Новости за 04.05.2021

City of Johannesburg (CoJ) executive mayor Geoff Makhubo has said the administration was focusing on responding to the worrying state of Johannesburg’s finances, the collapse of good governance and the debilitating effects of Covid-19 on the economy. "We have re-committed ourselves to creating an enabling environment wherein we rebuild Johannesburg’s economy by focusing on growing the economy to create employment, as well as reducing poverty and inequality (back to basics)," he said during his State of the City 2021 address on May 4.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) – the global representative body of the airline industry – has reported that global air cargo demand during March reached the highest level recorded since Iata started collecting such data in 1990. Demand in March was 4.4% higher than in March 2019, the last month of March before the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the figures also show that the growth in demand decelerated in March. Air cargo demand in March 2021 was only 0.4% higher than in February 2021. Читать дальше...

A much faster pace of innovation currently taking place in the space industry is driving a “new space revolution”, Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) executive VP Arnulf Kjeldsen has said. Speaking during the 2021 SpaceOps Conference, on the topic of Commercial Ground Stations: New Space and Traditional Space, he said the critical factors in the latest space technology developments were the time it takes to get the solutions to market and the price, with a focus on cost reductions.

The mounting pressure by governments and investors on industries globally to reduce emissions, coupled with favourable economics and the need for reliable and cost efficient power, are increasingly nudging mining companies towards considering renewable energy. TSX- and LSE-listed gold miner Centamin Martin Horgan on May 4 said investors were applying higher standards to environmental performance and were therefore demanding cleaner operations.

Desmond Maharaj has resigned as CFO and executive director of steelmaker ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) to pursue personal opportunities outside of the business. AMSA expects Maharaj to step down no earlier than July 31 and no later than September 30, giving it ample opportunity to identify and appoint a suitable successor.

On paper, the South African new-vehicle market grew by an astounding 6 133.3% in April compared with the same month last year. However, this is not a fair comparison, as South Africa was in a hard Covid-19 induced lockdown during April last year, with only 574 units sold for the entire month.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has refused an integrated environmental authorisation application by State-owned power utility Eskom to build a new 30-year ash disposal facility at the Kendal power station, in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, on the basis of insufficient mitigation of potentially detrimental environmental impacts. "The Wetland Offset Strategy does not meet wetland offset targets as per the requirements of the second additional information requested and the... Читать дальше...

Airbus Defence and Space, part of the Europe-based global major aerospace group Airbus, has announced that it has successfully completed a flight test programme which has proven a new capability for its C295 FITS mission system. This new development is the ability for ground-based personnel to remotely control the aircraft’s mission system. (Note that the aircraft itself is not remotely-controlled; it is flown by an onboard human crew.) The C295 is a high-wing twin-turboprop multirole aircraft, built in Spain... Читать дальше...

Pan-African renewable energy project developer BioTherm Energy’s 120 MW Golden Valley Wind Energy Facility, in the Eastern Cape, has become the latest wind farm to be connected to the national grid. “We are pleased to announce the successful commissioning of all 48 wind turbine generators as the year draws to an end and we prepare to have our portfolio in operation in the next quarter,” says BioTherm CEO Robert Skjodt.

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has appointed Makano Mosidi as its new chief technology officer (CTO). Her mandate is to provide sound leadership in all aspects of the business’ information and communications technology (ICT), and leverage technology to position the PIC as a leading asset manager.

Despite ongoing economic uncertainties globally, investor appetite for renewables remains strong, with optioned renewable capacity increasing by 15% year-on-year in the nine months from January through to October 2020, compared with the same period the previous year. This sets a new record, juwi Renewables global hybrid director David Manning said during a conference on May 4.

Following an announcement to expand its construction lineup into new markets, John Deere has made public the first three construction and forestry dealers responsible for the Southern African region. These are AFGRI Equipment, Mascor and Senwes Equipment.

JSE-listed Equites Property Fund recorded a 2.4% increase in its yearly distribution a share. The increase in distributions was supported by a strong growth of 6.7% in South African like-for-like net rental income owing to a robust in force contractual lease escalation rate, coupled with no tenant defaults and limited lease expiries during the period.

The use of ruthenium in fuel cells is poised to decline in line with the growing trend towards the generation of green hydrogen. “We believe that the use of ruthenium in fuel cells will come down, as the trend to green hydrogen will bring with it purer feeds with less carbon monoxide impurities, which basically means you no longer need the ruthenium to prevent the activity loss on the anode side,” Heraeus Precious Metals executive VP new business development and innovation Philipp Walter told Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. Читать дальше...

Telecommunications group MTN Rwandacell has become the first mobile network operator to list its shares on the Rwanda Stock Exchange (RSE). Crystal Telecoms’ shareholders now hold a direct 20% stake in MTN Rwanda and can trade their MTN Rwanda shares directly on the RSE as part of the May 4 listing by introduction.

Telecommunications group Telkom has unveiled a new platform for the public to report any acts or suspected acts of fraud, corruption and irregular conduct within the organisation to ensure that it remains corruption- and fraud-free. As part of the group’s ethics and corporate governance mechanisms and in line with its zero-tolerance policy on fraud, corruption and irregular conduct, the new multichannel whistleblowing platform will apply to all Telkom subsidiaries and business units, including Telkom Consumer... Читать дальше...

Gold miner Centamin has awarded engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for its 36 MW solar farm and 7.5 MW battery-energy storage system at the Sukari gold mine, in Egypt, to renewable energy specialist juwi Renewables and systems integrator company Giza Systems. juwi has been contracted to design, supply and integrate the Sukari solar and battery plant into the current diesel power plant, while Giza has been contracted to install the Sukari solar plant.

The German Federal Ministry of Transport has provided €25-million in funding for a project using green hydrogen in rail transportation in Brandenburg. The total cost of the project to connect the surrounding area with the metropolis of Berlin was €100-million, said Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer on May 3.

More questions than answers have surfaced surrounding the 2018 blast at the Rheinmetall Denel munitions plant in Somerset West in the Western Cape, which killed eight people. The first day of the public inquiry heard testimony from a former worker who revealed there was an urgency to mix explosive products, and staff members had to work overtime.

Insurance technology start-up Surestart has developed an insurance offering for digital businesses and their customers that will cover the costs and damages caused by privacy breaches or network security breaches. Such items were previously uninsurable, says Surestart executive director Travys Wilkins.

The Department of Tourism has designed a small, medium-sized and microenterprise (SMME) Workshop framework with a restorative and regenerative approach to build economic activity. Tourism Deputy Minister Fish Mahlalela made the announcement during a recent visit to Mbombela, Mpumalanga, after Cabinet’s approval of the Tourism Sector Recovery Plan that is expected to revive tourism and set the sector on an optimal path to recovery, transformation and long-term sustainability.