Parties to the Metals and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council (MEIBC) have voted in favour of the extension of the three-year agreement reached in the metals and engineering sector in 2017. Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) operations director Lucio Trentini on Tuesday said the employer parties supporting the extension of the 2017 to 2020 agreement represented 65% of the employees working for companies that are registered with the MEIBC.
Metals, engineering collective agreement to be submitted for gazetting
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Treasury must abandon carbon tax plan in light of IRP
National Treasury should abandon its plans to introduce carbon tax, which will result in the closure of ferrochrome smelters at a time of desperate need for job retention and export promotion. This is the consensus of opinion canvassed by Mining Weekly Online following last Friday’s release of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
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Master Drilling acquires Atlantis
The strengthening of diversified geographic footprint of mining technology company Master Drilling is continuing with the announcement on Wednesday that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange company had entered into agreements to acquire the businesses of the Atlantis Group, a South African headquartered multinational mining contracting company, specialising in raise boring, blind boring and other drilling services. The acquisition of Atlantis Group will further ...
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Rebels ambush South African peacekeepers in Congo Ebola zone
Two South African peacekeepers were wounded in a rebel ambush near the epicentre of an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, their United Nations (UN) mission said on Tuesday. The attack on Monday on the outskirts of the city of Beni underscored the challenges authorities face in tackling a flare-up of the deadly disease in an active conflict zone stalked by dozens of armed groups.
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Ethiopia opens logistics sector to foreign investment
Ethiopia will open its logistics sector to foreign investors but cap their participation, the State investment body said on Tuesday in the latest reform to loosen the government's control of the economy. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has presided over a shake-up of one of the most heavily-regulated economies in Africa since his appointment in April.
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At China-Africa summit, officials dismiss debt criticism
Chinese and African officials have rejected criticism of Beijing's development projects on the continent as they ended a summit that included a $60-billion pledge for more aid to the continent. President Xi Jinping hosted leaders from across Africa amid questions whether his country's Belt and Road global trade infrastructure initiative is worsening debt problems in some countries. "Everything we do with China is perfectly under control, including on the financial and debt side," Senegal's ...
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R1bn 'lost' to cash-in-transit robbers in 8 years – Hawks
More than R1-billion has been "lost" as a result of cash-in-transit robberies in the eight years between 2008 and 2016, according to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI). The DPCI, or the Hawks as they are more commonly known, granted a Public Access to Information Application (PAIA) lodged by News24, providing a five-page document that is apparently part of a presentation on cash-in-transit robberies. According to the document, the highest cash losses were reported in 2014, ...
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Tiny beetle is killing SA's trees – and nothing can stop it
A beetle smaller than a sesame seed is killing huge trees throughout South Africa, and little can be done to stop it. The polyphagous shot hole borer, a native of southeast Asia no bigger than 2mm, has found its way to South Africa and is infesting trees at an alarming rate. According to Professor Marcus Byrne, an Ig Nobel prize winner and entomologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, the beetle bores tunnels into tree trunks where it spreads the fungus Fusarium euwallaceae , which ...
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Maiden's Cove development under fire
A R1.5-billion plan by the City of Cape Town to develop Maiden's Cove – a scenic headland and beach between Clifton Fourth Beach and Glen Beach in Camps Bay – is facing a court challenge from City residents, GroundUp reports. The development of the cove area, devised in 2015, includes plans for 52 residential homes, a boutique hotel, retail and restaurant spaces and a parking garage for 700 vehicles. Maiden's Cove remains a special place for many people from the Bo-Kaap and Cape Flats, who were ...
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DNA testing required to identify casualties in Denel explosion – City official
A community meeting where Rheinmetall Denel Munition officials were expected to answer questions from Macassar residents about what happened at their depot on Monday fell flat when those expected to attend cancelled at the last minute due to "fears for their safety". Residents on Tuesday night expressed their anger after making their way to the Macassar New Civic Hall in cold weather, hoping for details on the blast that claimed eight lives. Ward councillor Victor Isaacs told the assembled ...
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Green light for affordable Cape Town housing near V&A Waterfront
Western Cape Premier Helen Zille on Tuesday said she "welcomed" the green light for affordable housing close to the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. He comments follow the rezoning approval received by the provincial government to develop affordable housing on one of South Africa’s most valuable state-owned properties – the Somerset Precinct in the CBD.
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DRDGold shares leap on higher-grade fillip
A 10% increase in gold production provided an important fillip for surface gold mining company DRDGold, which benefitted from high-grade sand material in the 12 months to June 30. The Johannesburg- and New York-listed company, which saw its share price rise by 6.09% in early morning trade, chalked up a 38%-higher operating profit to R355.2-million in the period, when it generated a free cash flow generation of R93.4-million compared with a negative cash flow of R45.1 million in the previous financial year.
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Standard Bank PMI falls to 29-month low in August
Operating conditions in South Africa’s private sector economy deteriorated for the second straight month in August, as business activity and input purchasing decreased in line with an accelerated drop in new orders, says Standard Bank in its Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for August.
Political as well as economic issues, affordability constraints, inflationary pressures and strikes were among the factors cited by respondents for the latest downturn.
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South Africa’s rating under threat as economy enters recession
South Africa’s slide into a technical recession in the second quarter is a timely warning and reminder for the country to get its economy in order, failing which it will lose its only investment grade rating, says Business Unity South Africa CEO Tanya Cohen.
Moody’s Investors Service said in its March review of the country’s sovereign credit rating that a failure by the country to revive its economic fortunes would be a push factor for a downgrade.
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Sanral, Barloworld Equipment sign MoU to provide emerging contractors with access to equipment
The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) and Barloworld Equipment have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will provide emerging contractors with greater access to Caterpillar equipment. Barloworld Equipment is the dealer for Caterpillar earthmoving machines and power systems in Southern Africa.
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Site clearing, earthworks preparation starts at 25 MW Ngodwana biomass power project
Official site clearing and preparation for earthworks have started at Ngodwana Energy’s 25 MW biomass power project, in Mpumalanga.
The ELB-KCC Consortium on Wednesday said the project will be erected at the Sappi Ngodwana site about 40 km from Nelspruit, next to the N4 highway and is part of the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme.
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African gas output could make up 10% of global total by 2040 – official
African production of natural gas could contribute as much as 10% of the global total by 2040, an expansion of around 530-billion cubic metres, the secretary general of the Gas-Exporting Countries Forum, Yury Sentyurin, told a conference on Wednesday.
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Affordability of energy must be prioritised – Radebe
South Africa's Energy Minister Jeff Radebe has urged the prioritisation of energy affordability in order to attract investment. During his keynote address at the Africa oil and power conference held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre he said it was imperative in order to create jobs.
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ANC calls for immediate stimulus package as economy dips into recession
The African National Congress (ANC) has called for ‘aggressiveness’ in implementing an economic recovery package after Stats SA announced on Tuesday that South Africa had slipped into its first technical recession since 2009. In a statement on Wednesday, the party’s subcommittee on economic transformation said government should immediately institute a stimulus package.
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Research glider programme reaches unprecedented altitudes
In just eight days during late August and early September, Airbus’ Perlan 2 glider set three new world altitude records for a glider. Moreover, during the third of these flights, it reached an altitude that has been exceeded in level flight by only two other types of aircraft.
These flights were all executed as part of the Europe-based global aerospace group’s Perlan Mission II programme and resulted in the acquisition of key information on flight performance, weather and the atmosphere. On August 26, flown by Jim Payne and Morgan Sandercock, the Perlan 2 reached an altitude of 63 100 feet (almost 19 233 m). On August 28, flown by Payne and Miguel Iturmendi, it achieved 65 600 ft (almost 19 995 m), and on September 2, piloted by Payne and Tim Gardner, it flew to 76 124 ft (nearly 23 203 m).
Only the famed Lockheed Martin SR-71 high altitude high-speed reconnaissance aircraft, and the almost as famous Mikoyan MiG-25R reconnaissance version of the MiG-25 interceptor, routinely flew at higher altitudes. And both were powered aircraft. (The renowned North American X-15 rocket plane was really a spacecraft, not an aircraft.)
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