Cape Times 2025-02-05

Anglo American, De Beers and Sasol have signed a groundbreaking joint development agreement that should in time result in the development of up to 400 million litres of locally manufactured biodiesel for use in mining. The three groups signed the agreement at the Investing in African Mining Indaba on Tuesday, which is being held at the International Conference Centre in Cape Town. The plan is to make biodiesel from an invasive species Moringa and the tobacco variety Solaris plant, on land that has been degraded by mining, with the vegetable oil to be processed at Sasol’s Natref refinery in Sasolburg. Sasol business and technology development director Dr Sureshen Pillay said the three groups were operating in an environment where South Africa, and the rest of the world, was transitioning…

Mounting pressure to accommodate 1.2 million learners by 2030, report calls for transformation of education system Education reform is key in South Africa to grow its economy, according to the World Bank’s 15th South Africa Economic Update released on Tuesday. “South Africa is currently facing a severe learning crisis, as its education outcomes are too low compared to the country’s level of development and the resources invested in this sector by the state,” it said. The organisation has recommended that transforming the basic education sector by improving the quality of learning from an early age can drive inclusive growth in South Africa and reshape the nation’s economic future. It said enhancing the quality of learning from the earliest stages can be a catalyst for inclusive growth. The report underscores that…

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has told Parliament the lack of appropriate information and transparency on banking fees and customer ethics were areas of concern subject to an imminent report the regulator would release shortly on the banking sector as Parliamentarians went for the jugular with lack of transformation and apparent favouritism. Before Parliament on Tuesday were leading banks, FNB, Nedbank, Standard Bank, Investec, and Capitec, as well as regulatory bodies including the SA Reserve Bank, Prudential Authority, the FSCA, and the Banking Association South Africa (Basa). These banking participants said that while transformation was happening in the sector, significant gaps were identified in the evolution of the industry. Parliament members sought clarity on several issues, including legislation regarding consumer protection that appeared to be inadequate, greylisting and…

Mining is critical to South Africa’s economy. In the first three quarters of 2024 the sector contributed an added value of approximately R448.4 billion (6.8%) to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) underscoring its importance to the economy. That is in nominal terms. Its historic significance as the main cog to SA’s industrialisation trajectory cannot be overstated - the more reason that government has placed this industry at the core of its efforts to transform the local economy. Over the years, the sector has undergone significant changes, moving away from being an isolated sector to becoming integrated into the wider economy, making it more imperative to transform the sector. And try as some might to disagree, it is irrefutable that South Africa’s mining sector has vastly transformed 30 years into…

China’s 15% tariff on coal shipped from the US will likely leave the global market for the energy commodity precarious in terms of supply, pricing and marketing, but could also provide an additional opportunity for smaller suppliers to the Asian giant such as South Africa. US President Donald Trump imposed a broad-based 10% tariff on Chinese imports last weekend, with the new measures coming into effect this week. This has prompted China to impose a 15% tariff on coal and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) imported from the United states in addition to a 10% tariff on oil imports from the world’s biggest economy. Although South Africa is a small exporter of coal to China, it has become a big player on the international coal market. The Richards Bay Coal Terminal…

Diamond mining countries Angola, Botswana and Namibia have launched the seeds of a fightback against the inroads that synthetic, laboratory grown diamonds are making on the global diamond market, and it has nothing to do with traditional marketing campaigns. “It is not a marketing campaign, but a campaign to tell the truth,” De Beers Botswana Chief Executive Officer Al Cook said in a discussion about the economic benefits for African countries of diamond mining, at the Investing in African Mining Indaba held in Cape Town on Tuesday. An online search reveals that synthetic diamonds equal to one quarter of total natural diamond production was produced globally last year. Synthetic diamonds have had the effect of lowering diamond prices and have become competition for diamond miners in markets where consumers have…