Natalie Greve

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Natalie Greve

Natalie Greve is Creamer Media Senior Contributing Editor Online for Engineering News and Mining Weekly.

Tel: +2711 622 3744

Email: natalie@engineeringnews.co.za

Alstom secures €6.3bn of orders in nine months to Dec

14th January 2016 French rail multinational Alstom secured €2.34-billion worth of orders in the quarter ended December 31, 2015, compared with the €1.61-billion of orders secured in the three months to December 2014. Major commercial successes for the quarter under review included the provision of regional trains... →

CoAL secures water-use licence for Makhado

14th January 2016 Coal of Africa Limited’s (CoAL’s) share price on the JSE rose nearly 26% on Thursday morning after the company announced that the Department of Water and Sanitation had awarded its Makhado project, in Limpopo, a 20-year integrated water-use licence (IWUL). This followed the completion of a Class... →

AngloGold reports miner death at TauTona

14th January 2016 A rock drill operator at AngloGold Ashanti’s TauTona mine, in Carletonville, has died following a fall-of-ground incident on Monday. The Department of Mineral Resources had been notified of the incident and an in loco inspection had been concluded, the gold miner said in a statement. →

Technology, education, incentives key to solving water challenge – Grant Thornton

13th January 2016 As South Africa battles its most serious water crisis in recent history, professional services firm Grant Thornton has urged government and industry to adopt a comprehensive long-term water strategy to stave off a potential “catastrophe”. Grant Thornton director Michiel Jonker said in a statement... →

No UNFCCC Paris Agreement without China, G77 cooperation – Dirco

13th January 2016 The unanimous adoption of the Paris Agreement and a package of supporting decisions covering climate action in the pre- and post-2020 periods by parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Paris Climate Change Conference, in December, would have been... →

Millennials redefining career, work expectations, survey shows

13th January 2016 In the next year, given the choice, one in four global Millennials – classified as those reaching young adulthood around the year 2000 – would quit his or her current job to embark on another career option, Deloitte’s fifth yearly Millenial Survey has shown. This figure increased when the time... →

Sherritt braces for C$1.6bn impairment of nickel assets

13th January 2016 Nickel miner and refiner Sherritt International Corporation has cautioned the market of an expected $2.4-billion impairment of the Ambatovy joint venture (JV) assets, in Madagascar, citing lower forecast nickel prices. The expected impairment figure was based on an expected nickel price of $8.50/lb. →

Kibo Mining to extend exploration beyond Mbeya coal project

13th January 2016 Three new prospecting licences (PLs) have been issued to Tanzania-focussed Kibo Mining’s wholly-owned subsidiary Rukwa Coal, allowing the JSE-listed miner to extend exploration to tenements contiguous with its existing PL block, in southern Tanzania, which contains the 109-million-ton Mbeya coal... →

Gigaba: number of foreign visitors rise, despite new visa laws

12th January 2016 The number of foreign visitors to South Africa increased by 7.6% year-on-year over the festive season to some two-million between December 1 and January 7, according to figures released by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on Tuesday. Addressing a media briefing in Johannesburg, Home Affairs... →

Parliament’s water committee backs Operation Hydrate

12th January 2016 Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has publicly come out in support of Operation Hydrate, describing the community-driven initiative, which has, to date, distributed over 350 000 ℓ of water to drought-stricken areas in the country, as a “true embodiment” of the spirit of... →

Energy supply stable despite early-year demand spike, says Eskom

12th January 2016 State-owned Eskom says it continues to progress the maintenance of its power generating plants, despite national demand increasing by nearly 2 000 MW on Monday as business activities resumed following the seasonal break. Demand was expected to further increase from Wednesday as the new school... →

True Gold inks $10m refinancing deal with precious metals merchant

12th January 2016 Toronto-listed gold producer True Gold has entered into an equipment refinancing facility with precious metal merchant Auramet International for $10-million, the company said on Monday. “This fixed cost equipment loan gives us flexibility to draw funds that can be used for non-project spending,... →

Bauba Platinum shutters Moeijelijk mine, halts project

11th January 2016 Bauba Platinum has attributed a nosedive in the chrome price in late 2015 with its decision to halt development of its chrome project and place the Moeijelijk mine, in the North West, under immediate care and maintenance, noting on Monday that the operations had since become financially unviable.... →

Kibo advances talks with Tanzania over Mbeya energy offtake

11th January 2016 Dual-listed mineral explorer Kibo Mining continues to finalise a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) regarding a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the Mbeya coal-to-power project (MCPP), in Tanzania, informing the market on Monday that it continues... →

Eskom to select coal supplier for Arnot station by March

8th January 2016 Energy utility Eskom is in the throes of reviewing various requests for proposals submitted as part of its hunt for a new coal supplier for the Arnot power station, in Mpumalanga, after the nonrenewal of its coal supply agreement with historical coal partner Exxaro. Eskom’s coal agreement with... →

Taxpayers to bear financial burden of new govt health scheme – watchdog

8th January 2016 Taxpayers in South Africa are facing the prospect of soon paying more than three types of tax for medical services, following the publishing of the African National Congress’ long-promised White Paper on National Health Insurance (NHI) in the Government Gazette by Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi... →

Weatherly releases option to buy Tsumeb tailings operation

8th January 2016 Multicommodity miner Weatherly International has announced the release of its option to buy the Tsumeb tailings facility, in Namibia, from Dundee Precious Metals subsidiary Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb, for $4-million. The amount would be settled by applying a credit, at the rate of $40/t,... →

Rockwell to close Jhb head office, cull workforce

7th January 2016 Emerging from a year in which it continued to battle underwhelming diamond recovery, grade and volumes, junior diamond miner Rockwell Diamonds has announced plans to shut its Johannesburg-based head office and embark on retrenchments, informing the market on Thursday that it had already issued... →

Pilot programme set to upgrade lower-tier S African automotive suppliers

7th January 2016 Gauteng-based government implementation agency the Automotive Industry Development Centre (AIDC), in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) and the International Labour Office (ILO), has launched a pilot programme for the development and application of a... →

IMF, Nigeria discuss possible policy tweaks

7th January 2016 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has discussed a range of policy recommendations with the government of Nigeria aimed at improving the African State’s competitiveness, focusing specifically on the critical areas of infrastructure, energy, transport and housing, IMF MD Christine Lagarde said... →

Photo by Reuters
IMF MD Christine Lagarde

Solidarity calls on Defence Minister to end outsourcing of work to Cuban technicians

7th January 2016 Trade union Solidarity has criticised Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s decision to outsource the South African Defence Force (SANDF’s) vehicle maintenance and repair work to Cuban technicians, describing it as “outrageous” that the Ministry opted to recruit foreign skills rather than... →

Gideon du Plessis

Business confidence drops to near pre-democracy levels

7th January 2016 Underperforming financial market subindices in the form of share prices and the rand exchange rate battered business confidence in the last month of 2015, sending the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (Sacci’s) Business Confidence Index (BCI) to 79.6 in December – its lowest level... →

S Africa’s 2015 economic growth unlikely to exceed 1.5% – Nedbank

6th January 2016 In light of the shock 1.3% contraction in the second quarter of last year, and the low 0.7% growth in the following three months, the South African economy is unlikely to have expanded beyond 1.5% in 2015, cautioned banking group Nedbank in its Macroeconomic Outlook and Event Risk report,... →

M&R subsidiary buys project, construction management group

6th January 2016 Murray & Roberts (M&R) subsidiary Cementation Canada has completed the acquisition of project and construction management services group Merit Consultants International. Merit has worked with global clients in the mining and resource industry, successfully participating in projects in the US,... →

Vedanta appoints electrical engineer to head up Indian metals division

6th January 2016 Vedanta Resources has appointed Samir Cairae as CEO of its Indian diversified metals division, a position in which he will be responsible for the performance of Vedanta aluminium and India copper, power and iron-ore divisions, in addition to the region’s commercial and asset optimisation... →

Standard Bank PMI falls in December on lower output, new business

6th January 2016 The downturn in South Africa’s private sector continued in December, with output declining at an accelerated pace and new business falling for the sixth time in seven months, the Standard Bank South Africa Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) has shown. Released on Wednesday, the data, which was... →

Caledonia exceeds FY 2015 guidance to deliver 42 806 oz of gold

6th January 2016 Caledonia Mining Corporation’s 49%-owned subsidiary the Blanket mine, in Zimbabwe, has lifted gold production by 2.5% year-on-year, delivering 42 806 oz in the year ended December 31, exceeding its full-year guidance of 42 000 oz. The London-listed miner also lifted output by 10.6% year-on-year... →

Cosatu calls for worker protection amid national heatwave

6th January 2016 The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has called on employers to adhere to health and safety regulations and protect workers from dehydration and heat stress amid a recent heatwave that has engulfed the country. “We call on all, especially on employers, in agriculture, construction,... →

Eskom planned maintenance ramped up to 9 000 MW over festive season

6th January 2016 Energy utility Eskom successfully conducted maintenance on 9 000 MW of its plant capacity during the festive season, leveraging off the seasonal drop in the demand of electricity and overshooting its original target of between 6 000 MW and 8 000 MW. The parastatal said in a statement this week... →

S Africa set for modest 2016 growth, report predicts

5th January 2016 Despite a year marred by falling commodity prices, high unemployment, ratings downgrades and a weaker rand, South Africa remains poised to grow at a faster rate than many advanced economies in 2016, outperforming Eurozone States such as France and Italy, publishing, research and consultancy firm... →

African dealmaking muted in 2015 as global M&A hits record highs

5th January 2016 As global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) hit record highs in 2015, dealmaking activity in sub-Saharan Africa remained relatively muted over the year, despite an uptick in activity in key markets and sectors towards the end of the 12 months, a report by international legal firm Allen & Overy has... →

No price panacea forecast for precious metals in 2016 – report

5th January 2016 The price of gold and silver bounced higher in the first week of the new year, rising by over 1% on safe-haven bids, as tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia mounted in the wake of the two countries breaking off diplomatic relations, research by Mitsubishi Corporation International has noted.... →

Property, consumer markets likely to see mild rate hike in 2016 – analyst

5th January 2016 While a year of hard work for property and consumer-related sectors appears likely, given economic and household sector income growth mediocrity, there is little to suggest any more than a mild interest rate hike in the coming 12 months, First National Bank household and property sector... →

Sub-Saharan African sovereigns to face increasingly expensive financing – report

4th January 2016 Governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are facing increasingly expensive debt financing, as favourable global and domestic conditions come to an end, ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P’s) Ratings Services asserted in a report published on Monday. According to the report, over the past few... →

Nokia gains control over Alcatel-Lucent

4th January 2016 French stock market authority, Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) has published the interim results of the initial offer period of Nokia's public exchange offer for counterpart Alcatel-Lucent’s securities in France and the US, declaring the offer successful, it said on Monday. The completion... →

Investment from US firm sees Vast raising £5m

4th January 2016 Diversified minerals miner Vast Resources, which has operations in Zimbabwe and Romania, has entered into an agreement with US-based Crede Capital that will see the investment group subscribing for new ordinary shares in Vast of 0.1p each to raise up to £5-million. The deal provided for the issue... →

First Metrorail test train arrives in S Africa

18th December 2015 Some 18 months after the financial close of a passenger train supply contract between the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) and Alstom subsidiary Gibela, the State-owned firm has welcomed the arrival of the first test train aimed at replacing the old Metrorail train fleet over the... →

Special Cabinet meeting postponed to January

18th December 2015 The Special Cabinet meeting on the economy that was scheduled to take place in Pretoria on Friday has been postponed to take place in January after the holiday break next month, the Presidency has said in a statement. This followed a decision taken at a Cabinet meeting on December 9 to convene a... →

Waterberg requests extension of ASX share suspension

18th December 2015 JSE-listed The Waterberg Coal Company has made a request to the ASX for an extension to its current voluntary suspension in the trading of its securities, which expires prior to the start of trade on December 21. This would, it outlined in a statement on Friday, allow it time to finalise a... →

Botswana Diamonds raises £458 655 through share placement

18th December 2015 Diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds has undertaken a private placing to conditionally raise cash £458 655 through the placing of 53.95-million new ordinary shares at a placing price of 0.85p. The funds raised would be used to fund exploration activities in Botswana, which remained ongoing, and to... →

Ellies braces for half-year loss

18th December 2015 Electronic products manufacturer Ellies expects its loss per share (LPS) for the six months ended October 31 to be between 1.97c and 0.66c a piece – between 85% and 95% higher than the loss per share of 13.10c for the comparable prior year’s period. The headline loss per share (HLPS) for the... →

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