Business and political parties have expressed disappointment with President Cyril Ramphosa’s announcement that he will, on Wednesday, sign into law the controversial National Health Insurance Bill. On Monday, Ramaphosa announced that he would publicly sign the Bill, which government hoped to use to achieve universal coverage for health services and, through this, overcome socioeconomic imbalances and past inequities. Business Unity South Africa said it was deeply concerned by the announcement, given the Bill’s many “substantive and procedural constitutional flaws”. “We fully support the objective of universal health coverage, however, the NHI Bill in its current form is unworkable, unaffordable, and not in line with the Constitution,” said Busa CEO Cas Coovadia. The South African Health Professionals Collaboration, also expressed its disappointment and concern following the announcement. The SAHPC has made many submissions and had engagement in the NHI parliamentary process, in December, and has urged the President to refer the Bill back to Parliament on the grounds that it is unconstitutional and not in the best interest of patients and citizens. SAHPC said its input and insights were ignored. Meanwhile, ActionSA said it was disappointed that Ramaphosa had ignored the plea to avoid signing the Bill into law, in order to “avoid State capture 2.0”. Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen said the Bill presented an “existential risk” to South Africa’s public and private healthcare systems and that it would impose an “unbearable” new tax burden on citizens.

Forensic Pathology Services (FPS) and the South African Police Service are planning to expedite the identification of persons killed in a building collapse in George, in the Western Cape, with only six of the 32 deceased persons identified thus far. Eighty-one people were working on site on the partially built building when it collapsed on May 6.

JSE-listed MTN on Tuesday posted a dip in service revenue and earnings during the first quarter of the year, amid ongoing high inflation and local currency devaluations in some of its key markets. The group reported a 28.7% contraction in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) from R24.27-billion in the first quarter of 2023 to R17.3-billion in the first quarter of 2024.

Copper touched its highest level since 2022 after a powerful rally fueled by forecasts of a growing global supply deficit. The commodity’s gain since the start of January is approaching 20% with prices defying typical indicators of soft demand, especially in China. That’s partly because investors see tight mine supply creating a shortfall of the metal as soon as this year.

Precious metals company Hochschild Mining has achieved commercial production at the Mara Rosa gold mine – its first operation in Brazil. During May, the Mara Rosa processing plant has operated at an average throughput of 90% of its nameplate capacity of 7 000 t/d and exceeded 80% average recoveries.

BHP is likely to sweeten its $43-billion takeover offer for Anglo American for a second time and possibly add cash, investors in both companies said on Tuesday, after the London-headquartered target rejected a higher bid. Anglo said the improved all-share offer, up 10% from BHP's initial proposal, continued to significantly undervalue the company.

Australia-listed Buxton Resources on Tuesday announced an agreement to acquire a manganese brownfields exploration project in Arizona, US. The Matrix manganese project, in Mohave county, is adjacent to the Artillery Peak project, which has a resource of 277-million tonnes at 2.8% manganese.

Glencore Australia has announced the opening of its 2025 apprenticeship programme for applications, inviting aspiring candidates to apply for an opportunity or skills development and hands-on experience in the coal industry in New South Wales and Queensland. Scheduled to kick off in January, the programme promises a blend of hands-on learning, industry exposure and avenues for career growth, says Glencore Coal human resources manager Stella De Best.

The rejection – for the second time – of BHP’s attempt to propose a deal with Anglo American underscores the concerns that continue to persist regarding value and regulatory hurdles in the proposed transaction. Responding to the latest developments in the BHP-Anglo takeover, CreditSight analysts Wen Li and Michael O’Brien assert that the revised bid price proposal still falls short of reflecting Anglo’s value.

Democratic Republic of Congo's government has lifted a suspension order on a Congolese copper and cobalt operation majority-owned by China's Zijin Mining Group, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Monday. Congo's mines ministry last month halted the activities of the COMMUS project, in which Zijin owns a 72% stake, to investigate mineral products returned from South Africa due to overly high radiation levels.