A recent (July 25) Reuters story featured by BizNews under the heading “Guinea iron ore scandal” has acquired an unsurprising new facet with the interest that another top name in world mining, Glencore, is reportedly showing in the West African country’s rich – and, until now, unexploited – Simandou iron ore deposit. Other big names … Read more
I regard Piet Viljoen as a friend, have done so for a couple decades. We met when I investigated the serial outperformers in the unit trust sector (his Investec Opportunities Fund killed the competition) and have been pals ever since. Apart from other gifts, Piet was part of the group that introduced me to Warren … Read more
Mining in Africa is neither for sissies nor the near sighted. While he didn’t say so in as many words in his interview with Alec Hogg, that is the conclusion to be drawn from the comments of Wickus Botha, Mining and Metal Sector Leader for EY Africa, on the coal mining ventures in Mozambique of … Read more
It has been a busy news day with a number of noteworthy announcements coming out on the Stock Exchange News Service (SENS), the markets however were somewhat subdued in terms of trading volumes. Woolworths came out with a trading update, and the news that the David Jones deal had been given the okay by Australian … Read more
There have been some strong winners in the markets today, as well as some sore losers. Giving us some insights into the drivers of the share prices is Sasha Naryshkine, a Director at Vestact. If you find yourself baffled by the moves of the likes of Shoprite and Anglo Platinum, then this is the most succinct … Read more
A well known critique of corporate environments across the world is that they lack sufficient influence of female leadership. It is often noted that although companies should have certain quotas of women in leadership, they do not, because of the small pool of available talent. Many argue that despite where we are in terms of … Read more
In April 1997, David Shapiro was my very first guest on the very first daily business programme to hit South African airwaves. During the decades since, for most of that time we’ve worked together daily. So it’s an understatement to say we’re relaxed in each other’s company. Sometimes too relaxed as you might pick up … Read more
LUSAKA (Reuters) – Zambia is withholding $600 million in VAT refunds owed to copper mining companies and will repay the cash only when they produce import certificates from destination countries, mining minister Christopher Yaluma said on Tuesday. “That money is owed and we will have to pay as long as they fulfil the requirement. It … Read more
Wescoal Holdings has just delivered a strong set of results, with full year revenues jumping 70% to R1.1 billion, and operational EBITDA increasing by 124%. Wescoal’s share price has also performed favourably over the last 12 months and is trading 25% higher on the year, this is however off of a lower base, as the … Read more
The folks at RECM are hard core value investors, so it’s always interesting to hear their take on the respective merits of different businesses. Goldfields and Sibanye are both gold miners, and indeed, Sibanye is an offspring of Goldfields, which spun the Sibanye assets back in 2012. But there are a lot of important differences … Read more