South Africa's government has had to bring forward the bailout of state power firm Eskom, after it rushed R5-billion to the struggling utility earlier this month to avert a default and said more cash could be needed soon. Eskom supplies more than 90% of electricity in Africa's most advanced economy but is grappling with cashflow [...]

Three years ago, Orion Minerals was trading at an eighth of an Australian cent a share. It had a market capitalisation of $4-milllion and thought it could go and find something that it could turn into a mine. The good news is that the company found that opportunity in South Africa, and its share price [...]

Africa’s largest fund manager is said to be considering financial services executive Kennedy Bungane to head the institution, according to people familiar with the matter. Responsible for most South African government workers’ pension funds, the Public Investment Corp. is being probed over allegations of wrongdoing that are currently a subject of a judicial commission of [...]

Nuclear reactors, the lumbering giants of electricity generation, are trying to become more agile. Power grids have become so swamped with volatile wind and solar that traditional plants are being forced to abruptly adjust their own output to keep systems stable – or pay a penalty. That’s prompting reactor owners including Exelon Corp and Duke [...]

A court in Nigeria ordered the arrest of two former ministers and others allegedly connected with illegal payments leading to the 2011 acquisition of what is considered one of the biggest oil fields in the West African country. Former Justice Minister and Attorney General Mohammed Adoke, ex-Oil Minister Dan Etete and five foreign nationals linked [...]

Eskom Holdings, the State utility that supplies 95% of South Africa’s power, is overhauling the continent’s sole nuclear plant with the aim of extending its lifespan by at least 20 years. The revamp of the 1 860 MW Koeberg facility comes as Eskom struggles to produce enough electricity to meet demand and is grappling to [...]

The five-month strike by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) at Sibanye-Stillwater’s South African gold operations is over. Parties have acknowledged that it is in their interest to rebase and develop a constructive relationship going forward, Sibanye-Stillwater said in a media release to Mining Weekly Online.

Black investors have self-funded the purchase of shares at a premium price in the fast-tracked redevelopment of the Prieska zinc and copper mine in the Northern Cape, which has a three-year payback and a minimum mine life of ten years. The $8-million equity capital raising by Orion Minerals, completed at a 29% premium to the [...]

The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) has joined other industry bodies in strongly condemning the recent spate of alleged “mafia-style” coordinated gang activity on project sites across the country. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Saice referred to pleas from the South African Forum of Civil Engineering Contractors, which noted that such attacks [...]

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Wednesday confirmed a strike by workers at cement producing company PPC, at Hercules, in Pretoria, over wage increases.  NUM PPC branch secretary Surprise Baloyi, said workers were embarking on a protected strike over the company’s refusal to bargain on wage increases. 

South African mining stocks have had their best start to the year since 2016 and there’s every chance they are not done yet. The FTSE/JSE Africa Mining Index has gained 22% as of April 16 and is close to an eight-year high, helping South Africa’s benchmark gauge advance 12% as investors show few signs of [...]

The South African Petroleum Refinery’s (Sapref’s) new R50-million reactor arrived at the Durban port earlier this week. The 242 t, 31-m-long reactor will enable Sapref, which is a joint venture between Shell Refining South Africa and BP Southern Africa, to produce “better, low-sulphur diesel”, thereby ensuring the future sustainability of diesel supply to the country.