CoAL slide underpins logic of Exxaro takeover
Thermal coal prices have dealt Coal of Africa a difficult card at a time when it’s
mid-stride between strategies, raising the prospect that it needs the balance
sheet of a major investor.
SA platinum sweats amid cash-flow crunch
Amplats could be cash-flow negative to the tune of R4.5bn by year-end, while
Aquarius has just over a year of cash; a sure sign of the troubles the once cash-
flush industry is now in.
Eskom, and its staff, deserve a break
Chicken-like thinking is the reason why Eskom will remain the black sheep of
public opinion until SA eventually again has enough electricity to keep the lights
on in empty buildings.
Coal debate must focus on commerce, not politics
Declaring coal a strategic mineral seems a rather blunt way of securing energy
supply when surgical precision, based on commerce, would do better.
Heads may roll in platinum revamp
Company valuations, shafts and blue collar workers will not be the only
casualties in the scramble to keep platinum mines afloat.
Nationalisation is dead, until next time
The ANC’s national elective conference in December will bring still less certainty
over right of tenure for the mining industry.
Fault line in carbon tax proposal emerging
Finance minister Pravin Gordhan seems to have softened his approach on the
imminence of a carbon tax as government sets about understanding
contradictory policies on climate change.
Plaudits and doubts for chrome exchange plan
Iraj Abedian’s suggestion for a chrome exchange beats levying exports, but lessons from coal indexing plans provide insights into the problems
of implementation.
Quotas may be fatal misstep for SA coal
Government wants to declare coal a strategic mineral and impose export
quotas, but the private sector thinks energy security must be incentivised, not
legislated.
SA mining: comparisons incomplete
Comparisons between the health of SA’s mining sector and some of the world’s
booming jurisdictions don’t tell the full story of the local industry’s performance.