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How Southern Africa could unlock funding for critical minerals investment

As the world transitions to cleaner energy, Southern Africa’s abundant critical mineral resources, which could be key ingredients for many low-carbon technologies, have come into sharper focus. According to the ‘Financing Southern Africa’s Clean Power and Critical Minerals’ report – released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), with McKinsey & Company as knowledge partner, and under the WEF’s Securing Minerals for the Energy Transition (SMET) initiative – Southern Africa holds about 30% of the world’s critical-mineral reserves.
October 17, 2025 by

Bank champions balanced energy future for Africa

As Africa grapples with deep-rooted energy poverty and mounting climate pressures, financial services provider Standard Bank is positioning itself as a key enabler of a pragmatic just energy transition. For Africa’s largest lender, this does not mean choosing between renewables and fossil fuels, but rather ensuring that both are harnessed responsibly to fuel inclusive growth. Standard Bank views upstream oil and gas not as a legacy burden, but as a growth lever for emerging African economies. It cites countries, such as Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and Ghana, which continue to rely on fossil fuel exports to fund national budgets, build infrastructure and stimulate job creation.
October 17, 2025 by

Fuel transition to evolve Johannesburg’s energy landscape

Natural gas reticulation company Egoli Gas has been working closely with chemicals and energy company Sasol to ensure that its transition to methane-rich gas (MRG) in 2028 is seamless, with the move marking an important milestone in the evolution of Johannesburg’s energy landscape. “For Egoli Gas and our customers, it means continuity and reliability of supply. No disruption to supply is expected and only minimal technical adjustments will be required for end-users where applicable,” says Egoli Gas GM Erika Da Cruz.
October 17, 2025 by

Policy integral to shaping oil and gas outlook – law firm

Although significant oil and gas discoveries across Southern Africa have sharpened investor focus, unlocking that potential is not only geological; it also requires an astute understanding of the legal, fiscal, administrative and commercial requirements thereof, highlights law firm Webber Wentzel corporate practice partner and mining sector head Jonathan Veeran. As capital becomes increasingly mobile and investors weigh frontier markets against proven jurisdictions, South Africa must reckon with specific interlinked challenges that could define its upstream future.
October 17, 2025 by

New Cabinet-approved Eskom board will still be chaired by Mteto Nyati

Cabinet has approved a new Eskom Holdings board, which will continue to be chaired by Mteto Nyati, whose term has not expired because his appointment was made a year after the September 2022 appointment of the rest of the previous board members. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni announced the names of the new board members on October 16, while indicating that all appointments remained subject to the verification of qualifications and relevant security clearances.
October 16, 2025 by

Necsa reports R125m profit as Cabinet names new board after governance tussles

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) has reported a net profit after tax of R125.2-million for the financial year to March 31, 2025, while Cabinet has appointed a new board following a recent spate of resignations that left the board inquorate. Addressing the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy on October 15, CEO Loyiso Tyabashe reported that the Necsa Group had also achieved an unqualified audit opinion having failed to do so since 2020/21.
October 16, 2025 by

LSF confident in building economic case for VRFB manufacturing in South Africa

After commissioning energy consultancy Customised Energy Solution (CES) to determine the potential for a commercial vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) value chain in South Africa, the Localisation Support Fund (LSF) is confident that this technology offers significant advantages and can cater for long-duration energy storage (LDES) demand.

South Africa holds vast vanadium resources with many deposits grading more than 1.5% vanadium pentoxide, which is considered high-grade by international standards.

October 15, 2025 by

Western Cape developing energy sustainability through renewables ahead of schedule

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde highlighted on Wednesday that South Africa still faces an energy crisis. Although loadshedding (scheduled rotating power cuts) has stopped, the country is still dependent on an ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations, he pointed out, while delivering the opening address for the Solar & Storage Live Cape Town 2025 conference and exhibition, being held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. “My theme is – never, ever, waste a crisis!” he asserted, citing the example of Cape Town’s Day Zero water crisis, when, during the 2017-18 drought, the city came within 14 days, he reported, of completely running out of water. It didn’t, because Cape Townians changed their behaviour. Before the crisis, the city, then with a population of 4-million people, had used 1.2-billion litres of water a day (l/d). Today, with a population for 5-million (25% larger), the city used 800-million l/d of water.
October 15, 2025 by