The Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED) has to do more with less as budget’s shrink and the Covid-19 pandemic ravages small businesses. Delivering the 2021/2022 departmental budget on June 18, Gauteng Economic Development and Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Parks Tau tabled a budget for 2021/22 financial year of R1.5-billion.

Fuel management and payment solutions specialist Payment24 has launched FastLane, bringing contactless, cardless and secure fuel payments to the market. FastLane is described as ‘biometrics for the vehicle’. Payment24 says the system instantly identifies any vehicle enrolled in the system as it drives into the forecourt, and then authorises refuelling and automates payment. 

Wholesale and retail group Massmart says its localisation focus, in partnership with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), is bearing fruit, with visible benefits being experienced by the group and an increasing number of local suppliers. Massmart, over the past nine months, reviewed its top imported products and determined which of these have the [...]

The debacle surrounding South Africa’s bid to secure emergency power supplies has highlighted a dysfunctional energy policy that’s subjecting Africa’s most-industrialized nation to intermittent blackouts. Since March, the energy department has identified companies it wants to provide almost 2 000 megawatts of electricity to the grid by August next year. But a losing bidder has [...]

A new study using the MeerKAT radio telescope, in South Africa’s Northern Cape, has produced a striking image showing a combination of cosmic features never seen before, revealing unexpected details of the inner workings of enormous radio galaxies. At the centre of the giant elliptical galaxy IC 4296 is a rotating black hole with a [...]

German car maker BMW says it is making raw materials considered to be so-called ‘conflict minerals’ a special focus of its sustainability strategy.  This includes ores where mining or trading is often associated with violations of environmental and social standards. 

A cloud of methane was detected by satellite near coal mines in South Africa, drawing attention to a lesser-known environmental risk that comes from using the dirtiest fossil fuel. The potent greenhouse gas — methane traps roughly 84 times more heat than carbon dioxide in its first two decades in the atmosphere — was emitted [...]

As part of the cleaner, safer vehicles initiative of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), more than 300 vehicle fleets have this year been assessed for cleaner, safer mobility on more than 300 mines in five regions globally, ICMM health, safety and product stewardship director Sarah Bell reported on Tuesday. Bell was speaking [...]

JSE-listed Arrowhead Properties has advised that it has started engaging in merger discussions with fellow-listed Fairvest Property. This follows after an independent board assessing the potential merits of such a transaction with Fairvest, having determined that it is in the best interest of Arrowhead to become a larger and more liquid real estate investment trust.

Trading for the first five months of this year has been strong for paper and packaging manufacturer Mpact, with underlying profit exceeding pre-pandemic comparatives in both the plastics and paper businesses. Group revenue for the period ended May 31, 2021, was R4.8-billion and exceeded the prior comparative period by 16%, while underlying operating profit more [...]

Surface mining industry association the Aggregate and Sand Producers Association of Southern Africa (Aspasa) has compiled its “big four” priorities to address problems and opportunities in the industry. The association has been mandated by its members to approach the with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and address concerns that are stifling the [...]

A new study by financial services provider Standard Chartered reveals that multinational companies will cut suppliers for failing to curb carbon emissions, with 78% of multinational corporations (MNCs) planning to cut ties with suppliers that endanger their carbon transition plans by 2025. For South African suppliers who fail to transition alongside their MNC partners, this could [...]