Star 2023-02-03

IT WILL be up to the coal industry to ensure that coal remains the major feedstock for South Africa’s energy requirements in the future, Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Dr Nobuhle Nkabane said yesterday. She was making the opening address at the 18th South African Coal Conference in Cape Town. The global energy crisis that has arisen from the Ukraine crisis has resulted in a rapid increase in demand for coal in Europe again, for power generation purposes, and record coal prices, while investment in coal mining prior to this has been steadily declining as the world moved on to renewable energy sources, due to the climate change crisis. Nkabane said the problem that South African miners faced in taking advantage of the high price and rising demand…

THE RAND rallied to a two-week high against the US dollar yesterday as the greenback fell to its lowest levels in more than nine months after the US Federal Reserve (Fed) rates decision ignited hopes that its tightening cycle may be nearing its end. The domestic currency lifted by more than 1% to dip below R17 to R16.97 against the dollar at 3.30pm, its strongest since January 16, having closed around R17.15 to the dollar on Wednesday on a terrible week for the rand as it nearly touched R17.50 on Tuesday. As expected, the US Fed delivered a smaller 25 basis point rate hike to take the range between 4.5% to 4.75% per annum, its highest since October 2007. Fed chairperson Jerome Powell delivered a message that acknowledged the stabilisation…

Find a solution sooner than expected, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele urges THE SOUTH African government aims to find a solution to end the ongoing energy crisis sooner than expected due to the devastating impact of rotational power cuts on the economy. This was the word from Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele yesterday as the government held crisis talks at the two-day Cabinet Lekgotla aimed at finding a lasting solution to load shedding. The talks come a week after the ruling-ANC NEC Lekgotla proposed that the government should declare a National State of Disaster in a bid to unlock all resources to assist Eskom keep the lights on. Gungubele said that work was under way to improve the performance of power stations to reduce stages of load shedding,…

CONSULTING Engineers South Africa (Cesa) yesterday called on the government to commit to increased and informed spending on infrastructure as a key economic driver ahead of the State of the Nation Address (Sona) this month. Olu Soluade, president of Cesa, as he presented his theme “Make a Difference by Collaborating for Change” for 2023 at its presidential media address yesterday, said the government needed to overcome the current supply chain and procurement issues as well as the skills challenges the country faced. He said: “The pace at which this is happening needs to be accelerated when one considers the urgency needed.” Soluade added: “Cesa’s hope is that with the government’s focus on professionalising the State that we will start to see the right people with the requisite skills, experience…

SUPER Group expected to report a robust 30% to 40% increase in revenue in the six months to December 31 after it weathered a myriad of negative local and global events and drew on the benefits of its diversity, scale and experience. A positive trading statement and earnings forecast saw the share price close 11.01% higher at R30.66 on the JSE yesterday. The group said revenue was expected to be between R28.1 billion and R30.3bn, while interim pre-tax profit would rise 25% to 35% to between R1.53bn and R1.65bn. Interim headline earnings per share was also expected to increase between 25% and 35%. The group’s journey over the past 10 years has seen shareholder equity grow from R3.4bn in June 2012 to R16.9bn at June 30, 2022 – a…

ANGLO American, the diversified resource group, yesterday posted a decline in platinum group metals and nickel production, which was, however, offset by stronger output from its copper, diamond and coal production. Anglo American’s overall output for the period firmed by 10%. Copper output topped 244 300 tons, a massive 52% surge on the prior year contrasting period, and diamonds registered a 6% increase to 8.2 million carats. Production of steelmaking coal was also 6% higher which was powered up by optimum productivity during the quarter period. Duncan Wanblad, the chief executive for Anglo American, said the overall productivity increase for Anglo American for the quarter period had been driven by “the ongoing ramp-up at Quellaveco, which produced more than 80 000 tons” of…