Editor’s take: Those with the means have made power issues a thing of the past and businesses – big and small – continue to innovate for a cleaner environment, creating remarkable energy saving initiatives along the way.
According to the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) report, the World shift to clean energy is unstoppable. Locally, South Africa’s solar boom has seen more rooftop and on-site solar installed by private consumers in the past year and a half than in the past 10 years under government programmes. The IEA has forecast that renewables will provide half of the world's electricity by 2030. On the commodities front, McKinsey & Company has reported that, owing to a lack of funding for new mining projects, the world could see significant shortages of rare earth metals and minerals critical to the energy transition by as early as 2030, which is good news for project developers of related minerals. The report indicates imminent shortages of 20%-50% across some rare-earth metals and minerals that are essential for renewables, power grids and EV batteries.
On the cover
Ubuntu: Brelko pays it forward
South Africans have an innate competitive streak and the resilience to back it up, which is what sets us apart – be it on the playing field or in business, says Brelko MD Kenny Padayachee, who likens the fortitude of local business to the heroics of the Springboks. On the road to victory, the Springboks displayed nothing less than dogged determination when edging out New Zealand 12-11 to win the Rugby World Cup and claim the Webb Ellis Cup for a record fourth time.
Minergy suffers knock-on effects of soft coal price
Coal junior, Minergy, will find its way out of its current quagmire, which is underpinned by a cooled coal market and rising input costs, says outgoing CEO Morné du Plessis, who has served at the helm of Botswana’s pioneering coal mine for the past seven years. Du Plessis was instrumental in taking the Masama Coal Mine from grassroots level to a producing entity and was quick to take advantage of serendipitous high coal prices to make six lucrative shipments to international markets in 2022 and early 2023.
Orion Minerals outlines Prieska’s path to production
Base-metals developer, Orion Minerals, is ramping up activities at its flagship asset, Prieska Copper Zinc-Mine (PCZM) in the Northern Cape, as it eyes production in the next 12-18 months. Having recently awarded a six-month trial mining contract to Newrak Mining, the junior miner is eager to validate the results from its feasibility study, with CEO Errol Smart, upbeat that the trial mining results will be highly favourable. Following the challenging investment environment, the diversified metals explorer has revised its strategy to “start small to grow big”, which allows Orion Minerals to achieve early production and become cash generative quicker than initially anticipated.
Product innovation and geographic expansion underpin Bell Equipment’s success
With mining accounting for as much as 70% of business, the sector is a significant generator of revenue for equipment manufacturer, Bell Equipment, which recently posted a sterling set of interim results for the period ended 30 June 2023.
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