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/ 30 May 2008

Eskom tariff decision quietly postponed

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has quietly postponed its final decision on Eskom’s application for a 53% tariff hike to June 18. By Thursday the regulator had not yet posted notice of the change in its decision date on its website, despite the conclusion of this week’s public hearings into the proposed tariff increases.

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/ 16 May 2008

Sasol shareholders okay R25,9bn BEE deal

Petrochemicals giant Sasol on Friday said its shareholders had approved its planned R25,9-billion black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction. The world’s largest producer of oil from coal announced its intention to conclude a broad-based BEE ownership transaction in respect of 10% of its issued share capital in September last year.

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/ 17 April 2008

Uranium deal to net Harmony R1,9bn

Harmony Gold Mining will receive a foreign-capital injection equivalent to R1,9-billion once all the conditions precedent in the $420-million transaction with the Pamodzi Resources Fund have been fulfilled, Harmony CEO Graham Briggs said on Thursday. A new uranium player, Rand Uranium, will be established.

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/ 29 February 2008

Minister: Job cuts at mines unavoidable

South African Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica has confirmed that job losses at mines are unavoidable, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday. Sonjica said this became apparent at Thursday’s meeting with labour unions and the Chamber of Mines, but she would not disclose the number of job losses that will take place.

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/ 11 February 2008

Platinum price tops $1 900 on supply worries

Platinum cleared the $1 900-an-ounce mark on Monday for the first time in its history as concerns of further supply disruptions due to power shortages continued to plague the market. The precious white metal gained $27 to trade at $1 917,50 an ounce by 1.45pm after hitting $1 890 in late after-market trade on Friday.

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/ 31 January 2008

Gold Fields may close shafts due to power crisis

Gold Fields, the world’s fourth-largest gold producer, on Thursday warned that it may be forced to close shafts and restructure as a result of Eskom’s request that the mining industry reduce its power use by 10%. Gold Fields CEO Ian Cockerill warned that the power shortages in South Africa would affect production in the March quarter.

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/ 22 January 2008

Eskom pulls plug on SA’s neighbours

South Africa’s neighbours are feeling the pinch of Eskom’s problems as they are plunged into darkness and face power failures of their own. Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have all reported power failures and their governments have had to move quickly to clarify the reliability of future power supplies.

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/ 10 December 2007

De Beers’s R1bn sale of mine moves forward

De Beers Consolidated Mines’s R1-billion sale of its Cullinan diamond mine in Pretoria to the Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium has taken an important step forward with Monday’s announcement that the Department of Minerals and Energy has agreed to convert the old-order mining right held by De Beers into a new-order mining right.

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/ 3 December 2007

China closes in on SA as world’s top gold producer

Emerging global superpower China may snatch South Africa’s crown as the world’s top gold producer this year. South Africa has thus far managed to hold on to the crown, but China, which has established itself as the world’s second-largest gold producer after seven years of continued growth, now looks set to overtake South Africa in the production stakes.

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/ 12 November 2007

BHP Billiton not giving up on Rio Tinto

The world’s biggest resources group, BHP Billiton, on Monday piled pressure on Rio Tinto to take another look at its proposed $153-billion all-scrip merger by pitching the benefits of the merger to analysts and shareholders. Marius Kloppers, CEO of BHP Billiton, said the combination would unlock value that is otherwise unavailable.