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South Africa needs to reintroduce exploration into its mining DNA

Exploration is the start of any mining value chain and increasing investment in exploration is fundamental to South Africa using its mineral resources to drive development of its industries and economy, mining leaders said during the sixth edition of the South Africa Investment Conference, on March 31. South Africa has mined its mineral resources on an industrial scale for more than a century, but has forgotten how to fund and sustain exploration. It needs to reintroduce exploration into its DNA, said mining industry organisation Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane.
April 1, 2026 by

Cape Town seeks 500 MW from energy traders at below-Eskom rates

The City of Cape Town has issued an energy trader tender that targets the procurement of 500 MW through power purchase agreements (PPAs), spanning one to ten years, from a variety of power generation technologies, including solar. Interested parties have until May 13 to respond to this tender, aimed at diversifying the city’s energy mix and protecting it against Eskom’s loadshedding schedule and the utility’s rising electricity charges.
April 1, 2026 by

Record installed global capacity in 2025 proves renewable energy resilience

Global renewable energy capacity increased by 15.5%, or 692 GW, year-on-year to 5 149 GW in 2025, intergovernmental organisation the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has revealed. Its ‘Renewable Capacity Statistics 2026’ report also shows that renewable energy dominated the total capacity expansion in 2025 at an 85.6% share, while non-renewables continued to account for a smaller share of additions.
April 1, 2026 by

Green energy features prominently at 2026 investment gathering

Investment commitments by South African and international renewables investors featured prominently at the sixth South Africa Investment Conference, with combined pledges of more than R50-billion announced. In addition, green energy also featured strongly in an energy-related investment prospectus released by government at the event, where a new R2-trillion investment target was set for the period to 2030.
April 1, 2026 by

Government aims to move with speed on private investments for development

During the South Africa Investment Conference on March 31, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson spoke about how the government was supporting greater investment by private-sector players in the economy. Godongwana emphasised that a reliance on monopolies in an economy meant that, if there was a problem with a monopoly, the entire sector it served was challenged.
April 1, 2026 by

Ramaphosa highlights the investment prospects being unlocked by ‘irreversible’ reforms

President Cyril Ramaphosa used the 2026 edition of the South Africa Investment Conference (SAIC) to highlight the new prospects being opened to domestic and foreign investors by the country’s ongoing economic reforms, which he described as “irreversible”. The sixth edition of the SAIC drew 1 200 delegates from 50 countries and is the first such gathering to be hosted since 2023, as well as the first since the formation of the multi-party Government of National Unity, which Ramaphosa leads.
March 31, 2026 by

Necsa launches an expression of interest into Small Modular Reactor technologies

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) issued, on Tuesday, an expression of interest (EoI), to invite technology providers, organisations and consortia, with the appropriate qualifications and experience, to partner in a Small Modular (nuclear) Reactor (SMR) programme in South Africa. Such a partnership will develop, customise, demonstrate and deploy SMRs in the country, for a number of purposes. This initiative is aligned with Decision 4 of the national Integrated Resources Plan …
March 31, 2026 by

Optimistic of ‘workable’ tariff solution, Glencore Merafe agrees to week-long Section 189 …

The Glencore Merafe Chrome Venture has agreed to again delay a retrenchment process under way at its ferrochrome smelters after Eskom formally requested an extension to conclude internal governance processes relating to a proposed 62c/kWh electricity tariff offer to the South African ferrochrome industry. In a statement, Glencore Merafe, which earlier sent a counter proposal to what it described as “unworkable” conditions linked to Eskom’s initial offer, welcomed the progress being made and said it remained confident that a balanced and workable solution could be reached.
March 31, 2026 by