Новости за 23.03.2021

Mine mechanisation is being advanced for two top-tier  local clients of Master Drilling, the CEO of the JSE-listed company, Danie Pretorius, said on Tuesday. Speaking to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview after reporting 72.7%-higher 2020 net cash generation of $25.5-million, 18%-lower debt to $42.1-million, and a halved gearing ratio to 10.3%, Pretorius said the specific projects were dealing head-on, firstly, increasing the speed of mining development and, secondly, reduce dilution of the ore mined.

The Norwegian government has vetoed the sale, by UK-based global major industrial technology group Rolls-Royce, of its Norwegian subsidiary company Bergen Engines to Russian locomotive and railway equipment manufacturing and services company TMH Group. Rolls-Royce Bergen produces medium speed diesel and gas engines ranging from 1 400 kWe to 11 830 kWe. It can also provide integrated modular power plant solutions, turnkey installation partnerships, power plant design and project management services... Читать дальше...

Development finance institution the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the government of Canada on March 17 signed an agreement to formalise the Canada–African Development Bank Climate Fund (CACF), which is a transformative special fund aimed at providing concessional loans for climate change-related projects with a strong gender-responsive component. The investment, with its strong gender footprint, recognised “the critical role that women need to play in climate action and supports their efforts... Читать дальше...

The South African Weather Services (SAWS) plays an important role in mitigating the impacts of severe weather, natural disasters and climate-related challenges, and its success in mitigating the impacts of Cyclone Eloise this year was mainly the result of its progress in the 2020/21 financial year to change to impact-based weather forecasting. This was indicated by Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Barbara Creecy, during a virtual seminar marking the 2021 World Meteorology Day (WMD) on March 23.

Agricultural industry organisation AgriSA has welcomed the decision by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) acting director-general Deborah Mochotlhi to give regional DWS offices and catchment management agencies the power to issue water-use licences for low-risk and low-volume applications. AgriSA views the decision as critical to fact-track applications for water-use licences, and says it is one of the key strategic measures to achieve revised time-frames to speed up the turnaround time... Читать дальше...

JSE-listed real estate investment trust (Reit) Attacq has posted a 57.5% lower distributable income per share for the six months ended December 31 at R148-million, mainly owing to rental discounts of R53-million incurred during the period. The rental discounts were mainly granted to support gyms, restaurants, cinemas and hotels in the South African portfolio which were more severely affected by the lockdown restrictions.

An increased remote-operation drilling footprint is providing considerable benefit for Master Drilling, the JSE-listed drilling services company said on Tuesday, when it reported 72.7%-higher 2020 net cash generation of $25.5-million, 18%-lower debt to $42.1-million, and a halved gearing ratio to 10.3%. The 35-year-old Fochville-based drilling company, which operates in 23 countries, reported that it is currently enjoying a record order book.

The fact that a hybrid generation project – combining solar photovoltaic (PV), a battery energy storage system (BESS) and a small portion of gas – emerged with the lowest evaluation price in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP) has been described as “remarkable” in light of the scheme’s design. Projects selected for a 20-year power purchase agreement under the RMIPPPP must be able to operate between 5:00 and 21:30, have load-following ability and be connected to the grid before August 2022.

The Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), industry organisations Agri SA, the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (Afasa), the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) and the National African Farmers’ Union (Nafu) have met with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) to discuss Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) agricultural trade matters. South Africa remains a small player in the Brics bloc, with fellow Brics countries buying... Читать дальше...

South African private equity firm Moshe Capital Fund Managers aims to invest up to R350-million in manufacturing, industrial and mining products or services and secondary agriculture in South Africa, says Moshe Capital founder and CEO Mametja Moshe. The company predominantly invests in established businesses with enterprise values of R200-million or more. Despite economic challenges, there are several opportunities for investment and growth in various sectors in South Africa, she notes.

Financial services firm Absa's 2021 first-quarter Manufacturing Survey shows that, for a second quarter in a row, manufacturers are reporting issues in the supply chain that are resulting in raw material shortage constraints negatively affecting their production processes. “Currently, a major problem globally appears to be the supply of shipping containers and vessels across routes, including to and from South Africa. While manufacturers remain hopeful that this will be resolved within the quarter... Читать дальше...

Gauteng-based fibre infrastructure provider MetroFibre Networx has secured a R2.5-billion debt funding package from Investec to support its fibre deployment across South Africa. The funding agreement builds on an existing relationship between the two companies since 2016, when MetroFibre approached Investec for its first round of debt financing.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) successfully conducted a second ‘hot fire’ test of the core stage of its new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket late last week. The SLS core stage, the prime contractor for which is Boeing, is powered by four Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 rocket engines. “The SLS is the most powerful rocket Nasa has ever built, and during (this second) test the core stage of the rocket generated more than 1.6-million pounds (7 117 kN) of thrust within seven seconds,”... Читать дальше...

State-owned entity Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) had been put forward as a possible potential proto-agency for the implementation of the new National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA). On February 11, 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the establishment of a national Water Resources Infrastructure Agency will be accelerated.

Brazilian aerospace group Embraer, one of the world’s leading companies in the sector, has released its results for last year. Embraer’s financial year is identical to the calendar year. The financial results were released on a consolidated basis and according to International Financial Reporting Standards. The group has four business operations – commercial aviation, executive (business) jets, ‘services & support’ and ‘defence & security’.  During 2020, commercial aviation accounted for... Читать дальше...

The tender for the construction of the largest of three bridges that will span the Polihali reservoir and that will be built as part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase 2 – the Senqu River bridge – was released on March 4. The bridge will be the first extradosed bridge, which combines pre-stressed box girder and cable-stayed elements in an efficient design, in Lesotho. The bridge will be 825 m long and almost 100 m high. Work on the bridge design started in 2018, led by Zutari, formerly Aurecon Lesotho. Читать дальше...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged the disruption caused by load-shedding and outlined government’s plans to restructure and strengthen the country’s electricity system to fundamentally change the country’s energy future. Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly letter to the nation that for more than a week now, South Africans have had to endure the disruption and inconvenience of intermittent load-shedding, as the country’s power stations have not been able to produce enough electricity to meet the national demand.

The announcement last week of preferred bidders for the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, as well as the request for proposals that starts off Bid Window 5 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, is a step forward for energy security, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso says in her weekly newsletter. She mentions, however, that there are features of the RMIPPPP that are not agreeable, such as the... Читать дальше...

Drilling services company Master Drilling, which operates in 23 countries and which is continuing to grow its presence in new global markets, on Tuesday reported a “muted but resilient performance” for the full year ended December 31, thanks to what it described as a “flexible business model and diversified footprint”. Master Drilling CEO Danie Pretorius described JSE-listed company's 2020 performance as having been weighed down by the material impact of Covid-19 restrictions, which resulted in significant... Читать дальше...

“We’ve made the single-largest tax payment in the history of the company,” Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne said during last week’s presentation of 74%-higher headline half-year earnings.   The JSE-listed platinum group metals (PGMs) mining company’s half-year contribution to the fiscus topped R1.6-billion, made up of just on R795-million paid in income tax, R223-million in mineral royalty tax, and R585-million tax paid by its 16 000 employees, who with the communities own 8% of the equity of the company. Читать дальше...