London-listed Ironveld, which owns a high-purity iron, vanadium and titanium project on the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex, in Limpopo, South Africa, says it is assessing its options as it may not be able to secure the funding it was previously expecting to close by the first half of this year. The company has been in discussions with a South African financial institution regarding asset level financing of mining and smelting activities at the project.
Marokane says R285m spent on diesel in May compared with R2.8bn in May 2023
Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has rebuffed persistent suggestions that the utility is keeping loadshedding at bay owing to an “excessive” reliance on the diesel-fuelled open cycle gas turbines, reporting that it spent R285-million on diesel during May compared with R2.8-billion in the same month last year and against a budget for the month of R1.7-billion. Addressing the South African National Energy Association AGM against a backdrop of deep suspicion about how Eskom has managed to avoid resorting to rotational power cuts for 71 days, including over a highly competitive election period, Marokane attributed the stabilisation to the Generation Recovery Plan, which had been under way since March 2023.
B2Gold sells royalties to Versamet
Canada-based B2Gold on Thursday announced the sale of a portfolio of ten precious and base metals royalties to Sandbox Royalties, a private, returns-focused metals royalty company that has been renamed Versamet Royalties.
The move, valued at about $90-million, is an opportunity for B2Gold to unlock the value of its royalties, which CEO Clive Johnson said had gone largely unrecognised by the market.
NOA helps Tronox decarbonise its South African operations with 25-yr energy supply agreement
Local integrated energy company NOA Group Holdings has entered into a 25-year energy supply agreement with NYSE-listed titanium dioxide pigment manufacturer Tronox Holdings for its South African operating sites. Under the terms of the agreement, NOA will supply Tronox’s operations in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape with 497 GWh of renewable energy.
Copper’s spike isn’t justified by fundamentals, Trafigura says
Copper’s recent surge to a record wasn’t justified by real-world supply and demand, according to Trafigura Group — the top copper trader and usually one of the market’s most bullish voices.
“Prices of non-ferrous metals have moved much higher than fundamentals in the physical spot market might indicate or justify, especially for copper,” Trafigura chief economist Saad Rahim wrote in a commentary accompanying the trader’s first half results on Thursday.
Botswana may raise De Beers stake as Anglo weighs spin-off
The Botswana government may raise its shareholding in global diamond miner De Beers, President Mokgweetsi Masisi told JCK News, after parent company Anglo American said it plans to spin off or sell the business. The government owns a 15% stake in De Beers and Botswana accounts for 70% of the company’s annual rough diamond supply.
Namibia’s audacious plan to become a global green hydrogen hub
Early in May, King Philippe of Belgium was on the edge of the Namib desert to inaugurate a project that aims to help decarbonize European industry, and which might just enable one of Africa’s smallest economies to hit the clean-energy big time. It was a humble start for such grand designs, as Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba hosted the king at an unfinished site near the port of Walvis Bay on the southern Atlantic Ocean, the baking rust-colored dunescape silent except for an occasional truck passing on the new roadway.
Investment in clean energy to reach $2tr this year, outpacing investment in fossil fuels
Investment in clean energy technologies will climb to $2-trillion this year, almost double the amount spent on fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Two-thirds of the record $3-trillion invested in energy sources in 2024 will be devoted to sectors such as renewables, electric vehicles, nuclear power, grids, storage and efficiency, even as higher financing costs hinder projects, the Paris-based agency said. The remaining $1-trillion will go to coal, gas and oil — a level that’s still too high to conform with global climate goals.
Platinum group metal poised to help protect world from growing water pollution threat
Platinum group metal (PGM) is once again coming to the fore as a mineral resource that goes the extra mile in protecting a threatened global environment. The latest indispensable commodity that is poised to be shielded by PGM, which has been safeguarding the air of cities from vehicle exhaust fumes for many decades, is drinking water, which is under increasing pollution threat. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Sibanye to engage with Kroondal employees following end of illegal sit-in
Multinational mining and metals processing group Sibanye-Stillwater says it will engage with employees and representative unions at its Kroondal mine now that an illegal underground sit-in by employees at the Kwezi shaft at the mine has come to an end. Sibanye reports that all employees had exited the Kwezi shaft and returned to surface by mid-afternoon on Wednesday.