Coface report highlights strain on SA's growth

The Coface Group, a worldwide leader in credit insurance, has released its latest report on South African growth prospects, taking into account the mining and export slumps. Overall, economic activity remains generally sluggish while upside risks to inflation have increased due to a weaker rand. It believes that this will persuade the Monetary Policy Committee to keep policy neutral over an extended period, with interest rates remaining unchanged for most of 2013. A reversal in policy easing is likely only late in the year or even in 2014. 15 May 2013 14:50

Another rare blue diamond found

[Lucille Davie] A rare 25.5 carat blue diamond was found at the Cullinan Mine, the third biggest diamond producer in South Africa, last month. Blue diamonds are among the rarest and most highly coveted of all diamonds and the Cullinan mine is the most important source of blues in the world, according to Petra Diamonds, the company that owns the mine. 13 May 2013 11:25

Hydrogen fuel cells to be made in SA

Government is aiming to drive up demand for platinum by developing hydrogen fuel cell technology, Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom said on Thursday (16 May). 17 May 2013 10:51

Workers threaten indefinite Amplats strike

[Samuel Mungadze] Anglo Platinum (Amplats) workers have vowed to embark on an indefinite strike starting Friday (17 May) if management does not halt its plans to retrench 6‚000 employees. 17 May 2013 12:50

Transnet closes Richards Bay line

Railway operator Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) announced on Monday (13 May) that the coal export line to Richards Bay will be closed down for 12 days from 14 to 25 May for routine maintenance work. 14 May 2013 07:28

AngloGold's focus on cutting costs

[Allan Seccombe] AngloGold Ashanti is gearing up to sell a second mine as the company deepens its focus on delivering value to shareholders in a difficult gold market‚ new chief executive Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan said on Monday (13 May). 14 May 2013 12:30

Bulk exports marginally higher in April

[Helmo Preuss] SA's bulk export volumes rose by 0.5% year-on-year (y/y) in April to 13.1m tons (Mt)‚ according to data from the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) released on Monday (13 May). 14 May 2013 09:59

State should own 50% of all Africa's mines

[Paul Vecchiatto] African governments should own at least a 50% of any new mining venture in order to ensure that the country gets more of the revenue from mining projects. 13 May 2013 14:21

Skills burden haunts CEOs

[Evan Pickworth] Mining‚ energy‚ engineering and construction companies have reported the most chronic shortages of skilled employees worldwide‚ while 89% of South Africa's chief executives plan to make changes to their strategies for managing talent over the next 12 months‚ a new report shows. 10 May 2013 09:16

Production falls - Easter holidays blamed

Manufacturing production fell 2.2% year-on-year (y/y) in March after a slightly revised 2.8% (2.9%) year-on-year decline in February‚ data released by Statistics SA on Thursday (9 May) showed. 10 May 2013 08:41

Record highs for Wits' mining intake

The number of first-year mining students at the Wits School of Mining Engineering has surpassed all expectations in 2013, reaching record levels that will help solve the industry's skill shortages. According to Professor Fred Cawood, head of the School of Mining Engineering at Wits, the word is out that mining is a good career choice for a young person looking for a secure job after graduation. 9 May 2013 07:11

Jobs lost, jobs found - what's true?

[Paul Vecchiatto] Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel says it is government's economic policy to create jobs and that the country has experienced a net gain of 199‚000 jobs over the past year. This follows Statistics SA's announcement that 100,000 more people where unemployed in the first quarter of this year. 8 May 2013 09:58

Carrus achieves level 1 B-BBEE rating for specialised logistics division, RADEC

[Issued by Carrus Group] RADEC, a member of the Carrus group of companies, was recently awarded a level 1 BBBEE status. RADEC is also a value adding supplier, meaning that their clients can claim 168,75% towards their BEE scorecard, under the preferential procurement section. 8 May 2013 14:23

RBCT exports up 20,6% this year

[Helmo Preuss] Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) saw a 20.6% year-on-year (y/y) rise in tonnage shipped to 6.2m tons (Mt) after a 20% y/y gain in March to 7.5Mt. In February's RBCT's exports declined by 10.4% y/y decline to 5.5Mt while in January, exports were just 4.2Mt. 8 May 2013 09:19

100,000 people lost their jobs this year

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey, released by Statistics SA (Stats SA) on Monday (6 May) showed that 100,000 people lost their jobs in the first quarter of this year. The number of unemployed people now stands at 4.6m, equivalent to 25.2% of the working population. 7 May 2013 10:13