Cyberthreats increasingly worry global aviation industry

The global aviation industry is increasingly focusing on cybersecurity. “Cybersecurity … has become a major concern,” highlighted International Air Transport Association (IATA) Regional VP: Africa... 

International nuclear regulatory body selects South African for key post

South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) CEO Dr Bismark Tyobeka has been appointed Chairperson of the Regulatory Cooperation Forum (RCF) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the... 

Britain to keep preferential access for poor countries, post-Brexit

The British Government has publicly committed itself to maintaining duty-free access to British markets for the world’s least-developed countries (LDCs, as defined by the United Nations) following... 

Joint venture reopens graphite mine in Mozambique

The Ancuabe graphite mine in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province was re-opened on June 28, following 18 years of inactivity. This was the result of a private sector investment of €12-million in the... 

Airbus unveils proposed new version of A380 SuperJumbo

Major global plane maker Airbus on Monday unveiled a proposed refined version of its flagship product, the A380 SuperJumbo airliner. This proposal is designated the A380plus, and is intended to... 

Strong South African air traffic growth forecast

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast that the number of air passenger journeys to, from and within South Africa will more than double from the 23.6-million last year to... 

Moz benefiting from mining-sector exports, coal now dominant mineral

Montepuez Ruby Mining (Montepuez) has announced that it achieved revenues of $54.8-million from its latest ruby auction, in Singapore. Montepuez mines rubies and corundum in the Montepuez district... 

Local defence sector seeks strategic support from government

Pre-Cabinet level discussions are under way within the Government about transferring State-owned defence industrial group Denel from the aegis of the Department of Public Works to that of the... 

New Moz coal railway line takes step forward

In a further step towards easing transport bottlenecks for coal mining companies operating in Mozambique’s inland Tete province, a Sino-Portuguese consortium has signed a contract with local... 

Brazilian agency providing remote sensing training for African countries

Brazil’s Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE – National Institute for Space Research) has been providing training for Earth observation (EO) specialists from African and other countries... 

Local airline announces new routes after public survey

South African low cost carrier FlySafair announced at the beginning of the month that it was launching new routes on its network. These will be between Durban and East London and Durban and Port... 

New era in large satellite propulsion marked by recent launch

The world’s first high-power satellite employing an all-electrical propulsion system, Eutelsat 172B, has been successfully launched from Kourou in French Guiana, manufacturer Airbus Defence and... 

Indian miner slow to respond to Mozambique court order

Radio Mozambique has reported that Indian company Jindal Africa had failed to comply with a court order ordering it to stop coal stockpiling activities at its Chirodzi mine in the Moatize district... 

Denel purchase of aero engine company approved with conditions

South Africa’s Competition Commission has recommended that State-owned defence and aerospace group Denel be allowed to buy local aero-engine company Turbomeca Africa (TMA). The recommendation was... 

Civil air cargo version of the Super Hercules transport makes first flight

The civilian version of the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules military airlift aircraft, the LM-100J, made its maiden flight on May 25, the company announced on the same day. This first flight... 

Angola, Russia jointly developing new diamond projects and others

Angola and Russia have committed themselves to deepening their economic cooperation, not least in the area of mining. This was made clear during the recent visit to the African country by Russian... 

Earth observation satellites starting to bring benefits to mining sector

At last month’s International Symposium on Remote Sensing of the Environment, held at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), in Pretoria, one of the very many topics addressed... 

Local commercial and general aviation sector under policy pressures

The commercial and general aviation (GA) sector in South Africa is currently facing significant challenges that really need to be addressed if it is to remain healthy over the coming years. So... 

Earth observation satellites starting to bring benefits to mining sector

At last month’s International Symposium on Remote Sensing of the Environment, held at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria, one of the very many topics addressed... 

South Africa’s space agency develops system to monitor crops

The Earth Observation (EO) Directorate of the South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has developed an advanced crop-monitoring system for South Africa that will also be made available to other... 

Country’s science and technology budget remains stable

The annual budget of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) remains stable, in real terms. “It’s in line with inflation,” DST Director General Dr Phil Mjwara told Engineering News Online at... 

Local company invests in space worthiness of new generation of space imagers

South African private-sector space company SCS Space is looking forward to establishing the spaceworthiness credentials of its Gecko imager, which is mounted on South Africa’s nSight-1... 

Brazilian miner expects less volatility in coal prices during the rest of 2017

Major Brazilian mining group Vale, which is the majority owner of the primarily metallurgical (or coking) coal Moatize operation in the Tete province of Mozambique, expects that there will be less... 

South Africa advances new earth observation satellite

Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor reported recently that the South African National Space Agency (Sansa) has made significant progress in developing the country's next Earth observation... 

China’s first home-grown commercial jetliner makes maiden flight

In what could be the most significant development in global commercial aviation since the prototype of the first Airbus airliner (the A300) made its maiden flight in late 1972, the Commercial... 

South African intellectual property offices seeking to stimulate innovation

The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has been holding talks with the Department of Higher Education about establishing... 

Court ruling means new approach needed for SA’s nuclear programme

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) called for “caution and common sense” in the press release it issued on April 28 in response to the Western Cape High Court judgement on April... 

Vale’s Moatize coal sets production records

The Moatize coal mine in the Tete province of Mozambique set a new quarterly production record during the first quarter of this year (1Q17), pushed by two monthly production records, set in January... 

Key Nepad programmes to be supported by SA’s space agency

The South African National Space Agency (Sansa) and NEPAD have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which the former will support various programmes of the latter with Earth observation... 

Claims for 100% renewable electricity too sanguine, study asserts

In a paper published in “Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews” Volume 76, four Australian researchers have warned that published modelled scenarios which affirm that an electricity system based... 

Air cargo traffic sees a strong start to the year

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported that year-on-year air freight growth, measured in freight ton kilometres (FTKs), made a strong start during the first quarter of this... 

Mozambique authorities act to protect mining tax base from illegal activities

The Cabo Delgado Provincial Command of the Mozambique Republic Police announced late last month that it had expelled more than 4 000 illegal miners form the Namanhumbir area since February. Fifty... 

Development of SA spatial data infrastructure needs to be accelerated

Despite the fact that South Africa's Spatial Data Infrastructure Act was passed nearly 14 years ago, in 2003, with the intent of establishing the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI),... 

Global shake-up in earth observation will affect South African sector, warns CSIR

Worldwide, the Earth Observation (EO) sector is being shaken-up by disruptive innovations by major enterprises. "Globally, traditional EO value chains are changing radically due to technological... 

First survey of publicly funded intellectual property in SA launched

Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor launched the first “South African National Survey of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer at Publicly Funded Research Institutions” recently... 

Business R&D showing signs of recovery

The South African Government seeks to increase the country’s investment in research and development (R&D) by 100% from the R29-billion of 2014/2015 to to about R60-billion/year by 2020. In terms of... 

Despite slower growth, China still key market for miners and Africa

There can be no doubt that, for the past two decades-and-a-half or so, the biggest single influence on the global mining industry has been China. Between 2002 and 2012, that country experienced an... 

Interest in nuclear energy said to be rising across sub-Saharan Africa

There is more interest in nuclear energy in sub-Saharan Africa than is generally realised. According to the World Nuclear Association (WNA), countries in the region which are individually planning... 

African and global air freight and passenger traffic rose in February

The growth in demand for air freight, measured in freight-tonne-kilometres (FTKs), in Africa increased by more than 10% in February, in comparison to February last year. African air passenger... 

Brazilian company unveils over-the-horizon radar

Brazilian technology company IACIT Soluções Tecnológicas S/A (IACIT), which develops and produces air traffic control and management and maritime traffic control and management systems, weather...