Research Channel | Advanced Search - Research Channel Africa

Back All

Wildfire has moved closer to Canadian oil city, says local authority

Published: 15 May 24

A large wildfire threatening the major Canadian oil sands city of Fort McMurray moved closer overnight and weather conditions were unfavorable, the local authority said on Wednesday. The fire was just 5.5 km away from the city's landfill, compared with 7.5 km late on Tuesday, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, said in a statement.

Trafigura, IXM caught in Comex copper short squeeze as prices hit record

Published: 15 May 24

Commodity traders Trafigura and IXM are seeking physical copper to cover large bearish positions on the CME, where US copper prices surged to record highs on Wednesday, five sources with direct knowledge of the situation said. A short squeeze occurs when parties betting on lower prices are forced to buy back their positions at a loss or deliver physical copper to close them out.

Sun Silver gleams on ASX debut with Nevada project

Published: 15 May 24

Nevada-focused Sun Silver on Wednesday listed on the ASX, following an oversubscribed A$13-million initial public offering (IPO). The company’s stock more than doubled on its first day trading on the bourse, closing at A$0.43 a share. “The very high level of investor demand saw us close the IPO three weeks ahead of schedule,” commented Sun Silver executive director Gerard O’Donovan.

An image of Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe

Mantashe engages with stakeholders over Lily, Barbrook mines’ reopening

Published: 15 May 24

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe on May 15 held a stakeholder engagement session that deliberated on the plans to reopen the Lily and Barbrook gold mines in Mpumalanga. Attended by stakeholders representing Vantage Goldfields, the Lomshiyo Traditional Council, the business rescue practitioner, organised labour and government leaders, the session sought to inculcate cooperation between all stakeholders involved in the efforts to reopen the Lily and Barbrook gold mines, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said in a statement.

Half of mining industry still resisting AI integration

Published: 15 May 24

At least half of heavy machinery users within the global mining industry still rely primarily on manual supply chain management tools, with 40% still using manual tools for operational planning, Wits Mining Institute's Professor Glen Nwaila has said. “So even if the automation is partially achieved, you will find that the plant is heavily automated but, in the mine, only a portion of it is actually automated,” he said, speaking at the Mind Shift conference hosted by Mine Equipment Manufacturers of South Africa, in Sandton, on May 15.

Lotus bolsters its management team

Published: 15 May 24

ASX-listed Lotus Resources has appointed four experienced resource executives to provide the company with additional experience in project development, operations, technical and corporate development, including project financing. Michael da Costa will join Lotus as COO at the end of May.

State mining training authority backing green hydrogen skills centre creation

Published: 15 May 24

“We’re very excited to announce that we’ll be establishing the first centre of specialisation of green hydrogen skills,” South Africa’s Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) CEO, Yershen Pillay, made public this week. CHIETA is working on this with South Africa’s mining and transport sector education and training authority units, Pillay highlighted at this week’s Green Hydrogen Roundtable, hosted by Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB).

BHP shareholders see room for one more sweetened Anglo bid

Published: 15 May 24

Shareholders in BHP Group and takeover target Anglo American expect the world’s largest miner to come back with a third and improved proposal before a regulatory deadline next week, even after the smaller company laid out a bold restructuring plan of its own on Tuesday. Anglo has twice rejected all-share approaches from BHP that would require it to spin off listed South African businesses, arguing the proposal created “significant uncertainty” for shareholders. Instead, to counter the latest $43-billion move, it has said it will itself exit diamonds, platinum and coal, turning into a miner focused on copper and iron ore — crown jewels for the group.

Alamos intersects new style of mineralisation at Young-Davidson

Published: 15 May 24

Canadian gold miner Alamos has intersected a new style of higher grade gold mineralisation in zones within the hanging wall of its Young-Davidson mine. These zones, located between 10 m and up to 200 m south of existing infrastructure and mineral reserves and resources, highlight the upside potential of the deposit, with grades “well above” the current reserve grade of 2.31 g/t, the company says.

Codelco working to meet Q2 production goal, CEO says

Published: 15 May 24

Chilean mining giant Codelco is still working to meet its estimated output for the second quarter, CEO Ruben Alvarado told Reuters, as the State-run copper miner is pushing to boost production up from its lowest in 25 years. Alvarado said that a recent rise in copper prices is a positive sign, adding that any improvements would benefit Codelco's finances, but said that Codelco must wait to see if they remain stable.