Africa

Everyone agrees that diamonds are special. De Beers is unlike other mineral extraction businesses in that, while it is involved in the familiar geological and feasibility work followed by mining and beneficiation, it follows that up with the production and marketing of a luxury end product. It deals in both rough diamonds and finished gemstones, but while diamond may be chemically simple, De Beers recognises 12,000 different categories of rough diamond alone – and that is before they are polished, cut, and set.

The company will pay $1.52 billion for US firm Marathon Oil Corporation’s ten percent stake in the deepwater block. It comes after Sinopec purchased a five percent stake in the field from Total in 2011.

Sinopec, Asia's biggest oil refiner, said that the Angolan block has proven and probable reserves of 533 million barrels of oil. The deal is still subject to approval by Chinese and Angolan governments.

BASF, the world’s leading chemical company launched its new laboratory for mining on June 23 in Johannesburg. The new lab is based at MINTEK, the South African mineral research organization.MINTEK is one of the world’s leading technology organizations specializing in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy.

BASF, the world’s leading chemical company launched its new laboratory for mining on June 23 in Johannesburg. The new lab is based at MINTEK, the South African mineral research organization.MINTEK is one of the world’s leading technology organizations specializing in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy.

“Gold is a most conservative and passive investment, but the same cannot be said of gold mining in emerging markets. To succeed here a company must be flexible and on the move. Its management must be adept and have a keen eye for untapped value.”

This past Friday 14 June, Mr Motlanthe presided over a special mining task team consisting of labour, government and mining company representatives. Together the team have put together a ten page draft agreement to reposition South Africa’s mining industry in order to make it more attractive to investors and enable the sector to contribute further to social and economic development.

Having received route approvals from the relevant governments under Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs), the company, backed by Easyjet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, will soon fly to South Africa, Zambia and Rwanda.

Unveiled this week at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, the BRCK device is the brainchild of the Kenyan tech firm Ushahidi. Combining a rugged design with a range of connectivity options, switching between wi-fi, 3G and fixed broadband, BRCK came about as a result of a strong desire to move away from hardware that was never designed to cope with the specific issues faced in Africa.

It is not hard to see why Resource Generation, a company listed on both the Australian and Johannesburg stock exchanges, was attracted to the Waterberg region of South Africa and in particular to the Boikarabelo coal mine which it has been developing since 2008. The area, in the north-east of South Africa close to the border with Botswana, is very accessible, and the quality of coal in the resource unrivalled.

As with any country’s main airport JKI is the gateway to the country, and the people who fly in and out from all over the world, fairly or not, will judge Kenya by their first impression, gained as they struggle through the baggage reclaim and immigration checks. The first Kenyans they meet will be the airport staff. What greater PR opportunity could there be for a country and its people?