Shares in Mvelaphanda Resources closed 8% up on Wednesday on speculation of an imminent announcement on a tie-up with Implats.
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/ 17 September 2008
The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on Wednesday reported a fatality at Impala Platinum’s Rustenburg operations.
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/ 12 September 2008
Impala Platinum said on Friday it is in talks with Mvelaphanda Resources and Northam Platinum, sending shares of all three mining companies soaring.
Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats), the world’s number-two platinum producer, on Thursday posted a 57% rise in headline earnings per share to R20,65.
South Africa’s biggest mineworkers’ union may call a strike at the jointly owned Two Rivers platinum mine over disputes which include wages.
South African firms are resisting the urge to pull out of Zimbabwe despite an increasingly hostile business climate.
Telecommunications heavyweight Telkom remained the talk of the town during the morning session on Monday as news of a potential buyout and negotiations with the UK’s Vodafone set pulses racing. However, the market as a whole was mixed as resources generally gained some ground, but banks felt the heat from a struggling
sector in the United Kingdom.
The JSE hit a fresh record high on Thursday, buoyed by miners on firm commodity prices and a weaker rand, but overall the mood was dampened by global inflation worries due to the rising oil price. At noon, the JSE’s all-share index was up 0,98% at 33 230,590 after earlier touching a fresh all-time high of 33 309,820.
South African stocks were weaker at noon on Wednesday with miners under pressure on retreating metal prices, but the session was quiet as most traders are still away on a long weekend break. At noon, the JSE’s broader all-share index was down 0,46%, with the gold and platinum mining indices down 1,47% and 1,65% respectively.
The JSE was weaker in quiet trade at midday, weighed down by a firmer rand, lower metal prices and what was described as a disappointing production report from Anglo American. South African markets were closed on Monday for a holiday and are also closed on Thursday and Friday this week, with many players away for the two days in between.
A recovery in the platinum price triggered improvements in the platinum-mining and resources indices, which helped reverse the JSE’s morning losses and lift it into the black by midday on Friday. By 12.03pm, the JSE’s broader all-share index was up 0,35%. The platinum-mining index collected 1,57% and resources gained 1%.
Banks and financials helped the JSE advance further by midday on Wednesday as they cheered the move by the United States Federal Reserve to raise liquidity in financial markets. At noon, the JSE’s broader all-share index had gained 1,35%. Financials collected 1,94%, while banks were up 1,67%.
Tony Leon, the former leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA), is writing to the chair of the foreign affairs portfolio committee in Parliament, asking him to summon Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to explain what the government is doing to protect South Africa businesses from being nationalised by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
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/ 14 February 2008
Impala Platinum Holdings (Implats) posted weaker half-year headline earnings per share on Thursday, and forecast ”very tight market conditions” for platinum due to a power crisis in South Africa that has helped push the metal’s price to an all-time record.
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/ 14 February 2008
Firm world markets and stronger metal prices continued to support the JSE by noon on Thursday. At noon, the broader all-share index had risen 1,34%. Banks collected 2,33% and financials climbed 1,07%. Industrials advanced 1,44%, the platinum mining index gained 1,4%. Resources were 1,35% higher and the gold mining index added 1,16%.
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/ 7 February 2008
Zimbabwe’s draft mining Bill will not force firms to give a stake to the government for free as previously feared, and will be debated by Parliament after elections next month, a senior official said on Thursday. The government of President Robert Mugabe, who is running for another five-year term, published the Bill last November.
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/ 31 January 2008
Platinum miner Zimplats Holdings said on Thursday its revenue jumped 57% in the last quarter of 2007 on the back of higher production, but concerns remain over power supply problems. Revenue for the three months to December was ,67-million, up from ,57-million in the previous quarter.
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/ 25 January 2008
South Africa’s rolling power failures are a ”national emergency” but economic growth can continue at healthy levels if energy is used more efficiently, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin said on Friday. ”It is clear that we are running our power system at utilisation levels that are overstretching maintanance,” Erwin said.
South African stocks extended gains at midday on Friday, bolstered by strong gains among miners amid rampant commodity prices, while a healthy start in European markets added to the upbeat sentiment. But volumes remained thin as some players remained on the sidelines ahead of the United States December non-farms payrolls data due out later in the day.
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/ 21 December 2007
The JSE extended its gains by midday on Friday as firmer world markets continued to direct it higher. By 12.02pm, the JSE’s all-share index had collected 1,95%, led by a 2,95% advance in the platinum mining index. Resources added 2,73% and the gold mining index rose 1,83%.
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/ 4 December 2007
Thousands of mineworkers took to the streets of central Johannesburg on Tuesday, urging industry bosses to beef up safety in South African mines. This year, there have been more than 200 deaths in the mining industry. Major mining companies said they were badly affected by the one-day strike.
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/ 4 December 2007
Resource heavyweights Anglo American and BHP Billiton continued to weigh on the JSE in midday trade on Tuesday, with the all-share pulling back almost half a percent from its earlier levels. By midday, the JSE all-share index dropped 0,69% as resources gave up 0,96%. The gold-mining index shed 0,12% but the platinum-mining index improved 0,42%. Industrials lost 0,53%.
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/ 23 November 2007
Impala Platinum (Implats), the world’s second-biggest producer of platinum, shut one of two shafts at its Marula mine after a worker was killed in an incident, an official at Implats said on Friday. Clapham is one of two shafts at Marula and produces half of the Marula mine’s total output of 6Â 000 ounces of platinum per month.
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/ 23 November 2007
The National Union of Mineworkers plans to ask its members to down tools on December 4 to protest against a spate of deaths in the country’s mines, the president of the union said. Senzeni Zokwana unveiled the date of the planned action in a speech at a congress of global miners’ unions, which started in Thailand on Thursday, a statement said.
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/ 19 November 2007
The JSE was weaker at midday on Monday, erasing earlier gains following a similar trend in European markets on early indications that Wall Street was likely to open lower. At noon, the all-share index was down 0,69%. Resources fell 1,75% while the gold- and platinum-mining indices gave up 0,46% and 1,81% respectively.
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/ 19 November 2007
President Robert Mugabe’s government published a draft Bill on Monday forcing mining firms to transfer majority shareholdings to local owners, including giving the Zimbabwe government a free 25% stake. The Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill is expected to be presented to Parliament and to be approved before the end of the year.
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/ 2 November 2007
The JSE recouped some of its earlier losses, but remained lower at midday on Friday on hopes that United States jobs data due out later in the day would support a case for another rate cut in the US. The local bourse was down more than 340 points in early trade following similar drops overseas stemming from renewed US subprime housing-market concerns.
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/ 26 October 2007
Solid gains in bank stocks pushed the JSE further into the black at midday on Friday, while platinum stocks added some extra light. At noon on the JSE, the all-share index was 0,62% higher as banks collected 2,01% and financials added 1,08%. The platinum mining index added 1,24% and resources edged up 0,29%.
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/ 24 October 2007
The JSE remained in negative territory at midday on Wednesday, as banks took a dip on the release of discouraging CPI data and resources were lower on a firmer rand. At 11.59am, the all-share index was 0,25% lower, as resources dipped 0,35%. However, the gold and platinum mining indices advanced 0,28% and 0,35% respectively.
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/ 19 October 2007
The JSE rose modestly at midday on Friday, helped by miners amid soaring metal prices with investors unfazed by talks that Wall Street was poised to open lower. At noon, the all-share index was up 0,61%. Resources gained 1,09% and the gold-mining and platinum-mining indices were up 1,14% and 0,81% respectively.
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/ 11 October 2007
Resource stocks added plenty of extra muscle to the JSE on Thursday, which was underpinned by strength in gold and platinum. Earlier in the session the JSE hit a fresh trading high of 31 628,820 points, but was slightly below that level by midday.
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/ 27 September 2007
Foreign-owned companies in Zimbabwe said on Thursday they were assessing the likely effects on their business of a new law forcing them to give local owners majority holdings. The Empowerment Bill, pushed through Parliament by the government on Wednesday, will give Zimbabweans a 51% stake in foreign firms, including the important mining and banking sectors.