South Africa’s hydrogen fuel cell programme making steady progress

The Department of Science and technology (DST) is pleased with the progress being made by the Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) research, development and innovation (RDI) programme. This is a natural... 

France’s new nuclear firm pursuing SA research reactor deal

Newly created French nuclear company TechnicAtome plans to bid for South Africa’s planned new research reactor. The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) is planning a p rogramme to... 

Brazil again turning to private sector to undertake key infrastructure projects

With the country slowly emerging from its worst recession in decades, with Federal Government spending now frozen, in real terms, by law, for the next 20 years, Brazil is again looking to the... 

New versions of major airliner designs make first flights on same day

March 31 was a red-letter day in commercial aviation when two new versions of major airliners made their first flights. They were – in alphabetical order – the Airbus A319neo and the Boeing 787-10... 

Moz coal sector set for brighter future – report

Coal will be Mozambique’s number one source of export revenues over the medium term, according to an analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). This will be the result of improving security... 

South Africa has real bioenergy potential

"South Africa definitely has exploitable bio-energy potential," stated Council for Scientific and Industrial Research Principle Engineer Crescent Mushwana at the recent launch of the South Africa... 

Data-rich Atlas shows SA having higher bio-energy potential than believed

The South Africa Bio-energy Atlas, recently launched in Pretoria, will allow the country to identify opportunities for sustainable bio-energy and be able to achieve much more in terms of developing... 

UK committed to developing R&D and trade with South Africa

The British Government has assigned up to £35-million from its Prosperity Fund to South Africa. This money will be disbursed over the remaining period of the current UK Parliament (that is, until... 

Angola aims to attract major mining investor, develop local ones

The copper/cobalt belt, known as the Central African Copperbelt, already well-known and exploited in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, also extends into Angola. This has been determined... 

Africa needs nuclear energy – Rosatom

Sub-Saharan Africa has a real need for, and rapidly growing interest in, nuclear power. This was affirmed by Rosatom International Network Regional VP: Sub-Saharan Africa Viktor Polikarpov at the... 

Nuclear advocate contests ‘unrealistic’ renewables scenarios

Australian-founded and -based, globally-active, non-governmental organisation Bright New World argues that nuclear energy has a key role to play in ensuring both economic development and... 

Longer-ranged artillery shell unveiled by South African defence company

South African defence company Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) has reported that it has successfully qualified its 155 mm calibre M2005 Velocity Enhanced Artillery Projectile (VLAP). This is a... 

Moz coalfields to be served by third railway and port corridor

Mozambique has taken another step to fulfil the objective of providing comprehensive railway links between the country’s rich coal fields in its inland Tete province and harbours on the coast from... 

UK Minister forecasts major nuclear expansion over next 20 years

It is estimated that, over the next 20 years, more than £930-billion will be invested in expanding civil nuclear energy capacity worldwide. This was affirmed by UK Secretary of State for... 

Extra funding for another SA-based international radio telescope project

The international Hydrogen Epoch of Reionisation Array (Hera) telescope, being constructed in South Africa’s radio astronomy reserve in the Karoo region in the Northern Cape province, has received... 

New air and ground urban transport concept pops up

European aerospace giant Airbus and Italy-based transport design, engineering and production services company Italdesign have combined to design a new approach to meeting future traffic snarl-ups... 

Australian miners issue encouraging reports from their African operations

Australian junior mining companies active in Lusophone Africa have reported good news from both Angola and Mozambique. The companies concerned are the Lucapa Diamond Company, operating in Angola,... 

Norwegian company to design the South African Navy’s new survey ship

Norwegian ship design and shipbuilding company Vard Marine, a subsidiary of Italy’s Fincantiere group (which holds 55.63% of the Norwegian enterprise), has confirmed that its VARD 9 105... 

Frankfurt Airport seeks to increase its business with South Africa

Germany’s number one international airport, Frankfurt, is seeking to increase its two-way air cargo trade with South Africa. This was highlighted at a media briefing at the recent 2017 Air Cargo... 

Despite headwinds, Oppenheimer sees business aviation picking up again

Business aviation can and does play an important role in supporting certain key industries in parts of the world that are under-serviced by scheduled commercial airline operations. In Africa, the... 

Financial performance of Vale’s Moatize mine improving

The loss suffered by Brazilian mining group Vale’s Moatize coal operation in the Tete province of Mozambique last year, in terms of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and... 

Aviation company refutes security claims about its base at OR Tambo

South African company Fireblade Aviation has stressed that the international arrivals and departures section of its Fixed-Base Operation (FBO) at OR Tambo International Airport, east of... 

Armscor announces preferred bidders for new Navy ship projects

South Africa’s defence acquisition, disposals and research and development agency Armscor announced late last month the preferred bidders to supply ships for the South African Navy’s (SAN’s)... 

Brexit set to change SA’s bilateral economic relationship with the UK

Last month, during the debate regarding the 2017 State of the Nation Address in Parliament in Cape Town, Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies highlighted that “[a]s the UK Government prepares... 

Prices seem set to be firmer this year – Vale

Brazilian mining major Vale believes that the market outlook for both metallurgical (or coking) and thermal coal for this year is significantly better than the market performance of the mineral for... 

US group unveils its new-generation oversized cargo aircraft

US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has rolled out the first example of the commercial version of its C-130J Super Hercules military airlifter. The civilian model is designated the LM-100J and it... 

Good increases in passenger numbers at Acsa’s airports last year

The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) had a record year last year, in terms of the numbers of passengers who passed through its airports. This was revealed when it published its latest “Aviation... 

Vale’s Moatize coal operation benefiting from increased production and transport capacity

Production at the Moatize coal mine, owned by Brazilian mining major Vale and located in the Tete province of Mozambique, hit a record of 5.5-million tons last year, 500 000 t (or 10.7%) higher... 

A380 airliner restored to the Johannesburg route by Emirates

Major international airline Emirates, based in Dubai, recently reintroduced the Airbus A380 Superjumbo on to its Dubai-Johannesburg route, to meet growing passenger demand. Previously, the airline... 

African and global airlines enjoyed strong passenger growth last year

Last year, African airlines experienced their strongest year of passenger growth since 2012, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported. Passenger numbers on international... 

South Africans appointed to top nuclear positions abroad and at home

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General (DG) Yukiya Amano has appointed South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) CEO Phumzile Tshelane to the Standing Advisory Group on... 

Angola seeks to boost its mining sector

The State-owned Empresa Nacional de Diamantes de Angola (Endiama – National Diamond Company of Angola) will not need additional investors to develop its Luaxe project, assured company President... 

Sector charter for the defence industry agreed

Stakeholders in the country’s defence industry have adopted the Defence Sector Charter, which is intended to promote black economic empowerment (BEE) in the sector. The decision was taken at a... 

New CSIR chief intends building on ‘excellent work’ of predecessors

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has announced its new CEO. He is Dr Thulani Dlamini, a chemist. His previous job was VP: Strategic Research and Technology at petrochemical... 

Indian-owned Moz coal project to resume operations

Indian State-owned overseas coal mining company International Coal Ventures Limited (ICVL) will restart operations at its Benga mine in Mozambique’s Tete province during the course of this year.... 

Airbus A400M may have won $2bn Indonesian order – reports

French aerospace journal “Air et Cosmos” and British defence media group Jane’s have both reported that the Indonesian government has approved the purchase of five Airbus A400M military airlifter... 

SA regional airline aligns fleet modernisation with growth plan

South African private-sector airline Airlink and Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer have jointly announced that the carrier was leasing five of the manufacturer’s twin-engined E-Jet family... 

UK outlines 'modern industrial strategy' vision

On January 23, British Prime Minister Theresa May formally unveiled what is officially described as “proposals for a modern Industrial Strategy”. That same day her administration published a... 

Mozambique’s ruby sector advances

Mozambique’s ruby mining sector continues to develop, with Australia-domiciled Mustang Resources announcing in late January that it had despatched its first commercial parcel of the precious stones... 

Finland thinking of new version of South African missile to equip its ships

Earlier this month a senior officer of the Finnish Navy indicated that his service was interested in acquiring an improved version of the South African Umkhonto naval surface-to-air missile (SAM)....