Bolivia and Paraguay sign nuclear cooperation agreements with Russia

Russia’s State-owned Rosatom nuclear energy group is to establish a Nuclear Research and Technology Centre (NRTC) in Bolivia. The contract was signed in Vienna, Austria, on September 19, between... 

South Africa’s use of nonweapons-grade uranium to produce medical radioisotopes recognised

South African company NTP Radioisotopes (NTP), a subsidiary of the State-owned South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), has been presented with an Award for Outstanding Achievement by the... 

Large and small miners announce, plan contract awards for Moz projects

Brazilian mining group Vale has awarded Mota-Engil Africa a $445-million contract to supply mining services to the Moatize coal mine, in Mozambique’s Tete province, the Macauhub news agency has... 

Airports Company achieves its best-ever profits

Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) achieved a profit of R2-billion for the 2016/2017 financial year (FY), it announced recently, up from R1.9-billion for the FY 2015/2016. “This is probably the... 

Move to single-pilot operation would undermine air safety, says aviation expert

Proposals that airlines could move single-pilot operation, in place of the current system of pilot and co-pilot (more formally, Captain and First Officer), in order to reduce costs, are most... 

Test phase of new diamond-in-rock detection technology successfully completed

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) School of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering’s MinPET three dimensional (3D) diamond-in-rock detection system is now nearly ready for scaling up to commercial... 

Intercontinental alignment agrees to increased economic cooperation

The five member countries of the Brics alignment – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – are to strengthen trade and investment between themselves. This was affirmed in the “Xiamen... 

Necsa plans to restart nuclear pebble-fuel production

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) is reactivating its ability to manufacture nuclear pebble fuel, originally created to support South Africa's Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR)... 

Local unit of helicopter group introduces electronic aid for pilots, maintainers

Following authorisation by the South African Civil Aviation Authority, Airbus Helicopters Southern Africa (AHZA) has now released its Fleetkeeper product to the South African market. Fleetkeeper is... 

Australian miner signs deal for its Moz graphite with Chinese manufacturer

Australian-domiciled, ASX-listed junior miner Syrah Resources (Syrah) has announced, in a release through the ASX, that it has entered a binding sales agreement for 30 000 t of graphite from the... 

Future of Denel’s aero engine and manned aircraft businesses clarified

South African defence industrial group Denel has a clear plan for the future of Turbomeca Africa (TMA), which it is in the process of buying off Safran Helicopter Engines (Safran HE), part of... 

The six major economies reaffirm their commitment to free trade

Leaders of six of the world’s ten biggest economies have reaffirmed their support for free trade, at two high level meetings held in Asia recently. The countries concerned are Brazil, China, India,... 

South African munitions company to make major investments

Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) will invest R550-million over the next three years to modernise its production facilities to the latest standards, introduce state-of-the-art processes and to... 

Final agreement for Mozambique graphite project approved

The Mozambican Government has approved a mining agreement with Twigg Exploration and Mining Limitada (Twigg) for the mining of graphite in the Balama district of Cabo Delgado province. Twigg, which... 

Gap in aviation safety regulation is under scrutiny

The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) is planning to discuss and examine the status of what are known as Air Traffic Safety Electronic Personnel (Atsep) in South Africa. Atseps are the... 

Denel ends controversial Asia joint venture

South Africa's State-owned Denel defence industrial group has exited the Denel Asia joint venture (JV) company. This was announced on by Denel acting Group CEO Zwelakhe Ntshepe, addressing the... 

Necsa says second reactor would strengthen Pelindaba’s global nuclear medicine position

The worldwide nuclear medicine market in 2016 was worth more than $11-billion and is projected to be worth almost $20-billion by 2021. The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), through... 

New tech could prevent collisions between manned aircraft and drones

The latest generation of aircraft transponder technology, known as ADS-B, offers to provide the safety and security necessary to prevent collisions between manned aircraft and civil unmanned aerial... 

Aim-listed miner developing Moz limestone project and associated forestry, tourism operations

Mozambican newspaper “Diário de Moçambique”, which is published in the port city of Beira, capital of Sofala province, has reported that the TCT–Indústrias Florestais (TCT-IF) company is to invest... 

British Trade Policy Minister again assures Southern Africa over future trade

Following his recent trip to South Africa for talks with senior representatives of the countries of the Southern African Customs Union (SAC) – Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and... 

South African companies urged to prepare for Brexit

Analysts with international professional (including legal and financial) services group Herbert Smith Freehills have urged South African companies doing business with the UK to take care that their... 

Angola pushes mining production increases and diversification

Angola’s State-owned diamond group Endiama is going to encourage the development of semi-industrial cooperatives in each and every province of the country, to explore for diamonds. This was stated... 

Cyclone, Chinese demand boost Mozambique’s Moatize coal mine

Bad weather in Australia and improved demand in China were the factors driving the higher metallurgical (or coking) coal prices during the second quarter of this year (2Q17), in comparison to the... 

Draft empowerment code for the defence industry gazetted

Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies has approved and gazetted for public comment the draft Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) code for the defence industry, the Department of... 

South Africa supplying critical medical radioisotope to 50 countries

South African nuclear company NTP Radioisotopes (NTP), a subsidiary of the State-owned South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (better known as Necsa), has increased its production of, and its... 

Asian giant proceeds with latest nuclear expansion project with Russia

The ASE Group of Companies, a subsidiary of Russia’s State-owned Rosatom nuclear energy group, has announced that key contracts for Stage III of India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant (NPP) had... 

Indian companies active in the Moz coal sector weighing their options

Indian State-owned consortium International Coal Ventures Limited (ICVL) is considering a plan to convert the coal it produces at its Benga operation in the Tete province of Mozambique into gas, to... 

Vale’s Moatize coal mine sets new production record

Brazilian mining group Vale announced that production at its Moatize coal operation in Mozambique hit a new quarterly record during the second quarter of this year (2Q17). This was published in the... 

SA air traffic company focuses on safety and the environment

South Africa’s air traffic management agency, Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), is working hard to improve air safety in the country. “During the 2015/2016 [financial year] our safety... 

South Africa sets up entity to house all radio astronomy facilities

South Africa has consolidated its radio astronomy facilities into a single institution, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO). This happened at the end of last month when Science... 

UK reassures Sacu about future trade relations, reaffirms commitment to free trade

The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) has welcomed the UK’s intention of preventing disruption of trade relations with other countries as it leaves the European Union (EU). This was affirmed in... 

SADC needs to promote intra-bloc trade and South Africa should lead – OECD

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in its July 2017 survey of the South African economy, has urged South Africa to promote further economic integration within the... 

SADC urged to liberalise services and improve business environments

In addition to making intraregional trade in goods easier, the member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) should facilitate intra-bloc trade in services and improve their... 

Comair reports its diversification strategy is working

South African airline group Comair Limited’s strategy of countering the weak local air passenger market by diversifying its business is proving successful, reports company CEO Erik Venter. “It’s... 

One-third of Angola now surveyed, thanks to Chinese assistance

Angola’s ambassador to China, João Garcia Bires, has highlighted the role China is playing in supporting geological mapping in the African country. He told the Quarterly Bulletin of the Macau Forum... 

Casspir mine-protected vehicle continues to enjoy market success

South African State-owned defence industrial group Denel announced early this month that 21 of its Casspir NG2000 mine protected vehicles were ready for handing over to an African customer,... 

Mercury probe passes key tests on way to 2018 launch

The joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) modular space probe BepiColombo has passed its final test in its launch and transit flight “stack”... 

May unveils British initiatives aimed at reducing Africa’s reliance on aid

British Prime Minister Theresa May used the recent G20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, to announce a series of new British initiatives intended to reduce the reliance of African countries on aid and... 

Chinese group increases stake in Moz graphite project

Chinese company Shandong Tianye Mining has invested a further $1.23-million into Australian junior Triton Minerals, buying shares (in a placement by Triton) at a price of $0.048 per share,... 

South Africa’s defence industry faces serious challenges but also sees future opportunities

South Africa’s defence and aerospace industry forms a major part of the country’s high-technology manufacturing and services sector. Moreover, the high-level skills it has developed and is...