Megan van Wyngaardt

https://staging1.creamermedia.com/

Megan van Wyngaardt

Megan van Wyngaardt is Creamer Media Senior Contributing Editor Online for Engineering News and Mining Weekly.

Tel: +2711 622 3744

Email: newsdesk@engineeringnews.co.za

Savannah appoints Hatch for Mina do Barroso scoping study

28th February 2018 Aim-listed Savannah Resources has appointed multidisciplinary engineering consultancy Hatch to conduct a scoping study of a potential mine development of the Mina do Barroso lithium project, in Portugal. The scoping study will investigate a potential mining and concentration plant development... →

Artemis plans 3.3 km drill hole in the Pilbara

28th February 2018 ASX-listed Artemis Resources plans to drill a super-deep 3 300 m diamond drill hole on its Balmoral area, about 50 km south of its Radio Hill Mine, in Western Australia. The drill site for ASD-1 would be finalised over the coming weeks and the hole would be drilled to test for base metals,... →

Pilbara to fast-track Pilgangoora development as new investor comes to play

28th February 2018 The multi-faceted agreement signed between South Korean steelmaker Posco and Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals this week would strengthen the latter's balance sheet, allowing it to accelerate Stage 2 and complete Stage 1 of its Pilgangoora project in Western Australia, the miner said on... →

Pilbara CEO Ken Brinsden

African Rainbow Minerals expects to swing back into the black in H1

27th February 2018 Diversified miner African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) expects its earnings a share for the six months to December 31 to improve to between 912c and 930c, compared with the basic loss a share of 134c reported for the six months to December 31, 2016. The prior period's basic loss included a R711-million... →

AECI mining division reports improved operating profit

27th February 2018 Explosives and specialty chemicals group AECI's mining solutions segment's revenue declined by 2.2% to R9.7-billion in the year ended December 31, owing to lower ammonia prices and a stronger rand against the dollar - more than 50% of revenue in this segment is dollar based. Profit from... →

AECI posts record HEPS for FY17

27th February 2018 Explosives and specialty chemicals group AECI on Tuesday reported its highest recorded headline earnings per share (HEPS) to date, at 959c, for the financial year ended December 31. HEPS were up 17% year-on-year, while earnings a share increased by 22% year-on-year to 900c. →

Photo by Duane Daws
AECI CEO Mark Dytor

Prospect starts small scale lithium carbonate production

27th February 2018 ASX-listed Prospect Resources has started commissioning its battery grade lithium carbonate pilot plant in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe. The laboratory complex in the Kwekwe area supports the laboratory scale and pilot scale production of lithium carbonate, with small scale production of battery grade higher... →

Santos launches $750m Queensland gas project

27th February 2018 Domestic gas supply and regional jobs in Queensland are set to gain considerably with Santos GLNG investing $900-million in upstream gas developments in Maranoa, Western Downs, Central Highlands and Banana this year. As well as upstream developments around the Fairview, Scotia and Arcadia... →

EganStreet drilling programme delivers high-grade gold

27th February 2018 Western Australia is set to gain a new high-grade gold mine, after drilling results show ASX-listed EganStreet Resources' Rothsay project to have a 0.3 m seam containing about 159 g/t. The average grade per tonne discovered during the drilling programme hovered around 30 g/t; however, another 1.1... →

Iluka declares dividend, sees growth on price increases

27th February 2018 ASX-listed Iluka Resources has recorded a 140% increase in its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $361-million for the year ended December 2017, with strengthened mineral sands markets throughout 2017 underpinning strong free cash flow of $322-million, up... →

More strides taken towards BK16 production - Tsodilo

26th February 2018 The first consignment of 43 drums of concentrate from the BK16 kimberlite project, in Botswana, have been securely moved to TSX-listed Tsodilo Resources' final recovery area in its security complex in Maun. This followed the January 18 commissioning of a dense media separation (DMS) plant at... →

Alexander receives patent for cobalt leaching

26th February 2018 Aim-listed Alexander Mining has received notification that its MetaLeach subsidiary has been granted an African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (Aripo) patent in Zambia for a method for leaching cobalt from oxidised cobalt ores. The patent has a standard term of 20 years from the... →

Sylvania Platinum lowers FY production guidance, but lifts H1 profit as prices improve

26th February 2018 Lower platinum group metal (PGM) grades across its Millsell and Mooinooi dumps during the six months to December 31, has prompted Aim-listed Sylvania Platinum to revise its full-year guidance downwards to between 71 000 oz and 75 000 oz. A delayed water use licence authorisation by authorities... →

Aforo shifts focus to Burkina Faso

26th February 2018 Australian gold miner Aforo Resources has signed a joint venture option agreement for two gold projects in Burkina Faso, including Nordgold's Niare gold project where a non-Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant gold resource of 98 000 oz at 1.36 g/t gold has been defined. Minor shareholder... →

Lucara buys digital sales platform, refreshes board

26th February 2018 Botswana-focused miner Lucara Diamond has acquired Clara Diamond Solutions, a company whose primary asset is a secure, digital sales platform aimed at transforming how rough diamonds are sold. Lucara noted that the platform would unlock value for diamond producers and manufacturers alike. →

Hulamin delivers strong FY17 sales, sees possible upside to proposed US tariff increases

26th February 2018 The proposed aluminium import tariffs that are currently being considered by US President Donald Trump's administration could have a positive impact on South African aluminium products manufacturer Hulamin's operations, CEO Richard Jacob said on Monday. Speaking to Engineering News Online in a... →

Basil Read shares rise as it successfully completes rights offer

26th February 2018 JSE-listed construction company Basil Read's shares on Monday rose 4.17%, after reporting that its rights offer, aimed at raising R300-million, received full support. The company issued 1.36-billion shares at 22c apiece - a discount to the 65c apiece closing share price on January 26. →

Green shoots seen in construction industry, despite tight conditions

23rd February 2018 The South African construction sector is still facing "very tough and difficult" conditions, with the 2.5% inflation rate creating an even tighter environment, Econometrix chief economist Dr Azar Jamine said on Friday. Speaking to industry representatives during an Afrisam-hosted post-Budget... →

AfriSam CEO Rob Wessels

Big ticket items in Budget were more miss than hit - Jamine

23rd February 2018 The Budget tabled on Wednesday had a number of misses, with one of the biggest being the failure to cut government's public servant remuneration, which was set to grow by 7% a year over the medium term, economist Dr Azar Jamine said on Friday. "It is earmarked to carry on growing as fast as it... →

Econometrix economist Dr Azar Jamine

Pakistan coal-fired power project moves closer to development

23rd February 2018 The Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) of Pakistan has approved the issue of notice to proceed (NTP) and letter of intent (LoI) for a coal mine and mine-mouth power plant in Block VI of the Thar desert, UK-based Oracle Power reported on Monday. The project is being developed in a... →

Global footprint of wind turbines continued to grow in 2017

23rd February 2018 The overall capacity of all wind turbines installed worldwide by the end of 2017 reached 539 291 MW, preliminary statistics published by World Wind Energy Association (WWEA) has shown. A WWEA report, released on Monday, further showed that 52 552 MW of wind energy capacity were added last year,... →

Signs of manufacturing recovery, despite ongoing metals industry pressures

23rd February 2018 The latest preliminary production data for the metals and engineering sector, released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Thursday, reflected a slowdown in production in December, despite a 2% increase in the broader manufacturing production during the same period, Steel and Engineering... →

Solidarity still seeking payment for former Aurora employees from liquidators

22nd February 2018 Trade union Solidarity on Thursday raked up old grievances when it directed a letter to the joint liquidators of Aurora Empowerment Systems expressing its dissatisfaction with the delays in payment to its members and other former Aurora gold mineworkers. General secretary Gideon du Plessis noted... →

Afrox rises above weak environment, achieves strong FY17 results

22nd February 2018 JSE-listed African Oxygen (Afrox) on Thursday reported yet another year of strong results, with revenue for the 12 months to December 31 up 6% to R5.69-billion. Headline earnings a share rose by 32.3% year-on-year to 201c and basic earnings a share by 30.7% to 203.6c. →

Photo by Duane Daws
Afrox CEO Schalk Venter

Industry, business welcomes tough Budget, but warns govt to implement promised changes

22nd February 2018 Although Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has faced sharp criticism following the tabling of the 2018 Budget on Wednesday, particularly from opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, and the Congress of South African Trade Unions, industry bodies and business organisations have welcomed the... →

SAWEA welcomes govt’s commitment to renewables

22nd February 2018 The South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) on Thursday appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa, as well as to the Finance, Energy and Public Enterprises Ministers to ensure the setting of a firm date for concluding power purchase agreements (PPAs) for duly procured renewable energy, by no... →

Public Procurement aligned to more stringent regulations as Bill goes to Cabinet

21st February 2018 The Public Procurement Bill, which will be presented to Cabinet next month for gazetting for public comments, will be slightly delayed owing to the recent changes in government, an Office of the Chief Procurement Officer representative told Engineering News Online on Wednesday. The Bill was aimed... →

Treasury allocates R6bn for drought relief measures

21st February 2018 Citizens of towns in the Western Cape, particularly Cape Town, on Wednesday could give a sigh of relief as Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba outlined that a provisional allocation of R6-billion has been set aside in 2018/19 for drought relief measures and to augment public infrastructure investment.... →

National Treasury makes budget cuts to assure more frugal spending

21st February 2018 Departmental budgets have been reduced by R85.7-billion over the medium term, the National Treasury said on Wednesday, noting that cuts at the provincial level would affect conditional infrastructure grants. The announcement of the expenditure cuts had been highlighted as a priority prior to the... →

Spatial transformation key to unlocking infrastructure, industrialisation – Gigaba

21st February 2018 South African township businesses needed to work “imaginatively” and think beyond car washes and spaza shops to foster productive, high-value economic activity in townships, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Wednesday. In his Budget speech, he noted that factories, workshops, tech hubs and... →

Treasury allocates R57bn to fund fee-free higher education

21st February 2018 Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said R57-billion would be allocated over the coming three years to fund the fee-free higher education and training policy announced to by former President Jacob Zuma in December 2017 and reaffirmed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in February. Noting that this was the... →

Rhodes University

Govt to fast-track finalisation of outstanding mining policy

21st February 2018 To take advantage of the cyclical upturn in the mining sector and improved investor sentiment to boost economic growth, government needs to finalise outstanding policy and administrative reforms. The proposed implementation of the revised Mining Charter, contested by industry and the Chamber of... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba

Social grants set to increase faster than inflation as taxes rise

21st February 2018 The South African government has committed R259.4-billion towards social development in the 2018 Budget, with social grant payments set to increase faster than inflation to offset the effect of higher taxes on poor households. During the tabling of the Budget on Wednesday, Finance Minister Malusi... →

New helicopters ordered for TNPA's Durban, Richards Bay ports

20th February 2018 Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has concluded negotiations and signed an agreement for the manufacture, supply and delivery of two new helicopters to service the Durban and Richards Bay ports, as part of its helicopter marine pilotage service - one of only three countries in the world to... →

Transnet board cannot revoke its responsibility – Brown

20th February 2018 Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown on Tuesday instructed State-owned Transnet to report alleged irregularities identified in an investigative report by law firm Werksmans Attorneys on the R54-billion procurement of 1 064 locomotives in 2014 to law enforcement authorities. The parastatal last... →

Tough trading environment put Transpaco under pressure in H1

20th February 2018 JSE-listed plastics and packaging group Transpaco reported a 4.7% fall in operating profit to R78.5-million in the six months to December 31. While in line with expectations, the company said its performance remained under pressure from a continued challenging economic environment, leading to a... →

Imperial Holdings delves into unbundling plans, reports solid H1 results

20th February 2018 Imperial Holdings' plans for unbundling its Imperial Logistics and Motus entities, and listing them separately, are still in the works but are dependent on a number of internal and external factors, CEO Mark Lamberti said on Tuesday. The company last year said work was in progress to determine... →

Photo by Duane Daws
CEO Mark Lamberti

Atterbury starts construction at R800m Midrand industrial park

20th February 2018 South African property developer Atterbury has started construction on Old Mint Park, a prime industrial development neighbouring the landmark South African Mint and fronting the N1 highway, centrally located between Midrand and Centurion. The R800-million project entails the development of a new... →

Moab Khotsong deal concluded

20th February 2018 Harmony Gold on Tuesday said all conditions precedent to its acquisition of Moab Khotsong from AngloGold Ashanti had been met and that the transaction would become effective on March 1. "The integration of Moab Khotsong will enhance the quality of our portfolio and boost our cash flows," said... →

Seifsa worried about potential impact of proposed US steel import tariff increases

20th February 2018 The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has warned that the difficulties facing the local steel industry would continue to worsen in the year ahead if the US Department of Commerce's recommendation for a tariff of at least 53% on all steel imports from 12... →

Isuzu launches standalone South African business, new mu-X utility vehicle

16th February 2018 Isuzu Motors South Africa (IMSA) on Friday not only launched its standalone business at its manufacturing plant in Struandale, Port Elizabeth – apart from the General Motors brand, following the latter’s exit from South Africa last year – but also showcased its new bakkie-derived sports utility... →

Isuzu mu-X

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