The release of the yearly Fraser Institute Survey shows that Western Australia’s stranglehold as one of the most attractive jurisdictions in the world for mining, is not to be taken for granted. The latest results show a declining trend in Western Australia in recent years, dropping from fourth in 2021, tenth in 2022, to seventeenth in 2023 on the ‘policy perception index’ (PPI).

Civil society organisations and political parties are threatening legal action following Wednesday’s controversial signing of the National Health Insurance Bill. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who publicly signed the Bill into law amid significant criticism, said the NHI was an opportunity to “break with the prevailing inequality” in South Africa’s health system. He also called on stakeholders to work with government to ensure the NHI operates successfully. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse wants Ramaphosa to “return to the drawing board” and work with various industry experts to design a “workable” universal health care model. Outa said while it fully supported the constitutional right of all South Africans to proper healthcare, it warned that government was creating “false hope” by signing the NHI Bill into law just two weeks before the National Elections and questioned whether it was an election ploy. Meanwhile, official opposition Democratic Alliance Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube said that the proposed NHI scheme, touted as the panacea for the country’s healthcare woes, was nothing more than a “political tool” wielded by the African National Congress to “manipulate” voters in the upcoming election. AfriForum is also preparing for a class action lawsuit against the government, Ramaphosa, Parliament and Minister of Health Joe Phaahla, for “the damage that South Africans will suffer under the unaffordable NHI policy”. Non-profit organisation Sakeliga said it opposed the implementation of the NHI, calling it an “unacceptable and irresponsible” legislative proposal. GOOD secretary-general and MP Brett Herron said his party supported the signing of the NHI Bill, describing it as a tool to address inequality and improve health care services for the majority. However, he said that it was “regrettable” that the Bill was being signed now, days before an election.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has assured the National Council of Provinces that the Jagersfontein house rebuilding project is well under way. This project follows the collapse of a tailings dam wall at the Jagersfontein diamond mine, in the Free State, on September 11, 2022, resulting in a mud slide which damaged infrastructure and homes in the vicinity.

The production of green hydrogen, which is most effectively generated when catalysed by platinum group metals (PGMs), has profound economic and social implications, including job creation, skills development, and the fostering of new industries along a multifaceted mining, manufacturing and agricultural value chain. Encouragingly, the South African government representatives at this week’s Green Hydrogen Roundtable at the Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) head office in Sandton, were able to report that Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande has identified the skills needed for the hydrogen economy and is taking all-embracing steps to accelerate green hydrogen know-how.

In a ward where South Africa's governing African National Congress won handily in local elections three years ago, party campaign worker Poppy Vilakazi has been getting a decidedly frosty reception lately. "Mostly they are angry," she told Reuters, speaking in Komati, a village in the shadow of a shuttered power plant in Mpumalanga province, an ANC stronghold in the country's coal belt. "They feel the ANC let them down by allowing this power station to close." South Africa's creaky power sector and the economic fallout from State utility Eskom's struggle to keep the lights on are top issues in a May 29 election that polls predict could see the ANC lose its 30-year parliamentary majority. But as President Cyril Ramaphosa seeks to balance the need to boost energy output against dwindling funding for coal - which generates 80% of the country's power - and global demands that South Africa decarbonise, the issue is dividing his party. Nowhere is that more evident than in Komati, where the conversion of a 60-year-old, 1 000-megawatt coal power plant has triggered a local and national backlash.

Saskatchewan has reaffirmed its status as the leading mining investment destination in Canada and among the top three globally, according to the latest findings from the Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies. Released this week, the survey placed Utah and Nevada as the two top jurisdictions globally.

Prescient Investment Management has approved R324-million in equity finance to support black-owned investment company Reatile acquire a 31.5% stake in a 240 MW Free State solar PV project. The Virginia Solar Park project was selected as part of the sixth bid window of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.

Amid heightened discussions surrounding mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the mining sector, Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm has reaffirmed the company’s readiness to pursue such ventures. However, he underscored the necessity for a carefully considered approach. Addressing queries regarding the company’s stance on M&A at this week’s Bank of America global metals, mining and steel conference, in Miami, Stausholm asserted, “We are not afraid of M&A.” However, he highlighted that Rio Tinto’s growth strategy was not contingent solely upon M&A activities. Instead, he accentuated the robustness of the group’s organic growth options and its enhanced project execution capabilities.

The George municipality says about 2 500 t of building rubble has been removed from the site of the collapsed building in the town, which has so far claimed the lives of 33 people. About 500 t of rubble remains on site, as rescuers near day ten of rescue and recovery efforts

The Democratic Republic of Congo called for an international embargo of metal exports from neighboring Rwanda, whose government it accuses of using rebel groups to steal its natural resources. All mining products from Rwanda should be considered “blood minerals,” because their sale allegedly supports conflict in eastern Congo, Mines Minister Antoinette N’Samba Kalambayi said in a May 8 statement released on Tuesday. “All stakeholders, including end consumers of mining products,” should commit to a responsible supply chain, and “an embargo be decreed against Rwanda,” she said.