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Electricity, logistics reforms in the spotlight as coalition govt looms

Published: 31 May 24

Engineering News editor Terence Creamer discusses the coalition scenarios facing South Africa as the election results are being tallied and what this could mean for the reforms under way in electricity and freight logistics.

Students should use AI to interrogate knowledge, not just answer questions, IT experts advise

Published: 31 May 24

AI-based systems can provide personalised learning experiences, as well as identify students' strengths and weaknesses and adjust teaching to better facilitate and accelerate learning, IT industry experts said during a discussion on AI in education hosted by Regenesys Business School, in Sandton, on May 28. They stressed, however, that using AI-based systems, such as generative AI (genAI), to only generate answers without a student applying critical thinking and reasoning does not help to develop skills and is merely skimming the surface.

Queensland outlaws carbon storage in Australia's biggest aquifer

Published: 31 May 24

Australia's Queensland state will ban carbon capture and storage in a giant aquifer that spans much of its territory, the state government said on Friday, after an outcry from farmers who said such projects could poison their water supply. The decision closes one route to decarbonisation in Queensland, which aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 75% from 2005 levels by 2035 and achieve net zero by 2050.

Rio Tinto secures future of NZ aluminium smelter, acquires full ownership

Published: 31 May 24

Commodities giant Rio Tinto announced on Friday that it would keep New Zealand’s sole aluminium smelter operational until at least 2044, following the completion of new 20-year electricity supply agreements. The Tiwai Point smelter, owned and operated New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS), has secured these contracts with key energy providers.

Air passenger demand continues to grow strongly, reports IATA

Published: 31 May 24

Global air passenger demand continued to increase in April, in year-on-year (y-o-y) terms, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported. (IATA was the representative body for the global airline industry.) Total passenger demand was up 11%, with international demand rising 15.8% and domestic demand increasing 4%. Total capacity rose 9.6%, with international capacity increasing by 14.8% and domestic capacity by 2.1%. The total global load factor in April was 82.4%, which was a one percentage point (ppt) increase, y-o-y. The international load factor was 82.2% (up 0.7 ppt) and the domestic load factor reached 82.6% (a rise of 1.5 ppt).

Nigeria secures $500m World Bank loan for electricity sector

Published: 31 May 24

Nigeria has secured a $500-million World Bank loan for its electricity sector to boost power distribution, after last month's hike in tariffs for top consumers in Africa's most populous nation. The Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), the country's privatisation agency, on Thursday said the loan was approved by the World Bank in 2021 and included the government's borrowing plan this month after achieving some milestones.

UKZN student support services manager Dr Saloschini Pillay

UKZN using automated solution to monitor, support students' academic and holistic wellness

Published: 31 May 24

The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has piloted an automated student academic and holistic wellness solution among 9 000 students in the College of Health Sciences and aims to roll the solution out to the entire university of 53 000 students, UKZN student support services manager Dr Saloschini Pillay has said. The automated student wellness and academic transformation (SWAT) programme evolved from the Teaching and Learning and Student Support Services, and the Academic Monitoring and Support programmes the university put in place in 2005 to support especially first-year students through regular engagement.

The above image depicts a truck that makes use of the JustWeighs system that provides coal producers with the ability to tract tonnages from pit to plant without the use of manual weighbridge slips

AI weighbridge solutions combat coal corruption

Published: 31 May 24

Weighbridge automation solutions provider JustWeighs recently developed and launched its new AI and surveillance equipment to combat coal transportation corruption and illicit trading. The company makes use of AI and data analytics to identify trucks with cloned numberplates or swapped trailers, with tonnages of the dispatched weight measured into the cloud system, alerting the supply chain to variances in tonnages being received.

Unpacking the conditions for meeting burgeoning copper demand

Published: 31 May 24

With copper demand expected to increase from 28.3-million tonnes in 2020 to 41-million tonnes by 2040 at a compound yearly growth rate of 1.85%, and many regions gearing up supply chains for critical metals, JSE- and ASX-listed Orion Minerals CEO and MD Errol Smart says it will be the responsible mining companies that will rise to the demand challenge and be competitive in the market. Copper mining sites globally have “less than satisfactory” environmental and social management practices, but funders and offtakers are increasingly supporting mining companies with solid environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials, he tells Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

Cape Town’s Copperheads recover 1.7 t of stolen metal

Published: 31 May 24

The City of Cape Town (CoCT) says it has recovered more than 1.7 t of stolen metal in the nine months between July last year and March this year. This effort was led by the city’s Metals Theft Unit, also known as the Copperheads, following a wave of cable theft, particularly linked to streetlights.