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South Africa may exit dirty-money list by October 2025, Treasury official says

11th September 2024 South Africa should address outstanding shortcomings in tackling illicit financial flows to exit a global dirty-money list by either June or October next year, provided there’s no surprises, National Treasury Official Ismail Momoniat said. The nation has until February to address 22 key items... →

Anglo American starts cutting stake in Amplats with share sale

10th September 2024 Anglo American offered to sell about 13-million shares in Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) in a move aimed at increasing the South African firm’s free float ahead of a full exit. The shares represent about 5% of Amplats’s total issued ordinary shares, Anglo said in a statement on Tuesday. →

National roads need over R307-billion of repairs

10th September 2024 South Africa, which already faces a heavy bill to upgrade its port, rail and electricity infrastructure, needs R307-billion to repair and improve its sprawling national road system. The South African National Roads Agency requires design and construction work on 1 437 projects, Transport Minister... →

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy

Glencore billionaire Alex Beard appears at UK court accused of corruption

10th September 2024 Alex Beard, the billionaire former head of oil at Glencore, appeared for the first time at a London court after being charged with corruption by the UK’s fraud agency. Beard, 57, was accused last month by the Serious Fraud Office of conspiring to make corrupt payments to government officials and... →

Alex Beard

Australia should address concerns of mining industry, group says

9th September 2024 Australia should resolve issues related to the environment approval process, said Tania Constable, CEO of the country’s minerals council, highlighting the industry’s concerns that the development of new mines will become challenging. The comments followed growing tensions between Prime Minister... →

Minerals Council CEO Tania Constable

Engie sees African renewables industry as ripe for consolidation

9th September 2024 Engie, the French utility that led a $1-billion buyout of a rival’s renewable energy assets in Africa last year, expects more deals to be seen in the industry across the continent. While focusing on integrating the assets it bought from Actis rather than seeking more acquisitions, Engie is... →

China sets Up Beijing-backed lithium group to tap salt lakes

9th September 2024 China Minmetals will take control of a province-backed lithium company in a bid to speed development of a “world-class” industry extracting the battery material from salt lakes in the far west of the country. The sprawling mining-to-trading group backed by China’s central government will hold... →

Iron-ore slumps below $90 as growth fears hit commodities

9th September 2024 Iron-ore sank below $90 a ton for the first time since 2022 as industrial commodities faced sustained pressure from tepid Chinese demand and gathering worries over global growth. Futures for iron-ore have fallen by more than a third this year as an unresolved steel crisis in China threatens... →

Citi says US election risk will keep metals contained for now

6th September 2024 Uncertainty around the US presidential election in November will prevent meaningful gains for metals by subduing global risk appetite and possibly delaying government stimulus in China, according to Citigroup Inc. “We think Fed rate cuts, further China policy easing, and an upturn in global... →

South Africa lures BYD with critical minerals, car output skills

6th September 2024 Talks are progressing between BYD Co. and South Africa over a possible investment by the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, a top government official said, although no specific time frame for the next steps has been agreed. BYD has expressed interest to work and invest in South Africa,... →

Germany ready to help fund R390bn South African grid revamp

6th September 2024 Germany is willing to help fund the R390-billion ($22-billion) that South Africa said it needs to incorporate more solar and wind power into the national grid and ensure its energy security. The European nation will be able to provide some funding once the scope for the grid-expansion project has... →

Aramco, Trafigura said to compete for Shell South Africa assets

6th September 2024 Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and commodities trader Trafigura are among suitors competing to buy Shell’s service stations in South Africa, according to people familiar with the matter. The assets have also attracted initial interest from South Africa’s Central Energy Fund, which owns... →

China’s steel crisis drives iron-ore to worst week since March

6th September 2024 Iron-ore steadied to remain on track for its worst week since March, with few signs of a recovery for China’s beleaguered steel market. “There is no significant improvement in demand for steel products, so there’s little room for steel mills to resume production,” Zhang Shaoda, an analyst with... →

Yukon gold mine disaster sparks fears of soaring taxpayer bill

6th September 2024 The sudden collapse of Victoria Gold's Eagle Mine — and with it, the company — is part of a long and ugly history in northern Canada. To this day, Canada’s federal government is still cleaning up arsenic and cyanide spills from mines that were abandoned by their owners decades ago. The country’s... →

US agency to join $225m investment in African fibre firm

6th September 2024 A US development agency will be one of the main investors as African fibre company Liquid Telecommunication Holdings Ltd. seeks to raise $225 million in equity by the end of the year, according to CEO Hardy Pemhiwa. The International Development Finance Corporation will be one of the biggest... →

Chinese lithium producers embrace hedging to manage volatility

5th September 2024 Chinese lithium processors are ratcheting up hedging to offset wild swings in the battery metal, a sign that local futures launched around a year ago are gaining traction. Several companies have unveiled their hedging exposure via lithium carbonate futures during the recent earnings season,... →

Indonesia sees nickel holding near current level on new plants

5th September 2024 Indonesia’s government sees nickel prices stabilizing near current levels in the future, as new plants in the world’s biggest producer offset rising demand and keep the market well supplied. Prices on the London Metal Exchange should hold around $15 000 to $16 000 a ton in the short to medium... →

South Africa rail, power revamp hinges on ending cable theft

4th September 2024 The recovery of South Africa’s two biggest State-owned companies — beset by years of corruption and theft — relies on one common component: protecting thousands of miles of cables from theft and rolling out more. Both freight-rail operator Transnet and power utility Eskom battle to hang onto... →

South Africa targets China as key market for its farm produce

4th September 2024 South Africa new 10-party coalition government aims to increase agricultural exports to China, part of a drive to forge closer ties with the Asian nation, fire up its economy and tackle a 34% unemployment rate. “We are focusing on making sure that we build strong relationships with China and that... →

Iron-ore slides closer to $90 with China’s steel demand at risk

4th September 2024 Iron-ore edged closer to its lowest since 2022 as the steelmaking material extended a selloff on fears for China’s crisis-wracked steel industry. Futures in Singapore fell 1.5% to $92.20 a ton by 3:06 p.m. to head for a fourth daily decline. There’s been little sign yet that tough conditions for... →

China signs deal to revamp decades-old Southern African railway

4th September 2024 China signed an agreement Wednesday to revamp a railway that will help landlocked Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, export the metal through Tanzania. The heads of state of the three nations oversaw the ceremony at the Forum on China Africa-Cooperation, kicking off the biggest... →

Trafigura struck $400m cash-for-iron-ore deal with MinRes

4th September 2024 Trafigura Group has struck a $400-million prepayment deal for iron ore with Mineral Resources, as the Australian miner focuses on preserving cash amid a downturn in its two main commodities. The prepayment was reported by Mineral Resources in July, but the Perth-based mining company did not say... →

Mineral Resources CEO Chris Ellison

Codelco bids $500m for stake in key Chilean copper mine

4th September 2024 Chile’s Codelco, seeking to retain the title of world’s top copper supplier, made a $500-million offer to buy a stake in a mine run by Teck Resources, people with knowledge of the matter said. The proposal to acquire a 10% stake in the Quebrada Blanca mine from fellow state firm Enami is before... →

Vedanta to pay $932m in dividend to help parent cut debt

3rd September 2024 Indian tycoon Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta approved a third tranche of dividend payout, its latest effort to improve the financial position of its indebted London-based mining parent. The Mumbai-based miner will pay an additional 78.21-billion rupees ($932-million) dividend, according to a statement... →

South Africa asks banks, insurers for consumer education plans

3rd September 2024 A top South Africa regulator is planning to require financial institutions to unveil their plans for boosting spending on customer education as it seeks to improve the lives of consumers in a nation where a majority of people live paycheck to paycheck. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s new... →

Germany seeks clarity on South Africa’s coal-closure slowdown

3rd September 2024 Germany’s climate envoy said her country is seeking clarity on South Africa’s plans to slow down the closure of its coal-fired power plants and alter the terms of a landmark climate-finance pact. The European nation is a founding member of the $9.3-billion agreement, known as the Just Energy... →

Photo by Bloomberg
The Hendrina power station

Coal generates less than half of Australian power for first time

3rd September 2024 The high winds that have been lashing southeastern Australia over the past few days have pushed coal-fired power below 50% of the country’s power mix for the first time ever. The fossil fuel accounted for 49.2% of electricity generation in the week through Monday, the first time it’s fallen... →

Tianqi Lithium swings to loss on battery metal’s price plunge

2nd September 2024 A major Chinese lithium producer swung to its first half-year loss since 2020, hit by the battery material’s massive price slump. Tianqi Lithium Corp. posted a net loss of 5.21-billion yuan ($734-million) for the first six months, from a profit of 6.45-billion yuan a year earlier, according to a... →

Sustained low CPI may spur South Africa rate cuts, Kganyago says

2nd September 2024 South Africa needs to sustain a low inflation rate to justify a change in the central bank’s monetary policy stance, Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. Consumer-price growth was 4.6% in July, the lowest level in three years. That took the spread between the South African Reserve Bank’s policy... →

Photo by Reuters
Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago

Will gold’s tailwinds be enough to overcome September curse?

2nd September 2024 Gold investors returning from their summer holidays will be eager to see whether the precious metal can sustain its record-breaking rally, or if it will succumb to the curse of September. Bullion has dropped every September since 2017. Over that period, the average decline has been 3.2% in... →

Rio, BYD among prospective Enami lithium partners in Chile

30th August 2024 Rio Tinto Group and BYD were selected among prospective partners to develop lithium assets in Chile as part of efforts to tap more of the world’s biggest reserves of the battery metal despite slumping prices. State-owned Enami released a shortlist of would-be partners for its early-stage... →

Paladin’s takeover of Fission yet to win shareholders’ support

30th August 2024 Paladin Energy’s takeover of fellow uranium producer Fission Uranium is in doubt, as it has so far fallen short of winning enough support from shareholders to seal the deal. In July, Paladin agreed to buy the Canadian company for C$1.14-billion, contingent on at least two thirds of Fission... →

Zambia plans State firm to own 30% of critical minerals mines

30th August 2024 Zambia plans to establish an investment company that will control at least 30% of critical minerals production from future mines. Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe unveiled a strategy on Thursday that he said will allow Zambia to maximize the benefits from its deposits of metals key to the energy... →

Lithium bust spurs Ganfeng to delay project capex as losses hit

30th August 2024 Battery-material giant Ganfeng Lithium Group said it would delay spending on projects that do not generate “significant” near-term returns after posting a first-half loss, as the industry faces a boom-to-bust slump. The Chinese company — which reported a net loss of 760.4-million yuan from a... →

Mount Marion, in Australia

Lithium startups bet on high demand in battery-powered future

29th August 2024 As the world leans into electrification, it will need more lithium. A key ingredient in the batteries that power everything from electric vehicles to cell phones, demand is projected to accelerate over the next decade. To meet it, a new crop of startups are working on novel ways of producing the... →

Lilac Solutions has raised over $300-million to commercialise its direct lithium extraction technology.

Iron-ore’s ‘irrational’ rally past $100 triggers warning

29th August 2024 Iron-ore has jumped by about 10% in 10 days to breach $100 a ton, prompting the official journal of China’s metals industry to pen a long article on why the gains are overdone. The steelmaking material has powered higher in the face of a barrage of downbeat commentary on prospects for Chinese... →

US sees bipartisan backing for Africa critical minerals projects

29th August 2024 A senior US State Department official reassured African governments that an initiative to help counter China’s influence through developing infrastructure on the continent will continue even after a change in administration. The flagship of the plan — a railway project known as the Lobito... →

Sumitomo files debt overhaul plan for Madagascar nickel mine

29th August 2024 Sumitomo Corp has filed a debt restructuring plan to a UK court for its Ambatovy nickel and cobalt project, in Madagascar. The plan would allow it to address plant equipment malfunctions and ensure other improvements, Sumitomo said in a statement on Thursday. The Japanese trading house posted an... →

Mining billionaire who banned work from home targets coffee runs

29th August 2024 Staff at billionaire Chris Ellison’s mining company have already been banned from working from home. Stepping outside for a coffee could well be the next endangered perk. “I want to hold them captive all day long,” Ellison, chief executive officer of Mineral Resources said on Thursday. “I don’t... →

Chris Ellison

China’s steel slump set to worsen as heavyweights flag concerns

28th August 2024 China’s steel-industry slowdown looks set to deepen, with BHP Group, the world’s biggest miner, and China Baowu Group, the top iron-ore buyer, flagging concerns as demand fades after decades of growth. While both BHP and Baowu’s listed unit posted relatively healthy profits on Tuesday, their... →

Jindal, Zimbabwe in talks for $800m revamp of Hwange power plant

28th August 2024 Zimbabwe’s State-owned power utility is in talks with Jindal Steel & Power over an $800-million upgrade of six units at its Hwange facility as it seeks to reduce blackouts. The plant is the nation’s biggest, with an installed capacity of 1 500 MW and it frequently suffers breakdowns that cause... →

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