The EU will launch its joint purchasing platform for critical resources with hydrogen buying in September, three EU sources told Reuters. Critical minerals purchases will follow, possibly in the third quarter, while gas will be the last with no firm timing, said the three sources, who declined to be named.

African infrastructure and industrial development funding agency, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has made a successful strategic return to the Islamic finance market, after a gap of eight years. The AFC has secured a three-year $400-million Shariah-compliant Commodity Murabaha facility. This reflected the AFC’s policy of diversifying its funding sources, to ensure ethical and sustainable [...]

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa’s) recent decision to disallow Eskom from raising revenue through the tariff for carbon taxes may indicate that the National Treasury has opted to extend the electricity price neutrality approach used during the first phase of the tax by a further five years to 2030. In its sixth [...]

Prominent figures in the automotive industry met at the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in Johannesburg, on January 31, for a combined Automechanika CEO lunch and networking event. The discussions focused on electric mobility, African market opportunities and the transformation of South Africa's automotive landscape.

The demand-surpassing production of metallurgical coal, in spite of the availability of environment-friendly alternatives for steelmaking in particular, is highlighted in the launch of a metallurgical coal exit list that goes beyond the thermal coal exit list that was first published in 2017 and focuses on new metallurgical coal mine plans and expansions. The metallurgical coal [...]

Distressed JSE-listed sugar producer Tongaat Hulett is set to sell 33.3% of the issued share capital and the claims for repayment of the shareholder loans in Tongaat Hulett (Botswana) to Ball Foundry, a nominee company of the Vision parties. The shares will be beneficially owned by the Vision principals on the closing date of the [...]

Billionaire-backed ArcelorMittal South Africa’s (AMSA's) plans to shut down a century-old steel mill in South Africa are holding President Cyril Ramaphosa’s dream of fostering a $257-billion infrastructure boom to ransom. That plant — and two others it wants to idle — supply what builders need for the vaunted exponential rollout of power-transmission towers, rail lines [...]

In a bid to help make mine tailings safer for people and the environment, a global institute has been launched in South Africa which has also been selected as the location of the independent, multi-stakeholder governed Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI). GTMI has been founded by CEO-led leadership organisation ICMM, the United Nations Environment Programme [...]

Global natural gas markets reached an all-time high last year and are set to remain tight in 2025 despite an ongoing rebalancing following the supply shock of 2022/23, the International Energy Agency (IEA) states. In 2024, global gas demand rose by 2.8%, or 115-billion cubic metres, which was well above the 2% average growth rate [...]

The Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has assured that its flagship OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), east of Johannesburg, now has enough jet fuel to meet demand for the rest of this month. ACSA is now working with industry and other partners to mitigate any disruptions that might occur in February. The supply of jet [...]

US Agency for International Development private sector programme Prosper Africa and trade financing company African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) have signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost trade and investment between the US and Africa in key sectors. This strategic partnership aims to leverage the strengths of both organisations to mobilise trade opportunities and [...]

Sasol is looking to revive its international chemical business, including a sprawling US complex, to boost earnings and open up an option to potentially list it, according to the company’s chief executive officer. The South African maker of fuel and chemicals from coal reported its first loss since 2020 last year and took billions of dollars [...]