Africa's energy transition must support industrialisation, Ramaphosa tells Energy Indaba delegates

South Africa is seeking to expand its electricity transmission grid, which is a R450-billion challenge, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his keynote address at the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, at... 

Ramokgopa reflects on Africa's energy future amid global upheaval

South African Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has highlighted the current global upheavals and what they mean for African energy in his welcoming address at Africa Energy... 

New Thungela CEO bullish about coal mining

Thungela Resources’ recently appointed CEO Moses Madondo, who was recruited from the diamond-mining sector, was confident about the future of the mining sector in general, and coal mining in... 

Global green hydrogen production is set to surge, forecasts global analytics group

Global production of green hydrogen has started to surge, driven mainly by major policy initiatives in North America, UK-based international data analytics and consultancy group GlobalData has... 

AI and geologists both essential for exploration

The latest technologies, such as AI, neutral networks, and deep learning, are now of great importance regarding minerals exploration. But human field work remains essential. This was the consensus... 

Bank sees move to value chain development in African mining

Mining in Africa is moving away from the 'pit to port' model, highlighted West Africa-based pan-African banking group Ecobank Group executive corporate and investment banking Michael Larble, at the... 

Railway industry body accelerating localisation programme

The local railway manufacturing, maintenance, engineering and supply industry representative body, the Africa Rail Industry Association (ARIA), has announced an acceleration of its localisation... 

France seeks African input on critical minerals for G7 summit

Critical minerals will be one of the topics discussed at this year's G7 summit, pointed out French government Interministerial Delegate for the Supply of Strategic Ores and Minerals Benjamin... 

Miners need to adopt the concept of sustainability, says Barrick exec

Mining has to move from the traditional environmental, social and governance (ESG) approach to an inclusive sustainability approach, argued Barrick Mining group sustainability executive Grant... 

US focusing on critical minerals, stresses robust due diligence

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) currently has, regarding mining, a particular focus on critical minerals, pointed out USTDA deputy director and COO Thomas Hardy. He was speaking in a... 

Automation and AI needed for future of mining

Worldwide, the mining industry, indeed all sectors of the economy, face a major structural limit, warned Microsoft worldwide mining industry leader Joseph Starwood. A large number of people are... 

Technology transformation is really people transformation – Mining Indaba panelists

Mining currently faces the challenge of adopting the latest technologies, notably, but not exclusively, AI. This was the topic for a panel discussion on the first day of Investing in African Mining... 

Improvements at Richards Bay and on the railway allowing higher coal export volumes

Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) has seen a 56% improvement in its security situation, reported RBCT CEO Alan Waller at the recent Southern African Coal Conference 2026, held in Cape Town. “We’re... 

Transnet successfully rebuilding its coal (and other) rail transport capacity

Transnet is on track to return to profitability by the end of next month, Group CEO Michelle Philips told delegates on the second day of the twenty-first annual Southern African Coal Conference, in... 

New African defence exhibition, set for October, formally launched in Nigeria

The launch of the first ever Africa International Defence Exhibition (AFRIDEX) has been officially announced. The event will be held from October 26 to October 29 this year at Eko Atlantic,... 

New Thungela CEO bullish about coal mining

Thungela Resources’ recently appointed CEO Moses Madondo, who was recruited from the diamond-mining sector, was confident about the future of the mining sector in general, and coal mining in... 

Minister Mantashe highlights the Coal Reimagined Programme in conference keynote

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe used his keynote address at the twenty-first annual Southern African Coal Conference (being held in Cape Town) on Thursday to highlight South... 

The SKA is coming to life as it passes early science tests

This month saw the achievement of another milestone for the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope programme, which is being developed by the UK-based SKA Observatory (SKAO) and... 

Fifth Canada-Africa Business Conference to be hosted by Namibia next month

The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business will be holding the fifth Canada-Africa Business Conference in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, on February 5. The conference will have a strong focus on... 

Financial close achieved for Sierra Leone’s flagship Baomahun gold project

Pan-African infrastructure and industrial development bank, the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), has announced the achievement of financial close of the $330-million Senior Debt Financing facility... 

South Africa’s biggest optical telescope celebrates 20 years of operation

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), located at the South African Optical Observatory (SAAO) complex at Sutherland, in the Northern Cape province, celebrated its twentieth anniversary on... 

Air cargo continued to reroute in Sept to avoid US tariffs

The global representative body of the airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has reported that global total air cargo demand in September increased by 2.9%,... 

Unctad reports continued fall in global FDI during first semester of the year

UN Trade & Development, better known as Unctad, has reported, in its latest 'Global Investment Trends Monitor', that global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 3% during the first half of this... 

AfDB funding South African titanium beneficiation project

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced that its board of directors has approved financing of $75-million for South Africa-based company Nyanza Light Metals. The funding will support the... 

Western Cape developing energy sustainability through renewables earlier than expected

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde highlighted on Wednesday that South Africa still faces an energy crisis. Although loadshedding (scheduled rotating power cuts) has stopped, the country is still... 

Africa should prioritise value creation over resource export

The most urgent priority facing Africa today is to move from being a supplier of raw materials to becoming a value creator. Hitherto, the continent has exported its resources, to be processed... 

South Africa can sustainably tap its hydrocarbon reserves

The South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) believes that the country has to develop its hydrocarbon resources, while not destroying the environment. So averred SANPC CEO Godfrey Moagi,... 

Two CEOs rising high and jointly launching new equipment to provide safety to their clients

South African integrated security and safety solutions group Fidelity Services group (Fidelity) and its recently acquired subsidiary, local specialised integrated security, facilities management... 

In mining, sustainability and profitability go hand-in-hand

Increasing the sustainability of mining operations does not mean reducing their profitability. This was the key message from Hexagon Mining senior business development manager Reece Hanning, who... 

South African National Space Agency outlines ambitious five-year plan

This year is proving to be a red-letter year for the South African National Space Agency (SANSA), with the climax arguably being its hosting of the Sixth Space Economy Leaders Meeting (SELM6), at... 

Africa’s top priority should be to become a value creator, not just a resources provider

The most urgent priority facing Africa today is to move from being a supplier of raw materials to becoming a value creator. Hitherto, the continent has exported its resources, to be processed... 

Africa must take control of its resources and beneficiate, highlights DRC Minister

The days of feel-good international meetings are over, affirms Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba on Wednesday; “it’s time for results!” He was delivering a... 

Vodacom investing over R800m to accelerate network expansion in three provinces

Telecommunications group Vodacom is investing more than R800-million across three South African provinces to accelerate network infrastructure and coverage expansion, enhance capacity and... 

Africa's PGM production expected to fall this year, but resume growth thereafter

International data and analytics company GlobalData has reported that African production of platinum group metals (PGMs) is expected to fall by 6.4% this year, in year-on-year terms. This forecast... 

NRF and Mintek to jointly deliver Mintek-SCi 2025 next month

South Africa’s national research funding, facilities and human capital development agency, the National Research Foundation (NRF), and the country’s national minerals research institution, Mintek,... 

Unctad reports that trade policy uncertainty has 'become the new tariff'

The unpredictability of particularly US trade policy has become a major factor in global trade, UN Trade and Development (Unctad) has highlighted in its latest 'Global Trade Update'. This was on... 

Kenya eyes green hydrogen to aid farmers

Kenya has made “significant strides” since it launched the Green Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap for Kenya at the Africa Climate Summit in September 2023, Kenya Electricity Generating Company... 

Agency highlights rapid global progress in SMR development

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), which is an agency of the intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, has published the third edition of its “NEA Small Modular Reactor... 

Next director-general for the international SKA radio telescope announced

The UK-based international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Observatory (SKAO) has announced its selection as the organisation’s next director-general. She is Professor Jessica Dempsey, an Australian... 

Rolls-Royce Power Systems sees data centres as one of emerging new markets in Africa

Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the Germany-based business of renowned propulsion and power systems group Rolls-Royce, sees data centres as a significant emerging market in Africa, including South...