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Bloomberg

Bloomberg delivers business and markets news, data, analysis, and video to the world, featuring stories from Businessweek and Bloomberg News.

Rising prices are deepening the electricity divide in South Africa

14th August 2024 Late last year, residents of Yeoville and Bellevue — crumbling inner city areas of Johannesburg — went without power for four weeks after a 63-year-old cable broke. For several months after, power to the electricity supply was rotated between the two areas in four-hour blocks. Then the cuts were... →

Pandora CEO says diamond market faces disruption in next decade

13th August 2024 Pandora A/S’s chief executive officer expects it will take less than ten years before consumers buy more lab-grown diamonds than mined stones because they increasingly weigh up costs and climate impact when buying jewelry. Alexander Lacik, whose company makes more pieces of jewelry than any... →

Barrick CEO says gold giant is eyeing opportunities in Canada

13th August 2024 Barrick Gold, the world’s No. 2 bullion producer, is looking for investment opportunities in Canada as prices for the precious metal push higher. CEO Mark Bristow said he’s cautious about embarking on major deals but is keeping an eye out for opportunities in the company’s home country to buy or... →

Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow

Botswana Power awards 100 MW solar deal to Chinese group

13th August 2024 A group of Chinese companies led by China Harbour Engineering Co has won a contract to build a 100 MW solar plant in Botswana, the country’s second utility-scale renewables facility. China Harbour is partnering with China Water and Electric Development Co and local investors for the project which... →

South Africa's infrastructure spend plans soar as energy woes ease

13th August 2024 The value of South Africa’s planned investment projects increased sharply in the first half of 2024, boosted by sustained electricity supply, easing logistical constraints and slowing inflation, according to a report by Nedbank Group. The value of announced new projects jumped to an annualised... →

Botswana to cut spending on cars, travel as diamond slump persists

13th August 2024 Botswana plans to reduce spending on new vehicles and travel for government officials and may delay some capital projects to deal with a slump in diamond revenues, according to its finance minister. “We have to seriously reduce the pace of spending, and we are looking at areas such as procurement... →

South Africa's coal export line will need five years to refurbish

13th August 2024 South Africa’s State-owned rail company needs $669-million and five years to upgrade equipment to revive performance of its main export coal line, according to an internal report. Coal shipments plunged to a more than three-decade low of 48-million tons last year because of inefficiencies at... →

A $91bn trade means mining in one of the world's hottest places

13th August 2024 Snaking through the russet-colored expanse of Australia’s remote Outback, vast mile-long trains ferry iron-ore — the nation’s most valuable export — across a crucial mining district that’s increasingly vulnerable to volatile weather and where temperatures have matched the Southern Hemisphere’s... →

Three farm dams collapse in South Africa, displacing hundreds

12th August 2024 Three farm dams collapsed in South Africa’s Western Cape province, displacing hundreds of people, and the authorities are monitoring a fourth facility for potential failure. Retention walls on the reservoirs near the town of Malmesbury, which lies 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Cape Town,... →

Private placements, carbon seen by JSE as African growth route

12th August 2024 JSE, which operates Africa’s biggest stock and bond exchanges, is looking to expand its private placement and carbon offset platforms across the continent. The JSE Private Placements platform, which allows companies to raise money from select investors through the sale of equity or issuing of... →

Photo by Bloomberg
JSE CEO Leila Fourie

China drives African lithium surge to lock in key battery metal

12th August 2024 Chinese miners and refiners are driving a surge in African lithium output, shrugging off concerns over a glut to lock in future supplies of the critical battery metal. The continent is projected to account for almost 11% of global supply this year, compared with close to zero at the start of the... →

Zambia closes border with DRC, blocking key copper trade route

12th August 2024 Zambia has temporarily shut its borders with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the government said at the weekend, in a move that could delay exports from Africa’s biggest copper producer. “We have decided to take precautions that we seal the borders for now,” Chipoka Mulenga, Zambia’s... →

Gold steadies before US inflation data as recession fears linger

12th August 2024 Gold steadied ahead of key US data prints this week, with traders focused on whether they will reinforce bets the Federal Reserve will soon pivot to monetary easing. Bullion was trading near $2 430 an ounce in Asia after falling 0.5% last week, as markets braced for the release of the consumer... →

Canada to fund health study on how oil sands impact Indigenous communities

12th August 2024 Canada will fund an Indigenous-led study into how oil sands development impacts the health of local communities, the government said on Wednesday, following a tailings water leak from an Imperial Oil site that heightened pollution concerns. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Ottawa... →

Rio Tinto’s Serbia lithium project faces fresh protests

12th August 2024 Environmental activists and opposition groups are set to gather in the center of Serbia’s capital on Saturday to demand a halt to the Rio Tinto Group’s $2.4-billion plans to open Europe’s biggest lithium mine. The troubles highlight the challenges to building new mines in Europe, even as... →

Olympic gold medals are worth more than ever after cost of metals surged

12th August 2024 Olympic gold medals are worth more than ever at this year’s Paris games, with the raw materials that go into them having the potential to fetch about $900 each. The medals contain six grams of gold, the price of which soared to a record in mid-July thanks to central-bank buying, retail interest... →

Chile copper export revenue rises in July despite lower prices

8th August 2024 Chilean copper exports rose last month despite lower prices, signaling mines in the world’s top supplier of the metal are recovering from operational setbacks that dragged down production. July shipments were up 1.5% versus June and 31% from a year earlier, according to data released by the... →

Fertiliser giant Nutrien names new CFO amid industry downturn

8th August 2024 Nutrien named a new chief financial officer amid an industry downturn that has eroded the fertiliser giant’s profits. Mark Thompson, who has been with the company since 2011 and is currently serving as chief commercial officer, assumes his new role Aug. 26. He is set to replace Pedro Farah as... →

South Africa needs more political will to exit dirty-money list

8th August 2024 South Africa needs decisive political buy-in to ensure its exit from a global dirty-money watch list by a June deadline, a top official at the nation’s financial regulator said. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has ramped up efforts to co-ordinate government response to problem areas identified... →

BHP seeking buyer for gold, copper mines in Brazil

8th August 2024 BHP Group, the world’s No. 1 miner, is planning to sell Brazilian copper and gold assets it acquired with the takeover of Oz Minerals, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has engaged Banco Santander SA to advise in talks for a potential sale after it completed a strategic... →

Namibia says just 42% of approved mining projects are operating

8th August 2024 Namibia said less than half of the mining projects it has approved are in operation, prompting the government to take a tougher stance on issuing permits. Just 68 of the 162 licenses approved by the southern African nation are active, Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo said at a conference in... →

South African firms seek water investments to avoid next crisis

7th August 2024 South African corporates — which have partnered with the government to revive failing transport and energy networks — are in talks with the state to deal with water availability, which the head of the nation’s business lobby said was “the next crisis.” “Does water supply and water provision have... →

Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busisiwe Mavuso

South Africa growth at risk without infrastructure fix, S&P says

7th August 2024 South Africa will need to urgently address crippling infrastructure bottlenecks or risk derailing a budding economic recovery, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. These challenges have left Africa’s most industrialised economy struggling to sustain growth for the last decade. Thea... →

South Africa can fix backlogged ports in a year, Ntshavheni says

7th August 2024 South Africa’s ports — ranked among the world’s worst — are improving and state-owned operator Transnet will fix them within the next 12 to 14 months, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said. The new multi-party administration that President Cyril Ramaphosa of the African National... →

The Port of Cape Town

First Quantum to trim work hours at stalled Panama copper mine

7th August 2024 First Quantum Minerals is trimming working hours at its stalled copper mine in Panama in a bid to rein in the cost of preserving the site following last year’s shutdown order, the union said. The Canadian firm will reduce extraordinary hours available to workers and end Sunday activities,... →

The Cobre Panama plant

Soaring prices have Australian gold bugs expecting M&A splurge

7th August 2024 Australia’s gold industry — buoyed by the precious metal’s record—setting run this year — is anticipating a wave of deal-making, with smaller miners being targeted as exploration lags. The potential for a flurry of mergers and acquisitions in the world’s biggest gold producer after China and... →

Glencore ordered to pay $150m by Swiss in criminal probe

6th August 2024 Glencore was ordered to pay $150-million for failing to take sufficient measures to prevent bribery over its acquisition of mining assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Swiss prosecutors said as they closed a four-year investigation into the case. “Glencore’s failure to take all necessary... →

Africa’s richest city needs R221bn to fix infrastructure

6th August 2024 Johannesburg, billed as Africa’s richest city because of its concentration of businesses and millionaires, needs R221-billion to catch up on maintenance and overdue upgrades across its collapsing road, power and water networks. The city council discussed the shortfall late last month and detailed... →

Gold halts slide after market rout triggered margin-call selling

6th August 2024 Gold steadied after being pulled into Monday’s global rout, when it slumped as some traders cut holdings to cover potential margin calls. Spot bullion plunged as much as 3.2% in the previous session, the biggest intraday drop since early June, before paring losses. Prices traded in a daily range... →

Copper steadies after plumbing four-month low during global rout

6th August 2024 Industrial metals found firmer footing on Tuesday, the day after commodities were swept up in a tumultuous global selloff of risk assets. Copper, aluminum and zinc all steadied after a frenzied opening day of the week that wiped out billions across global markets. Investors are now tracking... →

Gold gets dragged into selloff as share slide jolts investors

5th August 2024 Gold fell as much as 1.2% in early Asian trading, dragged lower by weakness in global stocks, which offset concerns over heightened tensions in the Middle East. Spot bullion — which rallied close to a record last week — dropped toward $2 425 an ounce as Asian shares tumbled at the week’s open.... →

Uranium miners say Australia to miss out on boom in nuclear fuel

5th August 2024 Uranium explorers are calling on Australian state governments to lift bans on mining the fuel, which is set for a long-term jump in demand as decarbonisation spurs a nuclear energy revival. Australia boasts nearly a third of known uranium ore deposits worldwide, but only two of the nation’s... →

BHP Group’s Olympic Dam produces uranium is a byproduct of the copper operations.

Endeavour maintains gold production target amid Senegal strike

5th August 2024 Endeavour Mining said a strike at the Sabodala-Massawa mine in Senegal isn’t expected to impact its gold output target this year, after the stoppage entered a second day. The company doesn’t “currently anticipate a material impact on the group’s ability to meet its production guidance,” it said... →

Vitol extends deal spree with purchase of fallen rival Noble

2nd August 2024 Vitol Group has agreed to buy the last remaining piece of fallen Asian commodity trader Noble, as the energy trading giant recycles its blockbuster profits to go on an acquisition spree. Vitol will pay $208.9-million on a cash-free, debt-free basis, Noble Resources said in a statement on Friday.... →

South Africa still owns highly enriched uranium, report says

2nd August 2024 South Africa still has a stockpile of highly enriched uranium, Netwerk24 reported, citing Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe. The nation declared its holdings of the nuclear material, which can be used to build weapons, to the International Atomic Energy Agency as part of... →

Photo by Donna Slater
Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe

Glencore overshadowed in cobalt market as Chinese rival booms

2nd August 2024 China’s CMOC Group has strengthened its status as the world’s cobalt king, churning out more than three times as much as better-known rival Glencore after a stunning output surge that’s deepened the battery metal’s price rout. The Chinese mining giant leapfrogged Glencore only last year to become... →

Zambia warns it may shut operation at its biggest dam by October

2nd August 2024 Zambia’s State-owned power utility warned it may cease generating electricity at the Kariba dam by October because the nation’s worst drought yet is depleting water levels at the world’s largest artificial reservoir. Zesco is “working frantically” to avoid a shutdown at the Kariba complex, MD... →

NexGen raises cost of Canadian uranium project to $1.6bn

2nd August 2024 NexGen Energy raised the cost to build its flagship uranium mine in northern Canada, citing inflationary pressures and engineering expenses in a remote region. The company’s Rook I project in Saskatchewan will now cost $1.6-billion, up from an earlier estimate of $940-million, NexGen said in a... →

Workers at world’s biggest copper mine reject BHP wage offer

2nd August 2024 BHP Group workers in Chile rejected the company’s wage offer at the close of regular talks, thrusting the process into a final mediation phase in a bid to avoid a strike at the world’s biggest copper mine. Members of the main union at the Escondida mine voted against the terms of a new wage... →

The Escondida mine in Chile

Barbeque Index shows South African food inflation fell in July

1st August 2024 The falling price of pap — a beloved South African cornmeal dish that forms part of a township shisanyama barbecue — is good news for the central bank as it weighs interest rate cuts. Sticky food inflation has been one of the reasons the South African Reserve Bank has been hesitant to ease... →

New tool to close down Asia’s coal plants is gaining momentum

1st August 2024 Lenders to power producers see momentum building in development of a novel form of carbon credits intended to advance the phase out of coal-fired power capacity. Entities including the Monetary Authority of Singapore have advocated the introduction of transition credits, the sales of which would... →

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