on Friday reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) of $75.6-million for the half year ended December 31,... 

West African gold explorer seeks to raise $6m in Australia IPO

West African gold exploration company Mako Gold is seeking to raise $6-million through the placement of 30-million shares in an initial public offering (IPO) at $0.20 apiece. For every two shares... 

Wine industry sees positives despite possible R700m farm gate shortfall

The smaller wine grape harvest anticipated by industry body Vinpro for this year is expected to result in a R700-million shortfall at farm gate, at a time when production costs have doubled in the... 

Coca-Cola outlines plan to intensify global recycling efforts

To battle the increasing number of plastic items on landfills and in the world’s oceans, beverage giant Coco-Cola plans to take one can or bottle “back”, for every bottle or can sold globally, by... 

Wine grape crop may be smallest since 2005 as drought bites

Continuing drought and low water supplies in the Western Cape may lead to South Africa’s smallest wine grape harvest since 2005, when 1.15-million tonnes were harvested owing to drought and... 

Volvo aims for climate neutral automotive manufacturing

Volvo Cars' engine factory in Skövde, Sweden, has become the company's first climate-neutral manufacturing plant, having switched to renewable heating on January 1. The car manufacturer noted that... 

Operational challenges dent Pan African's H1 output, earnings

Dual-listed Pan African Resources' gold production reduced by 6 331 oz to 85 282 oz for the six months ended December 31, 2017, owing to operational challenges at its Barberton Mines. Underground... 

Harmony gets shareholder go-ahead for Moab Khotsong acquisition

JSE-listed Harmony Gold Mining's shareholders have given a 99.6% approval of the miner's plans to acquire mining operations and related infrastructure from AngloGold Ashanti. The $300-million deal... 

Kefi welcomes senior managers to executive committee

Aim-listed gold and copper exploration and development company Kefi Minerals has expanded its senior management team as part of preparations for its development and operations. This includes the... 

DRC to have biggest growth story in mining this year, despite risks - BMI

Research firm BMI expects the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be the fastest-growing major mining market in the world this year. In its latest industry trend analysis, the firm outlined that... 

Air Liquide launches €200m air separation unit at Sasol

Gas company Air Liquide has launched a €200-million air separation unit (ASU) at energy and chemicals company Sasol's Secunda plant. Said to be the biggest oxygen production unit in the world, the... 

Stellar Diamonds receives buyout offer

Aim-listed Stellar Diamonds is in advanced negotiations regarding a possible share offer for the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of the company by Australian exploration company... 

Orefinders works towards becoming battery metals company with new acquisition

TSX-listed Orefinders Resources on Thursday said it was upbeat about its newly acquired 100%-owned Mann silver and cobalt mine, in the Cobalt-Gowganda District of Ontario, through which it plans to... 

Acacia buys into further gold price protection measures

Embattled Tanzania-focused miner Acacia Mining has bought additional put options covering 120 000 oz of gold at a strike price of $1 320/oz at a cost of $2-million. The options would expire in... 

Rye Patch raises $20m to further ramp up Nevada gold mine

Nevada-based miner Rye Patch Gold has completed a private placement whereby it issued 15.38-million units at $1.30 apiece to raise $20-million. Each unit comprised one common share and one share... 

Katanga gaining traction at KOV mine in DRC

TSX-listed Katanga Mining mined 433 169 t of ore, at an average grade of 2.18%, to produce 9 459 t of copper, at its KOV mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), during the fourth quarter... 

Testwork at Orion's Prieska project sets stage for next phase

JSE-listed minerals explorer Orion Minerals on Wednesday said detailed metallurgical test work will be conducted at its Prieska zinc/copper project, using 1 583 kg of diamond drill core samples... 

Metal Tiger, MOD to proceed with feasibility study on Botswana copper project

Following the successful completion of a prefeasibility study (PFS) on the T3 copper project, in Botswana, joint venture (JV) partners Metal Tiger and MOD Resources have agreed to proceed with a... 

MZI half-year output up, enhanced operating plan rolling out

ASX-listed mineral sands company MZI Resources saw its heavy mineral concentrate output rise 9% to 53 239 t during the six months to December 2017, while saleable production increased by 35% to 39... 

Beach Energy ups guidance for 2018

ASX-listed Beach Energy on Wednesday noted that full year pro forma production was expected to be within the upgraded range of 25.5-million barrels of oil equivalent to 27.6-million barrels of oil...