Megan van Wyngaardt

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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

Local Reits achieve double-digit growth for second consecutive year

6th February 2018 The FTSE/JSE South African Listed Property Index (Sapy) achieved total returns of 17.2% in 2017, building on its performance of returns of 10.2% in 2016, to deliver double-digit growth to investors for the second year in a row. Last year, listed property outshone cash, which delivered returns of... →

Competition Commission exposes alleged collusion in R4.5bn Eskom tender

6th February 2018 A Competition Commission investigation has found evidence of alleged price fixing and collusive tendering, involving an Eskom tender worth R4.5-billion, on the part of Waco Africa, acting through its division SGB Cape, as well as Tedoc Industries, Mtsweni Corrosion Control and Superfecta Trading.... →

Stronger rand deals blow to Hulamin's FY17 earnings

6th February 2018 Despite achieving record sales volumes of 233 000 t for the 2017 financial year, local aluminium supplier Hulamin's operating profit is expected to dip below that of the prior year, owing to the significantly stronger rand. "The strengthening of the currency had a negative effect on profits,... →

Plasser agrees to pay R8.4m penalty for collusion

6th February 2018 Railway construction and maintenance company Plasser South Africa has agreed to pay R8.4-million in a settlement penalty after admitting to partaking in collusion. The Competition Commission on Tuesday said it reached a settlement agreement with the company, which provides railway line track... →

Upbeat business climate in January sees Sacci BCI improve

6th February 2018 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (Sacci's) Business Confidence Index (BCI) recorded 99.7 in January, the highest level since it measured 102.3 in October 2015. The BCI improved by 3.3 index points in January, following on the improved level of 96.4 in December, while the index... →

Stronger rand, PGM sales lift Amplats' FY17 earnings

6th February 2018 Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) expects headline earnings and headline earnings per share (HEPS) for the year ended December 31, 2017, to be at least R373-million or 143c apiece, higher than for the 2016 financial year. Basic earnings and basic earnings a share (EPS) were also expected to be at... →

DRDGold provides profit guidance for WRTRP

6th February 2018 Dual-listed DRDGold on Tuesday said it expects the West Rand tailings retreatment project (WRTRP) to generate a profit of R229.4-million for the 12 months ending December 31, 2019. The company is in the process of acquiring the project from fellow gold and platinum miner Sibanye-Stillwater. →

S2 identifies gold/silver zones at Storgroven, Sweden

6th February 2018 Base of till drilling at the Storgroven target, which forms part of ASX-listed S2 Resources' Skellefte project, in Sweden, has identified two adjacent zones of gold/silver mineralisation, with seven holes ending in mineralisation greater than 1g/t gold and 20 g/t silver. The programme saw 115... →

Highland Gold updates Kekura resource as DFS is completed

6th February 2018 Aim-listed Highland Gold Mining has updated its resources for the Kekura gold project, located in the Chukotka region in Russia's Far East, following the completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS). The DFS has shown that the project holds total gold reserves of two-million ounces of a... →

Cape Lambert appoints consultant for Kipushi engineering review

6th February 2018 ASX-listed resource and investment company Cape Lambert has appointed South Africa-based engineering consulting firm GWCH Consulting to complete the detailed engineering review of the Kipushi copper processing plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Kipushi operation is run by... →

Australian minerals sector contests 'water trigger'

6th February 2018 Australian mining's water use, as a share of national consumption, has fallen from 3.9% to 3.7% between 2014/15 and 2015/16, a submission to the Senate Inquiry into water use by the extractives industry has shown. The submission, lodged by the Minerals Council of Australia, New South Wales... →

GE, Arenko collaborate on building energy storage systems

6th February 2018 Digital industrial company GE and flexible energy storage systems operator Arenko Group have entered into a strategic alliance to build grid-scale energy storage systems in the UK. The companies will seek to leverage the advantages of combining GE's battery technology solutions, power electronics... →

Monetary policies, US politics weigh on 2017 gold demand

6th February 2018 The gold story over the past two years has been one of polar opposites, with the significant demand for gold in 2016 offset by a more muted 2017, the World Gold Council (WGC) outlined on Monday. Gold demand rallied in the closing months of 2017, gaining 6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter to... →

Sea Harvest to make big arrival with maiden full year results

5th February 2018 Seafood processing company Sea Harvest on Monday said it expects to report basic earnings per share (EPS) of between 110c and 124c for the year ended December 31, paired with headline earnings per share (HEPS) of between 99c and 113c apiece. This will be the company's maiden full-year results... →

AfDB boosts ALBC Fund books with R140m loan

5th February 2018 To further enhance the African Local Currency Bond Fund (ALCB Fund) portfolio and promote the development of domestic capital markets across the continent, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a loan of R140-million. The senior loan, with a seven-year tenor including a two-year grace... →

Standard Bank PMI remains below 50-point mark

5th February 2018 Business conditions in South Africa continue to deteriorate, with activity in the private sector decreasing further amid lower client demand, Standard Bank and IHS Markit's latest Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) revealed on Monday. The index was recorded at 49 points in January, only marginally... →

Underground mining division to drive more than 20% uptick in M&R's interim earnings

2nd February 2018 JSE-listed Murray & Roberts (M&R) expects to have achieved at least a 20% year-on-year improvement in its diluted and basic earnings per share and headline earnings per share for the is months to December 31. The uptick in results is attributed to its underground mining division, which is... →

CompCom gives DRDGold conditional thumbs up to buy Sibanye tailings assets

2nd February 2018 The Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve, with conditions, DRDGold's acquisition of certain assets from Sibanye-Stillwater. The gold producers in November entered into a R1.3-billion deal that will entail DRDGold acquiring portions of Sibanye-Stillwater's... →

PPC supported by Africa growth, while local sales dwindle

2nd February 2018 Construction materials supplier PPC's revenue for the nine months ended December 31, 2017, improved on that of the prior comparable period, with interim CEO Johan Claassen noting on Friday that the company continued to make good progress in terms of its deliverables. However, PPC noted that the... →

Lucapa completes first sale of the year

2nd February 2018 ASX-listed Lucapa Diamond Company and its partners Empresa Nacional de Diamantes and Rosas & Petalas have completed the first sale for 2018 from the Lulo diamond project in Angola, for this year. The sale of 4 170 ct of Lulo diamonds achieved proceeds of $9.14-million, representing an exceptional... →

PPC Imaginarium Awards takes over prestigious Des Baker Award

2nd February 2018 Architecture schools in South Africa have been invited to send in submissions for the first PPC Imaginarium Awards for Architecture, being held on May 3, at 012Central, Pretoria. Following the same format of the esteemed Des Baker Award for outstanding architectural design by students, which has... →

Barminco makes strong turnaround

2nd February 2018 Underground hard-rock mining contractor Barminco on Friday reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) of $75.6-million for the half year ended December 31, 2017, up 12.2% from the prior year. Barminco CFO Peter Bryant said the result was a significant... →

West African gold explorer seeks to raise $6m in Australia IPO

2nd February 2018 West African gold exploration company Mako Gold is seeking to raise $6-million through the placement of 30-million shares in an initial public offering (IPO) at $0.20 apiece. For every two shares subscribed for, investors will receive one attaching listed option exercisable at $0.30 on or before... →

Wine industry sees positives despite possible R700m farm gate shortfall

2nd February 2018 The smaller wine grape harvest anticipated by industry body Vinpro for this year is expected to result in a R700-million shortfall at farm gate, at a time when production costs have doubled in the past decade and the minimum wage for farm workers is set to increase by 17% in May. However, despite... →

Coca-Cola outlines plan to intensify global recycling efforts

2nd February 2018 To battle the increasing number of plastic items on landfills and in the world’s oceans, beverage giant Coco-Cola plans to take one can or bottle “back”, for every bottle or can sold globally, by 2030. “We are fundamentally reshaping our approach to packaging, with a global goal to help collect... →

Wine grape crop may be smallest since 2005 as drought bites

2nd February 2018 Continuing drought and low water supplies in the Western Cape may lead to South Africa’s smallest wine grape harvest since 2005, when 1.15-million tonnes were harvested owing to drought and diseases in some production areas. Industry body South African Wine Industry Information and Systems... →

Volvo aims for climate neutral automotive manufacturing

2nd February 2018 Volvo Cars' engine factory in Skövde, Sweden, has become the company's first climate-neutral manufacturing plant, having switched to renewable heating on January 1. The car manufacturer noted that this marked a significant step towards its vision of having climate-neutral global manufacturing... →

Operational challenges dent Pan African's H1 output, earnings

1st February 2018 Dual-listed Pan African Resources' gold production reduced by 6 331 oz to 85 282 oz for the six months ended December 31, 2017, owing to operational challenges at its Barberton Mines. Underground production at Barberton Mines were impacted on by delays in developing into Fairview's high-grade 272... →

Harmony gets shareholder go-ahead for Moab Khotsong acquisition

1st February 2018 JSE-listed Harmony Gold Mining's shareholders have given a 99.6% approval of the miner's plans to acquire mining operations and related infrastructure from AngloGold Ashanti. The $300-million deal will include the Moab Khotsong mine, one of the newest South African deep-level mines, with... →

Kefi welcomes senior managers to executive committee

1st February 2018 Aim-listed gold and copper exploration and development company Kefi Minerals has expanded its senior management team as part of preparations for its development and operations. This includes the appointment of David Munro as head of operations, Eddy Solbrandt as head of systems and Brian Hosking... →

DRC to have biggest growth story in mining this year, despite risks - BMI

1st February 2018 Research firm BMI expects the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to be the fastest-growing major mining market in the world this year. In its latest industry trend analysis, the firm outlined that this growth would be driven by rising prices of key commodities, which would improve mining... →

Air Liquide launches €200m air separation unit at Sasol

1st February 2018 Gas company Air Liquide has launched a €200-million air separation unit (ASU) at energy and chemicals company Sasol's Secunda plant. Said to be the biggest oxygen production unit in the world, the ASU has a production capacity of 5 000 t/d of oxygen. Owned and operated by Air Liquide, it is the... →

Stellar Diamonds receives buyout offer

1st February 2018 Aim-listed Stellar Diamonds is in advanced negotiations regarding a possible share offer for the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of the company by Australian exploration company Newfield Resources (NWF). Under the terms of the offer, Stellar's shareholders and the holders of rights... →

Orefinders works towards becoming battery metals company with new acquisition

1st February 2018 TSX-listed Orefinders Resources on Thursday said it was upbeat about its newly acquired 100%-owned Mann silver and cobalt mine, in the Cobalt-Gowganda District of Ontario, through which it plans to create a pure play battery metals public company. "The Mann Mines have high-grade silver and cobalt... →

Acacia buys into further gold price protection measures

1st February 2018 Embattled Tanzania-focused miner Acacia Mining has bought additional put options covering 120 000 oz of gold at a strike price of $1 320/oz at a cost of $2-million. The options would expire in equal instalments of 30 000 oz a month between March and June. →

Rye Patch raises $20m to further ramp up Nevada gold mine

1st February 2018 Nevada-based miner Rye Patch Gold has completed a private placement whereby it issued 15.38-million units at $1.30 apiece to raise $20-million. Each unit comprised one common share and one share purchase warrant, which is exercisable to acquire one common share at an exercise price of $1.65 until... →

Katanga gaining traction at KOV mine in DRC

1st February 2018 TSX-listed Katanga Mining mined 433 169 t of ore, at an average grade of 2.18%, to produce 9 459 t of copper, at its KOV mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), during the fourth quarter of 2017. In 2016, ore mined at KOV reached 825 t and was related to incidental ore mined during waste... →

Testwork at Orion's Prieska project sets stage for next phase

31st January 2018 JSE-listed minerals explorer Orion Minerals on Wednesday said detailed metallurgical test work will be conducted at its Prieska zinc/copper project, using 1 583 kg of diamond drill core samples obtained from mineralised intersections in 21 holes drilled across the mineralised zones of the deposit... →

Metal Tiger, MOD to proceed with feasibility study on Botswana copper project

31st January 2018 Following the successful completion of a prefeasibility study (PFS) on the T3 copper project, in Botswana, joint venture (JV) partners Metal Tiger and MOD Resources have agreed to proceed with a feasibility study this quarter. The PFS assumed two models, including openpit mining and conventional... →

MZI half-year output up, enhanced operating plan rolling out

31st January 2018 ASX-listed mineral sands company MZI Resources saw its heavy mineral concentrate output rise 9% to 53 239 t during the six months to December 2017, while saleable production increased by 35% to 39 251 t. Sales volumes also increased by 47% to 29 750 t compared with the prior corresponding half.... →

Beach Energy ups guidance for 2018

31st January 2018 ASX-listed Beach Energy on Wednesday noted that full year pro forma production was expected to be within the upgraded range of 25.5-million barrels of oil equivalent to 27.6-million barrels of oil equivalent, comprising Beach production of 10.6-million barrels of oil equivalent to 11-million... →

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