Fossil fuels have, in the short space of a century, been largely depleted. Mankind is going to have to look to other energy sources, literally, to keep the wheels turning. In this issue, we look at biofuels and what the state of play is regarding biodiesel and bioethanol in South Africa

If you are running a thriving fresh meat wholesale business, moving your product rapidly and reliably is a major concern. Cape-based company Roelcor Meat has recently bought 12 Mitsubishi Fuso trucks equipped with refrigerated backs for this very purpose

The coal fields being mined by Morupule Colliery in Botswana are massive and under-utilised, largely because of the comparatively remote location. Joy has been supplying equipment to this mine for 30 years. The latest addition to the Morupule fleet is a Joy 12HM31B continuous miner (CM), which has been performing well, at an average of 76 026 tons a month

Synergy between two major mining houses has seen the worked-out colliery, Syferfontein, being brought back to life under new ownership with new, adjacent coal reserves. Anglo Coal and Sasol put their heads together and the result is Anglo Coal's Isibonelo Colliery, which, most importantly, provides work for a large proportion of the former Syferfontein employees

And then CEN looks at motor graders, the workhorses of the road-construction industry. Benoni-based mining contractor Andru Mining, which has recently bought two Komatsu units, explains the reason for its choice. On the other hand, the Raubex group of construction companies relies on Caterpillar graders to ensure the group has the capacity to handle the increased demand for its services. Finally CEN speaks to a Mark Bekavac, a man who has spent a lifetime dealing in Galion graders, a brand that went out of business in South Africa in 1993