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☆ South Africa targets $111 billion investment goal in tough investor climate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa looks on as he delivers the opening address at the 5th Investment Conference to showcase opportunities available in the country to local and international companies, in Sandton, South Africa, April 13, 2023. Jairus Mmutle/Government Communication Information System (GCIS)/Handout via REUTERSJOHANNESBURG, April 13 (Reuters) - South Africa needs to urgently fix energy, transport and security challenges if it is to reverse souring investor sentiment, executives said on Thursday as President Cyril Ramaphosa targets 2 trillion rand ($111 billion) in new investments over the next five years. "The way we see it for the future of South Africa, international investment is so important and these challenges make it difficult for us to position the potential of South Africa as an attractive investment destination while there is uncertainty on when reforms will be implemented," Brown said. South Africa has experienced its worst power cuts on record, leaving businesses and households in the dark for up to 10 hours daily. The South African Reserve Bank estimates these blackouts have shaved off at least 2 percentage points from growth.

Companies Anglo American PLC FollowApril 4 (Reuters) - Anglo American (AAL.L) said on Tuesday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Swedish hydrogen and steel producer H2 Green Steel to work on advancing low-carbon steelmaking processes. The miner said the agreement includes studying and trialling the use of iron ore products from its Kumba mines in South Africa and Minas-Rio mine in Brazil as feedstock for H2's direct reduced iron (DRI) production process at its Boden plant in Sweden. DRI steel production is estimated to be significantly less carbon intensive than traditional blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace integrated processes. Anglo American's shares were up 0.4% by 0715 GMT. Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Visitors pass a logo of Teck Resources Ltd mining company during the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Chris HelgrenTORONTO, March 21 (Reuters) - Investors have yet to embrace Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd's (TECKb.TO) proposal to spin off its highly polluting coal business and focus on production of copper to help supply society's move toward electric vehicles. Last month, Teck announced a split into copper-focused Teck Metals and Elk Valley Resources (EVR), which will focus on high-margin coal for steel making. In 2021, South African miner Anglo American demerged and listed its thermal coal business. "The coal business is profitable for now, and using its proceeds to fund its copper business is a pragmatic way towards transition," said Dustyn Lanz, Senior Advisor ESG Global Advisors.

☆ European markets close mixed; mining stocks fall 2.6% after China announces growth target
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

European stock markets closed flat Monday, after paring modest early-session gains. Markets had a positive opening following last week's boost before slipping into the red. The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed down 0.03%. Mining stocks dropped 2.6% to lead losses, with Anglo American and Rio Tinto among the worst performers. Citi analysts said China's announcement of a growth target of 5% this year after it fell short of its "around 5.5%" target in 2022, could "feel disappointing to some investors."

☆ Botswana mining growth seen flat amid dim diamond outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GABORONE, March 1 (Reuters) - Botswana expects output from its mining sector to be flat this year, as the diamond industry loses its sparkle due to a contraction in consumer spending and weaker demand for diamond jewellery, a finance ministry official said on Wednesday. Diamond trading grew 41% in the year as Botswana also benefitted from Western buyers shunning stones from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, Botswana expects diamond output to decline by 1%, while diamond trading growth is seen slowing to 7% from 41% last year. Finance ministry estimates show that government expects mineral royalties to fall to 4,5 billion pula ($3.41 billion) in 2023, from 6.1 billion pula last year. Dividends due to the state will also decline to 11,3 billion pula from 15 billion pula in 2022.

The group said estimated it would spend around $1 billion a year to bring the Woodsmith project in north-east England to production by 2027. The mine has the world's largest known deposit of polyhalite, a multi-nutrient fertiliser. It now expects first production from 2027, reaching around 5 million tonnes per annum by 2030, from a previous estimate of 2024 with output of 10 million tonnes a year in the initial phase. "And then depending on how we shape and develop the markets from there, we will expand it from the 5 million tonnes to the 13 million tonnes," Chief Executive Duncan Wanblad told reporters. ($1 = 0.8293 pounds)Reporting by Clara Denina; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Emelia Sithole-MatariseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Miners’ bets on the future of coal are diverging
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Investors have a common understanding that coal is the dirtiest energy source. UK-listed Anglo American’s (AAL.L) earnings on Thursday showed EBITDA in the $50 billion group’s metallurgical coal division tripled to over $2.7 billion in 2022. With “met coal” constituting a fifth of Anglo’s overall EBITDA, investors may wonder whether boss Duncan Wanblad will follow Teck’s step. That’s probably because even though met coal generates three times more carbon than thermal coal, used to generate electricity, it’s still expensive to produce steel at scale in a sustainable way without using a coal-guzzling blast furnace. Anglo’s experiences hiving off its own thermal coal business, meanwhile, may not encourage Wanblad to repeat the trick.

☆ UK's FTSE 100 rises on miners boost
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 up 0.1%, FTSE 250 adds 0.1%Feb 20 (Reuters) - UK's exporter-heavy FTSE 100 gained on Monday as mining stocks rose on a bet on demand recovery in top consumer China, and retailer Frasers Group jumped after announcing a share buyback. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) gained 0.1% at 8:25 GMT, trading above the 8,000 point mark after breaching a record high last week. Frasers Group (FRAS.L) climbed 3.8% after the sports goods retailer said it intends to commence a new share buyback programme. Miners Rio Tinto (RIO.L) and Anglo American (AAL.L) were amongst top gainers, rising close to 1% each. The more-domestically focussed FTSE 250 midcap index (.FTMC) rose 0.1%Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Amplats shares fall after power outages dim outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Nelson Banya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Amplats' shares were down 3.1% by 1130 GMT, having hit their lowest since early October 2020 earlier in the session. Amplats Chief Executive Officer Natascha Viljoen on Monday said South Africa's electricity crisis and the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine would lead to a decline in global PGM supply. Rising interest rates and a strong dollar typically result in lower prices for PGM, especially platinum, Amplats said. South Africa, the world's top PGM producer, is experiencing extended electricity cuts as coal-fired generating plants suffer frequent breakdowns, meaning Amplats's refined PGM output could fall by 5% in 2023, Viljoen said. Amplats declared a total dividend of 115 rand per share, down from 300 rand per share last year, returning $1.66 billion to shareholders.

☆ VC firm Counteract just reached first close on its $42 million carbon removal fund. We got an exclusive look at the 11-slide LP deck it used to secure cash from The Grantham Foundation.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VC firm Counteract has reached first close on its inaugural £35 million fund. It plans to back 40 global companies across all elements of carbon removal. London-based firm Counteract, founded in 2021, has just reached first close on its inaugural £35 million, about $41.9 million, fund. Direct air capture is one of the best-known carbon removal technologies thanks to Swiss company Climeworks. Isaacs stressed the importance of exploring all potential technologies as carbon removal evolves alongside policy, making it inherently risky.

Unlike rivals Anglo American (AAL.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), (RIO.L), London-listed Glencore is still mining coal. Activist investor Bluebell Capital Partners last year argued that Glencore should spin off the coal division, following in the steps of Anglo American. His plan is to hang on to coal and keep annual production steady at around 110 million tonnes up to 2025. Over the longer term, he’ll then start shutting coal mines, with at least a dozen closures planned before 2035. EBITDA from Glencore’s coal operations rose to $17.9 billion from $5.2 billion the previous year due to increasing prices.

☆ Investors Push Mining Companies to Adopt Better Sustainability Standards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Investors are pushing miners to adopt tougher sustainability policies amid fears the rush for minerals to expand renewable energy will harm the environment and poor communities. The newly-launched Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030 said it would introduce sustainability standards by next January which will seek to overhaul the mining industry this decade. “We’ll improve the practices and outcomes in the mining industry more quickly,” he said. PREVIEWThe rules will draw on lessons from investors and the mining industry’s development of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management. The tailings standard came out about two years ago following the 2019 Vale SA Brumadinho disaster in Brazil where a tailings dam collapsed and killed 270 people.

☆ International ETFs are surging to start 2023, but investors should brace for volatility
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Jesse Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"'We believe Asian markets are well positioned vs. developed markets as we expect China re-opening to be a key driver, which would benefit even Asia ex China markets," McCarthy wrote. Broadening that out even further, emerging markets in general are a favorite of many investment strategists. But emerging markets can be tricky for investors, and volatile. Another way for investors to play a recovery in emerging markets, with more dispersed currency and political risk, could be sector funds tied to commodities. "I can buy ETFs that have exposure to say BHP, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Glencore," Sohn said.

☆ Precious metal platinum set for best quarter since 2008 on supply concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Platinum rose another 5% Thursday to trade at $1,054.86 per troy ounce Friday, up around 22% compared to the start of the quarter. The price of platinum is up over 20% since late September, and the metal is set to experience its best quarter since 2009. The Council anticipates a platinum deficit in 2023, with demand growing by 19% while supply increasing by just 2%. Demand for platinum in the automotive industry will also continue to grow next year, while jewelry-based demand for platinum is forecasted to remain constant throughout 2023. The platinum market posted a deficit in 2020 after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic brought industry to a standstill.

Companies’ impact on biodiversity and ecosystems would become an integral part of sustainability reporting under new plans that aim to create a more complete assessment of how businesses harm the environment. Corporations should explain to investors how they are managing resources sustainably, according to reporting rules proposed Wednesday by the International Sustainability Standards Board, an arm of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, an accounting-standards body. The trial could act as a beacon for such reporting and make other companies more comfortable with the idea of reporting their biodiversity impact voluntarily, Ms. Saint-Laurent said. Overcoming reporting challengesGathering data on biodiversity still poses a challenge for corporations and can often involve expensive teams of dozens of experts. “We’re not quite at the point where we’re able to have one single number,” she said, adding, “it’s multiple numbers that show performance.” Unlike carbon-emissions reporting, biodiversity assessment can be complicated and expensive.

☆ UK's FTSE 100 falls as energy stocks weigh; Man Group lifts midcaps
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies FTSE 100 down 0.1%, FTSE 250 adds 0.1%Dec 9 (Reuters) - UK's blue-chip FTSE 100 fell on Friday dragged down by energy- linked stocks, while fund manager Man Group led mid-cap shares higher after after announcing a share buy-back programme. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) fell 0.1% by 0853 GMT, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 (.FTMC) mid-cap index added 0.14%. The investment banking and brokerage services index (.FTNMX404010) rose 0.7%, supported by a near 5% jump in Man Group (EMG.L) after it announced a share buyback programme of up to $125 million. The biggest drag on the FTSE 100 were energy firms (.FTNMX601010), which fell 0.9% on subdued crude prices. Anglo American Plc (AAL.L) rose 1.4% after the copper miner said it expects production to rise over the next two years.

☆ Zimbabwe's new mineral royalty policy comes into force
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A worker attends to machinery at a smelter plant at Anglo American Platinum's Unki mine in Shurugwi, Zimbabwe, May 16, 2019. The southern African country has struggled to capitalise on its significant mineral reserves and a resource boom due to policy uncertainty, a lack of ancillary industries to support mining, currency volatility and electricity shortages. The cash component of the royalties would be made up of 40% Zimbabwean dollars and 10% in foreign currency, according to the notice. Zimbabwe's royalty rates range between 5% for gold and platinum group metals and 10% for diamonds. The Zimbabwe Chamber of Mines, which represents major mining companies, has said it is not worried about the new royalty policy because it does not amount to an increase in existing royalty rates.

The Hang Seng (.HSI) surged 5.3% and notched its biggest weekly gain in 11 years. Shares in online giants Alibaba (9988.HK) and JD.com (9618.HK) each rose more than 10% and the Hang Seng Tech index (.HSTECH) rose 7.5%. However the Hang Seng remains down 30% this year against a 24% fall in world stocks (.MIWD00000PUS). China stocks market capBUY THE RUMOURChanges to COVID policies have not been officially flagged. Yet markets have desperate reasons to rally after the Hang Seng hit a 13-year low last month in the wake of China's Communist Party Congress.

☆ Chile copper production down 4.27% in September - Cochilco
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Rachel Parsons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SANTIAGO, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Chile's total copper production fell 4.27% in September to 428,300 tonnes, government body Cochilco said on Thursday. Production from state-owned giant Codelco fell 7.92% on a year-on-year basis to 123,200 tonnes, while production at Collahuasi, a joint venture of Anglo American (AAL.L) and Glencore , fell 3.5% to 44,500 tonnes. Copper output from Escondida, which is controlled by Australian mining giant BHP (BHP.AX), rose 3.51% to 85,500 tonnes, Cochilco said. Reporting by Natalia Ramos; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK stocks rise as investors count on upbeat earnings
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) rose 0.2%, extending gains to hit a three-week high, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 (.FTMC) up 0.4% by 0724 GMT. Shell PLc (SHEL.L) rose 2.7% as the oil heavyweight said it would sharply boost dividend after reporting a third-quarter profit of $9.45 billion, which came in slightly ahead of expectations. read moreShares of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) gave up 1.7% after the lender posted a decline in third-quarter pre-tax profit due bad loan charges. read moreThe broader European index (.STOXX) shed 0.3%, as investors cautiously await a likely 75-basis-point rate hike by the European Central bank around 1215 GMT. read moreReporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Africa mine dam collapse highlights patchy regulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Nelson Banya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A general view of the aftermath of a mine dam wall collapse in Jagersfontein, South Africa, September 12, 2022. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe disaster has raised questions about who should be responsible for tailings dams oversight in South Africa and across the world. The Jagersfontein dam burst follows the brumadinho tailings dam collapse in Brazil nearly four years ago, which killed hundreds when a Vale SA (VALE3.SA)-owned dam collapsed. South Africa's government, mining industry and experts are still in the process of updating the country's tailings code to align with the global standard, the Minerals Council of South Africa said. The experts say, for example, that the global standards require a clearer responsibility and accountability structure than the current mine residue code in South Africa.

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