South Africa said its state-owned power utility will add 2,400 megawatts of generating capacity to the country’s strained electricity grid before the end of the year.

That extra capacity will come as Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. restarts three units at Kusile, one of its newer coal-fired power stations, Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa told reporters at a briefing on Sunday. A fifth unit will be commissioned from December, eventually bringing another 800 megawatts online.

South Africa is implementing record power cuts to prevent a complete collapse of the grid as Eskom struggles to meet demand from its old and poorly maintained coal-fired plants. The government has vowed to end the outages, with President Cyril Ramaphosa appointing an electricity minister to drive its response to the crisis.

The Kusile units are returning to operations after being granted exemptions relating to sulfur-dioxide emissions until December 2024.

The recent announcement of a US$500 million lithium refining facility in Ghana is the latest sign that moves by African nations to restrict the flow of unprocessed minerals from the continent may be bearing fruit.

Ghana has known lithium reserves of some 35 million tons. Earlier this year, the country passed its Green Minerals Policy, which, amongst other things, restricts raw mineral exports.

A consortium led by CAA Mining Ltd, Luxembourg-based Livista Energy and Livista’s local subsidiary, Livista Ghana Ltd. has secured a 200-acre plot for the project, according to mining news publisher, Africa Mining Market.

CAA Mining’s CEO expects the facility to open in 2026, according to Africa Mining Market with the establishment of the refinery linked to a license to explore for further lithium deposits.

Chikohora pointed to an industrial boom in the country once the refinery opened, which would add to jobs in mining and refining.

“There will battery producing companies, vehicle assembly plants and many other job opportunities,” said the UK-based mining executive, who has deep experience in the mining industry in West Africa as well as in Zimbabwe.

In July, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of the Chinese mining company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, inaugurated a US$300 million lithium processing plant in Zimbabwe. The facility boasts the capacity to process 4.5 million metric tons of hard rock lithium into concentrate for export annually.

Chikohora expects lithium from Zimbabwe to be amongst the feedstock refined in Ghana. Other regional producers include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Mali, Namibia and South Africa.

“There are only two places where lithium is refined in the world, and that is China and the US. In Africa, there is no refinery for lithium,” Chikohora said.

The Ghana refinery is to be powered by locally-secured natural gas.

The world’s top two producers, Australia and Peru, both export all their raw lithium.

Despite being endowed with rich mineral resources, African countries have not experienced the anticipated economic transformation that those resources promise.

A 2021 study, titled “Review of Zambia’s Potential for More Value Addition to the Downstream Copper Chain,” poignantly illustrates this reality. Zambia, the eighth-largest global producer of copper in 2022, according to GlobalData, predominantly exports “stage 1” copper.

In terms of value, stage 1 copper fetches approximately US$5/kg, whereas stage 2 commands a significantly higher US$30/kg. Stage 3 copper, employed in applications like inductor coils for music speakers, commands a premium price of about US $150/kg.

“In other words, the finished product at the latest stage is sold at a price that is 25.86 times greater than the stage 1 refined copper. By focusing on refined copper exclusively, Zambia could potentially earn a staggering $524.35 billion USD,” the researchers outlined in the review report, published in the Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences.

Market research and consulting firm Roskill estimates that the demand for lithium-ion batteries will surge a remarkable 83% by 2027, increasing demand for lithium hydroxide, a vital compound in rechargeable batteries, by 55% over the same period.

While the spotlight is currently on lithium, the expansion of processing facilities encompasses a spectrum of minerals. The Wall Street Journal reports that nickel, cobalt, and graphite, among others, are also targeted in this new wave of establishing local processing facilities.

Australian mining behemoth BHP, in collaboration with US-based Lifezone Metals, is on course to establish a nickel processing plant in Tanzania by 2026. Chris Showalter, CEO of Lifezone Metals overseeing on-ground operations at the Kabanga Nickel Project, revealed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the facility will supply battery-grade nickel to the global market, upon completion.

Further afield, Vision Blue Resources, a London-based mining company, through its African subsidiary NextSource Materials, is set to inaugurate a graphite processing facility in Mauritius. This facility, part of NextSource Materials’ broader plans, aims to construct multiple Battery Anode Facilities (BAFs) capable of producing anode materials for use in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicle applications.

With an eye on the future, more mineral processing facilities are on the horizon, with Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, and the DRC poised to witness the most activity.

A report by the World Bank titled ‘Africa’s Resource Future’ sheds light on the economic potential of Africa’s resources, indicating that these nations currently capture only about 40% of the revenue they could potentially derive from natural resources.

“Maximizing government revenues in the form of royalties and taxes paid by private natural resource industries, alongside attracting new investment, would offer a double dividend for countries,” James Cust, a senior economist and co-editor of the report by the World Bank, explained.

SANY celebrates 18 years of OEM-driven products and services to the construction and mining industries in South Africa this year. SANY has become a trusted and respected one-stop solution partner for southern Africa’s industry, offering renowned yellow machinery for purchase, rental, service, and financing, if required.

SANY established a presence in South Africa in 2006 with a head office in Boksburg, and has, since then, opened branches in Middelburg, Rustenburg and Richards Bay, enabling it to better reach and serve its customers. In South Africa, SANY holds R170 million in spare parts, and offers 24/7 after-sales service to customers around the country. The company aims to increase its spare parts stockholding in South Africa to R270 million in the next year. Through its footprint, SANY supports more than 3 000 operating units in South Africa.

The company’s flagship products include 5.5 – 125 ton excavators, 5 – 7 ton wheel loaders, 60-136 ton dump trucks, 12 – 20 ton drum rollers and 14 feet graders. SANY also offers a comprehensive range of round-the-clock after-sales services to ensure that its customers keep their machines running at peak performance.

“We are proud to celebrate the 18th anniversary of our presence in southern Africa,” said Samuel Zhang, MD, SANY. “For almost two decades, we have built strong relationships with our customers and partners, and are committed to contributing to the region’s development through sustainable, innovative and reliable machinery. Through our national footprint, we can help customers get what they need when they need it. We are grateful for the support of our customers and employees, and we look forward to many more years of success in southern Africa.”

SANY heavy-duty machines have been used to construct roads, bridges, power plants, and other important infrastructure projects around the world. Two major projects that made use of SANY machinery include Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) which recently earned the 1 st Mega Project Award from the International Bridge Conference (IBC). Global infrastructure experts have awarded seven excellence awards to projects around the world, and the innovations involved in the HZMB were named Outstanding Project of the Year in the 2021 FIDIC Project Awards.

The SANY Group was founded in 1986. In 1994, it independently developed China’s first high-pressure, truck-mounted concrete pump with a large displacement. With more than 30 years of dedicated innovation, SANY has become one of the largest construction machinery manufacturers in the world. The SANY Group has a footprint in southern Africa, Germany, China, USA, India, Brazil and Indonesia, the last five comprising extensive R&D facilities. Its southern Africa footprint includes South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In the past three decades, the SANY Group has expanded its business across a wide range of areas, including construction, mining, port, and oil drilling machinery, as well as renewable wind energy systems.

Steinmüller Africa continued its commitment to serving the communities operates in which through corporate social responsibility initiatives by renovating a Mpumalanga school. Hlalanathi pre-school in eMahlahleni was the beneficiary of the initiative, which was undertaken in January 2023.

Hlalanathi pre-school

The school, which currently accommodates 24 learners, received prefabricated modular classrooms as well as a kitchen. The donation of these units ensures that the learners will have a safe and adequately equipped place to learn, while the kitchen provides a facility to give the children meals during school hours.

The handover was conducted by Steinmüller Arnot Project Manager, Heinrich Geyser, who expressed the importance of education and the positive impact this initiative will have for current and future learners: “Education is a fundamental right for everyone in this country. This initiative ensures that no child is deprived of this right.”

The learners and teachers showed immense gratitude for their new facilities. Steinmüller Africa is proud to play a role in initiatives that enrich communities across the country and is dedicated to improving the lives of those it can reach.

It is now a full century that mines and industry have been relying on Linatex® rubber products from Weir Minerals to protect equipment from abrasion, impact and corrosion.

“The remarkable qualities of natural rubber in a range of demanding mining and processing applications have made Linatex integral to our customers’ success over the past 100 years,” says Boitumelo Zimba, Rubber Product Manager at Weir Minerals Africa. “The product breakthrough which has differentiated us in the market is our proprietary liquid phase compounding (LPC) process.

This is a gentle process that retains all the valuable qualities of the high quality natural latex which is our central ingredient.” The more common processes, used by competitors in the market, effectively change the molecular structure of the natural rubber, resulting in shearing that undermines the resistant qualities of the final product, she explains. By contrast, Linatex® Premium Rubber exhibits outstanding strength, resilience and resistance to cutting and tearing, giving superior performance in wet abrasion conditions.

“The LPC process gives us a product that is 95% natural latex – and we are the only company producing rubber this way,” she says. The applications are well known, from impact liners in transfer chutes to abrasion resistant lining in pumps and hoses. Over the decades, the applications have broadened as the company applies its research and development to various potential modifications.

Proven value

Over the course of the last century, there have been plenty of success stories in mining. What has become increasingly crucial, however, is the quantification of the benefits that Linatex® Premium Rubber can bring to specific applications, argues Zimba. As mining embraces increasing levels of technology and digital monitoring, it becomes easier to monitor equipment performance and cost of ownership.

“One of our mining customers in central Africa needed to extend the service life of their tailings pipeline,” she explains. “Due to the abrasion resistant qualities of our Linatex Premium Rubber, the customer was able to save over US$110,000 per annum on their tailings pipeline, after ceramic liners were replaced by a 12 mm layer of Linatex Premium Rubber.”

This meant that the pipeline would last 36 months instead of nine months, reducing the cost of liner replacement and downtime. In another successful application, Weir Minerals Africa used a nitrile- based rubber compound in a mining customer’s flotation tanks, which were previously lined with ceramic tiles. The results were again dramatic, increasing the replacement intervals from two months to 36 months. “This ultimately saved that customer almost US$570,000 a year, reducing downtime considerably,” she says.

In another successful application, Linatex® modular panels has solved the challenge of high wear rates on a mine’s hydrocyclones in Kazakhstan. KAZ Minerals’ Bozshakol copper mine was facing difficulty with wear rates on the rubber and ceramic-lined launders in its primary hydrocyclone clusters. This resulted in costly downtime every two to three months, when time consuming rubber patching would have to be carried out by the Bozshakol maintenance team.

After conducting 3D scanning of the cyclone cluster launder, Weir Minerals wear experts proposed the wear resistant 25mm Linatex® steel-backed bolt-down modular panels with high open area. The modularity of these panels allowed KAZ Minerals to replace the worn parts one by one, without the need to patch-repair.

The Linatex® modular anti-abrasion panels were installed in October 2019, and it was an impressive 21 months before some of the panels were finally ready to be replaced. This meant an increase in wear life of 584%, saving on downtime as well as on about 450 labour hours in maintenance. The success achieved at Bozshakol led other KAZ Minerals mines to also order the Linatex® modular antiabrasion panels.

At its copper, gold and silver mine in the Grasberg minerals district, PT Freeport Indonesia was also experiencing the challenge of high wear rates. In this case on its SAG mill discharge box dart valve seat liners. With the incumbent liners lasting only three months, the mine was forced to conduct early shutdowns as the SAG mill maintenance interval was every six months.

The Weir Minerals solution was to introduce superior Linatex® rubber material and mould the product into the existing dart valve seat configuration. The team also re-engineered and introduced a taper shape to give extra impact absorption for the rubber-lined product. This extended its life to up to seven months, allowing the SAG mills to run uninterrupted for the full six months between scheduled shutdowns.

Quality production

The specialised science of processing natural rubber latex has been maintained at the company’s global production facility in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – ensuring the highest levels of quality are consistently delivered in a continuous production process. The progressive manufacturing expansion ensure a reliable supply for the worldwide market, she says. The supply chain for the natural rubber is also based on sustainable principles, ensuring that the trees are not destroyed and that the harvesting process is environmentally responsible.

“As the most significant input to the Linatex products, the latex we use is tested extensively before processing – first at our suppliers’ facility and again at our manufacturing facility,” she explains. “Each batch of rubber produced is sampled and tested, and customers have the option to request a product test certificate.”

Zimba concludes that Weir Minerals will continue to find innovative ways for Linatex® Premium Rubber to add value to customer applications, ensuring that the distinctive quality of this market leading product range finds new and exciting uses.

In survey after survey, businesses say the same thing: They have jobs and want to hire people but cannot find workers. Roughly a third say the problem is so bad they are turning down business. Fixing the so-called skills gap and labor shortage is not going to be easy. It is going to take time, effort, and innovation. In the meantime, companies are doing what they can to lessen their reliance on people. This includes making sure that tools and products are easy to use.

All Hypertherm plasma systems are designed with ease of use in mind. The newest generation of Hypertherm Powermax® systems—Powermax SYNC®—automatically sets the correct amperage, air pressure, and operating mode. In addition, these systems replace the traditional five-piece consumable stack-up with a single-piece cartridge that takes just seconds to install and has an end-of-life detection feature to let you know when your cartridge is completely used up.

Making things even easier, the cartridges are color-coded: yellow for hand cutting, gray for mechanized cutting, green for gouging, and black for specialty applications such as flush cutting. Another advantage is the Powermax SYNC cartridge lasts up to five times as long as a traditional stack-up. All these features help to reduce training time, errors and improve cut quality.

An additional benefit of the Powermax SYNC system is its ability to record usage data and transmit it using a simple RFID reader. It will track things like number of starts and arc-on time, helping you identify patterns and make your operation more efficient.

And here are some other considerations regarding plasma technology:

If you are looking for versatility, Powermax plasma cutters cut through a variety of metals of different thicknesses and types. This makes them the perfect solution for a wide range of applications, which means you won’t need operators that specialize in varied materials.

Plasma cutting is safer than oxyfuel cutting because there is no open flame. This can make it easier to find operators who may not want to work with more hazardous equipment.

The Powermax SYNC system provides several time saving solutions to help address the skilled labor shortage: Time saved training new operators, time saved ordering and managing parts, and time saved searching for and changing consumables. In a world where experienced, trained, laborers are scarce, Powermax SYNC can give you a big advantage.

The global race for critical minerals is on. Driven by recent shifts in geopolitical priorities between the “West” and the “East”, and the global inexorable march towards green industries and renewable energy, the demand for Southern Africa’s critical minerals has reached unprecedented heights.

Historically and for various reasons such as geology, finance, technical expertise, and providing minerals trading platforms, the mining powerhouse nations have been Australia, Canada, China, South Africa, and the United Kingdom for the past few decades,. The European Union nations have mostly chosen to take a backseat in the extraction of raw materials and focused more on the “cleaner” downstream activities of manufacturing and to a lesser extent, processing. In other words, European Union nations have up to now, been more comfortable being buyers rather than miners of raw materials.

The disruption of global supply chains, the Russia – Ukraine war, and the gradual frosting of “East” and “West” diplomatic relations, means that the EU can no longer afford to be over reliant on Southeast Asia for the supply of its critical raw materials. Enter the EU Critical Raw Materials Act that was proposed by the European Commission on 16 March 2023, which is meant to ensure the EU’s access to a secure, diversified, affordable and sustainable supply of critical raw materials.

WEG, as part of its drive to expand the WEG footprint in East African markets, is taking significant steps to increase its presence in Uganda by partnering with company Petrok as its Value-Added Reseller (VAR). Petrok’s local presence and technical expertise, along with the popularity and reliability of WEG products in the market, will likely facilitate this expansion.

Theodul Mwema, WEG’s Regional Sales Manager for East Africa, says the anticipated economic growth from projects like the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), along with the existing strength of sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, utilities, cement and oil and gas in Uganda, offer potential opportunities for WEG to offer their products and solutions.

“This is an exciting step as we look forward to reaching more customers in Uganda with WEG’s range of electric motors as well as medium and high voltage solutions,” he says “We have been supplying customers in Uganda for over a decade, and this appointment builds our support for them and opens new markets for us. Our commitment to delivering efficient, reliable products with a low total cost of ownership, as exemplified by our W22 IE3 motor, shows our customer-centric approach which is appealing to businesses in Uganda.”

Reliability

Mwema highlights that the coffee sector already has a strong reference base, for instance, as many coffee factories used Brazilian processing machines which are fitted with WEG motors, drives and soft starters. With agriculture being the biggest contributor to Uganda’s economy, other significant sectors include manufacturing, utilities, cement and oil and gas, he explains. There has also been considerable investment in power and water projects in East Africa, notably from Asian countries.

BE, a mine ventilation and refrigeration engineering firm, recently released the latest version of its VUMA Live software offering. This solution enables real-time monitoring of mines’ underground ventilation and cooling systems.

According to Christo Visagie, Director at BBE, the latest version of VUMA Live was developed with the assistance of ventilation and refrigeration industry experts to bring its user interface in line with that of traditional Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) tools used by mines.

“It has a similar control interface, alarming, historical trending and enables open communication with various other industrial hardware systems without the need to deploy any other third-party development tools or purchased systems,” he says.

“The VUMA Live interface makes use of a 3D environment that our ventilation clients are familiar with, having used the VUMA ecosystem previously. With the latest version of VUMA Live, we can monitor and control underground ventilation equipment remotely and programme control philosophies using standard Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) that are already being utilised at the mines.”