Star 2022-05-10

Hakainde Hichilema blasts fresh air through the meeting when he delivers his speech ZAMBIA’S President Hakainde Hichilema blasted fresh air through the Africa Mining Indaba yesterday when he delivered the speech that Mineral Resource and Energy Minister Mantashe should have given only moments before. This was according to Peter Leon, a partner and Africa chairperson of international law firm Herbert Smith Freehlls, following Mantashe’s address at the opening of the first Energy Indaba to be held in two years. “Like Mantashe, President Hichilema told delegates that Zambia was open for business. However, unlike Mantashe, the president elevated the private sector as an absolutely key partner for the successful development of Zambia’s mining sector. He reiterated his government’s commitment to a transparent, predictable and fair investment climate with absolutely no tolerance…

MINING group Harmony Gold yesterday announced that four of its employees lost their lives following an infrastructure maintenance-related incident on Saturday at its Kusasalethu mine near Carletonville in Gauteng. The families and relevant authorities were immediately informed, and the affected area had been closed, pending an in-loco investigation, Harmony said. Harmony is South Africa’s biggest gold miner after acquiring AngloGold Ashanti’s assets in the country in 2020. Kusasalethu is Harmony’s deepest mine, with a depth of 3 388m, and extracts ore from the Ventersdorp reef. It is one of three mines that are facing early closure as they are ageing. Harmony Gold plans to close the Kusasalethu mine in 2024. The other two mines include the Bambanani mine and Masimong mine, which are both situated in the Free State. Chief…

CAPITAL & Counties Properties (Capco), the UK-based property group, confirmed yesterday that it was in advanced discussions regarding a possible £3.6 billion (R72.bn) merger with Shaftesbury that has the approval of its main shareholder. The possible merger would create a real estate investment trust focused on the West End of London, with a portfolio of 2.9 million square feet of lettable space located in high-profile destinations, including Covent Garden, Carnaby, Chinatown and Soho. “Discussions are ongoing and the full terms of a possible merger have not been finalised. “There can be no certainty that an offer will be made. “The announcement of a firm intention to make an offer remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of a number of customary pre-conditions including, inter alia, completion of reciprocal…

THE RAND yesterday fell to its weakest since the beginning of this year as the US dollar strengthened to a 20-year high amid growing concerns over slowing global economic growth and rising interest rates. The rand weakened by 0.21 percent to R16.22 to the greenback by 5pm, dragged by concerns of monetary policy tightening in the US after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a widely expected half-percentage point. This was the rand’s lowest level in five months amid a stronger greenback amidst the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in China and South Africa, rolling power cuts and the impact of recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal on the economy. Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop said the annual sell-in-May and-go-away, typically from risk asset trading, had exacerbated market sensitivity…

ZIMBABWE’S new measures to suspend lending by banks, hike taxes on foreign currency transactions and choke liquidity by reducing broad money supply growth to 0 percent will slow down economic growth, result in further reduction of investment flows and cripple companies. A foreign currency crunch, run-away inflation and sudden shifts in monetary policy have hammered Zimbabwe’s economy. Confidence in the banking sector has resultantly taken a knock as the local currency has nose-dived in value. President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sought to stem the economic decline after announcing new policy measures to deal with the runaway parallel market exchange rate as well as boosting demand for the local currency, which is increasingly being rejected within the economy. His administration is adamant that Zimbabwe is not fully dollarising even as the…

ANGLOGOLD Ashanti yesterday reported a solid performance for the first quarter of 2022 as it remains on track to achieve full-year guidance as it steers the company on to firmer footing. The group said gold production was 588 000 ounces, unchanged from the first quarter of 2021. It said the first-quarter production of 2022 was flat on the year. Total cash costs rose 4 percent to $1 041 (R16 620) an ounce and a strong improvement in cash flow. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 2 percent to $438 million in the quarter. The increase in total costs was driven largely by uncontrollable factors including rising inflation across several categories of input costs and higher royalties, due to the higher gold…