The Council for Geoscience (CGS) on September 21 launched Phase 2 of the Karoo Deep Drilling and Geo-environmental Base Programme (KDD), in Beaufort West. The council, as mandated by the Department of Minerals and Energy, in 2016 initiated the research programme to investigate the resource potential of the Karoo Basin, which is anticipated to have [...]

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has informed the 64th session of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), via a video recording, that South Africa had started consultations with nuclear power reactor vendors, to obtain information about costs, schedules and possible ownership models. This was in line with the country’s Integrated Resource Plan 2019-2030 and the result [...]

The authorities have been laudably supportive of the R150-million grid-tied photovoltaic solar project that is to be built to supply electricity to Pan African Resources’ highly successful Elikhulu tailings retreatment plant in Evander, Mpumalanga. The nigh-10 MW solar plant, which is expected to be completed next year, will provide most of the daytime electricity requirements [...]

Six organisations representing professionals in the country’s nuclear sector jointly staged a public demonstration in Pretoria on Saturday in support of nuclear technology and the expansion of the South African nuclear sector. The demonstration was carried out in full compliance with anti-Covid-19 safety protocols, including physical distancing, frequent use of sanitiser and the wearing of [...]

Gold mining company AngloGold Ashanti on Monday reinstated annual guidance on improved operating certainty amid the Covid-19 pandemic and in anticipation of the conclusion of the sale of its South African assets at the end of this month. All conditions precedent have been met with respect to the sale of its remaining mines in South [...]

Diversified miner Glencore has welcomed the Australian federal government’s decision to invest A$1.9-billion in a suite of new and emerging energy technology to position the country for a low-emission future. To this end, metals and minerals will play a key role in the global transition to a low-emission future.

High Court Judge Fayeeza Kathree-Setiloane will decide next week whether to grant the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) leave to appeal her July 28 judgment, which found the regulator’s decision to deduct a R69-billion equity injection into Eskom from its allowable revenue for the period 2019/20 to 2021/22 to be illegal. Kathree-Setiloane also [...]

The South African government has told administrators of South African Airways (SAA) that there is a "clear cabinet commitment" to provide the state airline with R10.5-billion of funds, one of the administrators said on Friday. The administrator told an SAA creditor meeting that the government's communication had the support of National Treasury but the timelines [...]

Two trade unions, the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) and the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca), have jointly announced that, together, they are going to challenge in court the liquidation of State-owned airlines South African Airways (SAA) and South African Express (SAX). The unions pointed out that SAX was already under [...]

Cameroon will build a $3-billion hydropower plant as part of an ambitious plan to make the central African nation an exporter of electricity by 2035. The 810 MW Grand Eweng project on the Sanaga river, a joint venture between the government and the US-based energy company Hydromine, is the fifth hydro-project on the river.

As the world becomes more connected through information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), ABB local division manager for mining solutions John Manuell warns that cybersecurity will need “to remain front of mind”. With the advent and increasing use of digital technologies, especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, he says this poses a [...]

The head of South Africa’s Independent Power Producer (IPP) Office, which performs the IPP procurement function on behalf of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), says discussions are under way with the department to finalise the roll-out plan for the Section 34 determination that caters for the procurement of 11 813 MW of new [...]