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Thungela announces passing of Thero Setiloane

Published: 02 May 24

Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed coal mining company Thungela Resources has announced the passing of Thero Setiloane, who served as an independent non-executive director of the company. “His contribution to the group, his in-depth knowledge of the mining sector, and his warm personality will be missed,” the company stated in a Stock Exchange News Services announcement on Thursday.

Galileo receives second payment from Afrimat for Glenover business, last payment expected soon

Published: 02 May 24

London-listed Galileo Resources has confirmed receipt of a second payment totalling R48-million, or £2.1-million, from JSE-listed diversified miner Afrimat in its option to buy shares in Glenover Phosphate. The agreement between the companies signed in December 2021 entailed Afrimat exercising an option to acquire Glenover through shares and shareholder loans, in which Galileo had a 30% direct and 4.9% indirect interest in through a company called Galagen.

Mulilo chairperson Jan Oberholzer with new CEO Jan Fourie

New Mulilo CEO says South Africa’s renewables, storage markets poised for exponential growth

Published: 02 May 24

Independent power producer Mulilo reports that Jan Fourie has officially assumed the role of CEO, where he will oversee the company’s growth ambitions in South Africa’s public-procurement and private-offtake markets for both renewable energy and battery storage. Fourie, who is an electrical engineer with a master’s in business administration, has 17 years of experience in the African power sector, most recently as a senior executive as Scatec.

An image of Energy Council CEO James Mackay

Energy Council welcomes passing of Climate Change Bill

Published: 02 May 24

Industry organisation the Energy Council of South Africa has welcomed the passing of the Climate Change Bill by Parliament on April 25. “The Climate Change Bill is a critical piece of legislation that seeks to enable the development of an effective climate change response and a long-term just transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy and society for South Africa,” the council points it.

City of Joburg working on 'innovative measures’ to reduce power outages, promises Mayor Gwamanda

Published: 02 May 24

City of Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda announced on Thursday that the City intends to add an additional 50 MW of power to its grid by bringing online the Durban Street Substation, in the next financial year. Gwamanda was presenting the State of the City Address in Johannesburg, where he said the City has also planned for an additional 100 MW of energy by the financial year's end.

AMSA to convert one Vanderbijlpark blast furnace to an electronic arc furnace by 2028

Published: 02 May 24

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) CEO Kobus Verster has confirmed that the company will be converting one of its three blast furnaces into an electronic arc furnace (EAF) within the next four years. The company currently has two blast furnaces in operation at its Vanderbijlpark facility. However, since one of these is due for a refurbishment and relining in 2029, the decision has been made take the opportunity to rather convert it to an EAF, as the latter produces fewer emissions.

An image showing the Sabodala-Massawa expansion project

Endeavour progresses strategic objectives in first quarter

Published: 02 May 24

Multinational miner Endeavour Mining, which owns and operates gold mines in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal, continued to make progress against its strategic objectives in the first quarter of this year, CEO Ian Cockerill says. “Our operational performance is tracking in line with our group guidance, as production and costs are expected to progressively improve throughout the year, with performance strongly weighted towards the second half, as our two organic growth projects ramp up, and we expect significantly stronger performance from our Houndé mine,” he notes.

Anglo bidder BHP intends maintaining long-standing JSE listing

Published: 02 May 24

Diversified mining major BHP, which has made a rejected proposal to combine with Anglo American by way of a scheme of arrangement, confirmed on Thursday that it intended maintaining its multi-decade listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). BHPalso emphasised that, under its Anglo proposal, South Africa would continue to benefit from Anglo American Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore operating as independently listed South African companies investing in local operations, communities, and jobs.

Air passenger demand continues strong growth, reports IATA

Published: 02 May 24

Total air passenger demand grew by 13.8% in March, in year-on-year (y-o-y) terms, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports. (IATA is the global representative body for the airline sector.) International demand increased by 18.9% and domestic demand by 6.6%. Total passenger capacity went up by 12.3%, with international capacity rising by 18.8% and domestic capacity increasing by 3.4%. In March, the total load factor came to 82%, which was one percentage point higher than the figure for March 2023. The load factor for international flights was 81.6%, which was a 0.1 percentage point improvement on that for March last year. The domestic load factor was 82.6%, which represented a 2.5 percentage points increase over the March 2023 figure.

Chinese miners see opportunities as BHP’s mega bid unfolds

Published: 02 May 24

China’s leading metals companies, including its state iron ore buyer, are considering their next moves following BHP Group’s blockbuster $39-billion approach for rival Anglo American, potentially the largest mining deal in over a decade. The world’s top consumer of commodities including copper and iron-ore, China and its regulators play a key role in any global resources combination. In the aftermath of last week’s proposal, its mining companies are still trying to understand the exact configuration of a deal that is still in flux.