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/ 28 February 2008
Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin should refrain from making unsubstantiated comments on the job-loss threats faced by thousands of mineworkers, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday. On Wednesday Erwin said that it was unclear whether proposed job cuts in the industry were caused by power cuts and electricity rationing.
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/ 28 February 2008
Murowa Diamonds — Zimbabwe’s sole operating diamond miner — recorded a 40% drop in production in 2007, owing to frequent power failures and machine breakdowns, the company said. Murowa is 78% owned by London-based mining firm Rio Tinto.
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/ 28 February 2008
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Cape Town on Thursday morning for a two-day state visit, which will include discussions with President Thabo Mbeki and top business leaders. Sarkozy was welcomed by Mbeki at Tuynhuys, where a 21-gun salute was fired in his honour while a military band played the French and South African national anthems.
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/ 28 February 2008
The gold mining index and industrials helped perk up the JSE by noon on Thursday, helping it to reverse its losses from the morning session. By noon, the JSE’s broader all share index added 0,62%. The gold mining index collected 1,86%, resources gained 0,35% but the platinum mining index pulled 0,96%.
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/ 28 February 2008
African Union chief and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete pushed ahead on Thursday with talks to end the Kenyan political crisis. Kikwete chaired talks between President Mwai Kibaki, opposition chief Raila Odinga and former United Nations secretary general and chief mediator Kofi Annan in a fresh bid to resolve the two-month crisis.
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/ 28 February 2008
A charge of insurance fraud against Clinton Nassif, former security head for slain mining magnate Brett Kebble, was withdrawn in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. ”The accused is a witness in other matters we are pursuing,” prosecutor Patrick Nkuna told the court in withdrawing the charge.
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/ 28 February 2008
Four Harmony Gold mine employees died in separate incidents at the Bambanani and Elandsrand mines this week, Solidarity said on Thursday. ”Solidarity erroneously reported that another Bambanani worker, who had been admitted to the intensive care ward of the Ernst Oppenheimer Hospital in Welkom, had died. The person is recuperating,” said Solidarity.
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/ 28 February 2008
The Turkish army will remain in northern Iraq ”as long as necessary”, Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul said on Thursday, refusing to give a timetable for a troop withdrawal. ”Turkey will remain in northern Iraq as long as necessary,” Gonul told reporters after talks with United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
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/ 28 February 2008
Low prices continue to haunt Malawian tea on the auction floors, a bitter irony for some producers as the country is regarded as the pioneer of tea-growing in Africa. Commercial production started way back in the 1880s during the British colonial era. Large tea estates have since then been a feature of the southern region of the country.
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/ 28 February 2008
Claims and counter-claims flew on Thursday after senior Australian batsman Matthew Hayden was officially reprimanded for calling Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh an ”obnoxious little weed”. Tensions continue to simmer in a summer of cricket acrimony ahead of Sunday’s first final in the one-day tri-series between the two fiercely-competitive rivals.