Highlights

• Copper 360 has delivered the first copper concentrate from the Northern Cape Province in 21 years marking the start of a new era in copper production in South Africa.
• The achievement is remarkable in light of the fact that the record concentrate grades in excess of 30% were produced during the commissioning of the MFP 2 (the Nama Copper plant) that was recently acquired.
• The plant produced 136 tonnes of concentrate over a commissioning period of 3 weeks achieving our plan.
• The plant is forecast to produce in excess of 1,000 tonnes of concentrate per month within 3 months – 2 months ahead of planned production.
• The Company’s second concentrate plant MFP 1 is planned to start production at the end of July 2024, with a target capacity of 1,400 concentrate tonnes per month.
• The SX/EW plant that produces copper cathode, also delivered record performance in March 2024 producing some 60 tonnes of pure copper metal and is well on track to ramp up to 100 tonnes of copper per month within the next quarter.

Jan Nelson, CEO of Copper 360 commented: “Copper 360 is extremely proud of this achievement heralding not only the first copper concentrate production from the area in 21 years but also because it marks the start of a new era of copper production in South Africa. We have delivered on plan and at copper concentrate grades that are world-class. Copper 360 is also the only producer of copper cathode from the area.

Copper 360 is South Africa’s only listed pure copper producer and has made history in terms of being the first major copper producer in the Namaqualand region. We salute the tenacity and spirit of the people of Namaqualand who support us tremendously and the drive and passion of our team. We remain humble but we celebrate this historic success which marks South Africa’s return to being a major copper player. Our focus is now to bring our second concentrate plant into production and ramp up copper output. We look forward to reporting further production results in due course.”

Any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement have not been reviewed nor reported on by the Company’s auditors.

In line with the company’s stated intention of expanding its roots and ‘Vision 2028’ – offering all forms of training and skills development, and making a sustainable difference in reducing unemployment – Dekra Institute of Learning (IOL) has opened a branch in Lephalale, a busy town in Limpopo province.

There is an urgent need for an accredited provider of skills programmes and industry-related full qualifications and occupational adult-based education in Lephalale (formerly Ellisras), to serve the local coal mining, agricultural, power generation and commercial sectors.

Accredited training provider

DEKRA IOL Head of Training and Consulting, Christopher Mörsner explains: “We are filling this void by offering much-needed and QCTO-accredited safety, First Aid and other occupational and skills training.

Our vision is to stand out from other training service providers in the area as – over and above our QCTO-accredited courses, occupational health and safety training – DEKRA IOL is the only training provider offering business and operational training with a strongly client-centric approach. This is definitely the right time and place for us to collaborate with and support the local training industry!” Mörsner adds: “The strategic decision to open this branch stems from our strong commitment to localising our services – and thereby addressing the specific safety and occupational training requirements of the businesses and sectors present in the town, and in the greater region. These include the mining, power generation, renewable energy, agriculture and petrochemical sectors.

Starting out 1994 to serve the metropolitan area with a range of low voltage electric motors, WEG Africa’s Cape Town branch has grown in its size and its offerings, according to Branch Manager Marthinus Greeff.

Testament to this is the fact that it has again outgrown its premises, and last year relocated to larger, well-equipped facilities in Richmond Business Park – enhancing its service capability while making life easier for its customers.

“The branch had humble beginnings 30 years ago, with three staff members – the manager, an administrative assistant and a storeman,” says Greeff. “Our dedication and commitment to customers soon put us on a growth path which has continued to this day; the experienced staff complement at Richmond Park now stands at 35 people.”

Another sign of success is the geographical area that the branch now covers – from Cape Town upwards to the north as far as Upington and east to the town of George. Similarly, a wider range of industrial sectors reach out for solutions from WEG Africa’s Cape Town branch. These include mining, cement, petrochemical, water and wastewater as well as building, food processing, materials handling and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). He notes that a particularly exciting recent development has been in agriculture, where the branch serves farmers who want to use more renewable energy.

The international event of reference for industrial valves and flow control solutions continues to grow, attracting the whole supply chain to Bergamo in a month’s time

The exhibition programme increases, offering a private preview opening

A new record number of exhibitors is expected with over 310 registrations, thanks to a parterre of fast-growing foreign companies, now accounting for 20% of the total

The 2024 update of the IVS-Prometeia Observatory “The Oil&Gas Valve Industry in Italy” has been launched

Weba Chute Systems, a South African original equipment manufacturer specialising in custom- engineered chute systems, was honoured at the Exporter of the Year Awards hosted by the South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC) on 21 November 2023. This event recognised the significant contributions of industry players, highlighting 18 companies that exported over R8.4 billion to 67 countries last year.

The companies were evaluated based on several criteria, including marketing strategy, export turnover, local content, and participation in export promotion activities. The process involved strict confidentiality and expert judgment, including site visits to finalists’ premises.

Weba Chute Systems

Weba Chute Systems, celebrating its 40th year of operation in 2024, has established itself as a leader in transfer point design and manufacture, boasting over 5000 chutes successfully operating worldwide. The company’s focus on quality has been a cornerstone of its success, leading to its recognition as the Allied Services Exporter of the Year 2023 for companies with a turnover between R100 million and R150 million a year.

Commenting on the significance of the award, Ted Cruickshank, Africa Business Development Manager, says that this accolade underlines Weba Chute Systems’ significant role in the industry and its contribution to South African exports.

On Friday 19 April, in a crucial step towards achieving justice for the children and women who allege lead poisoning caused by a former Anglo American lead mining operation in Kabwe, Zambia, the Johannesburg High Court granted permission to appeal an earlier judgment that dismissed certification of the class action. 

In granting permission Justice Leonie Wendell found that an appeal against her earlier judgment had ‘reasonable prospects of success on at least one ground of appeal’ and that there were ‘compelling reasons to grant the appeal, as class action law is still being developed in South Africa’, and that ‘there are current matters of law of public importance which directly implicate constitutional rights’. The Kabwe Claimants will now take their case against Anglo American South Africa (“AASA”) before the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa later this year. 

This is a major step forward in the longstanding lead poisoning class action claim against AASA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of London headquartered Anglo American Plc. The December judgment effectively blocked access to justice for the people of Kabwe. 

Scope of case

Kabwe was an Anglo American mine from 1925 to 1974. The evidence submitted to the court by the Claimants in support of this claim is clear. From the early 1970s, reports by the Mine doctors showed that several children had died  of lead poisoning from the mine, and a high proportion of  children in the local communities were suffering from massive blood lead levels.

Bosch Rexroth Africa recently supplied and installed a custom environmentally friendly and dust-proof lubrication dispensing system for a leading earth-moving equipment supplier. Used in workshop service bays, the solution consists of six oil systems and one coolant dispensing system that provide a safer, cleaner and more efficient lubrication supply during planned maintenance schedules. All these systems are fitted into one six- metre high-cube shipping container.

The containerised lubrication system offers a streamlined, safer and cleaner method to monitor and dispense lubricants, enhancing precision and efficiency in handling lubricants within workshops. In addition to reducing the occurrence of empty containers, the containerised lubrication systems provide dispensing units equipped with meters to manage the amount of lubricant dispensed. Craig Walkden, Business Development Manager, Bosch Rexroth Africa Development, a Bosch Rexroth Africa Group company, commented that the lubrication systems provide assistance in eliminating waste from overfilling and helps with fast effective lubricant replacement during planned maintenance. He points out that the reduction of empty containers is due to the centralised lubrication systems where lubricants can be stored in bulk containers and dispensed through hose reels directly into the units being serviced.

Walkden says that the dispensing units can assist with the depletion of contaminated oils and help the client improve housekeeping standards. The dispensing and refilling of seven 1 000 L Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC) will be done using seven pneumatically driven three-quarter inch double diaphragm pumps, each with its own changeover valves and in-line filter. This is achieved via seven, three- quarter inch Cobra NS600 spring retractable hose reels with 15-metre hoses fitted with three-quarter-inch high-volume non-drip oil dispensing nozzles, which is metered through resettable digital flow meters fitted for easy lubricant dispensing. Walkden points out that the airline is fitted with a drop-out particle filter and an airline filter/regulator/lubricator, which is piped up to the pneumatic pumps.

In addition to supplying and installing these systems, the scope of work included modifying the container by removing timber flooring and replacing it with a built-in drip tray covered by grating to form a work platform. It also included the supply and fitting of ventilation equipment and the fabrication of a hinged, lockable hose reel cabinet for easy access to hose reels and flow meters. Storage shelves were installed, and four IP67- rated 220V AC LED working lights were fitted inside the container. 50 mm-wide diamond-grade reflection tape for the full length of the container body was supplied, the container was sand-blasted and painted with a double-coat epoxy paint system. The final colour can be specified by the customer.

With its well established design and manufacturing capabilities in South Africa, Sandvik Rock Processing delivers customised and standard vibrating equipment solutions, including screens and feeders, to customers that enhance future flexibility.

Gideon de Villiers, Engineering Manager at Sandvik Rock Processing, says the company has built its success on decades of field experience – and the nurturing of its mechanical and metallurgical engineering skills base. Its 21,000 m 2 facilities, in Johannesburg South Africa, house modern workshop and testing facilities that are ISO 9001:2015 accredited and produce world class solutions for global markets.

“A key aspect of our design philosophy is to ensure that our customers can be more agile when their operational demands change,” says De Villiers. “This allows cost effective modifications to be made relatively quickly, without unduly disrupting production.”

In-house engineering

He emphasises that this is possible due to the depth of vibrating equipment related expertise that the company has developed, where in-house mechanical and metallurgical experts can come together to find screening and feeding solutions. It is also thanks to the far-sighted initial design of Sandvik Rock Processing’s screens, which carefully take into account the opportunities for future modification.

Polymer energy chain manufacturer, igus, has introduced a new lighter weight e-chain for cable management/protection applications with large unsupported lengths and high fill weights that was previously the domain of larger, more expensive energy chains.

The manufacturer’s “L” Lean variant has been specially designed for users for who its industry standard E4Q is too large. From the seventh robot axis in linear robot applications to machine tools, the igus E4Q-series energy chain has established itself in recent years in demanding applications with large unsupported lengths and high fill weights.

E4Q

The problem is that, in applications with medium loads (machine tools, woodworking, car washes etc.), the E4Q is oversized. One of the benefits is you have a larger inner fill area with the same outer specifications as the E4Q equivalent e-chain.

“To offer users the advantages of the E4Q in these applications as well and at a lower price, we developed the L version – the E4Q.64L,” says igus South Africa managing director, Ian Hewat. “Depending on the width, the low-cost version of the energy chain costs between 15% and 20% less than the E4Q.”

A change of fortunes for South Africa’s beleaguered textile sector depends on many factors – and leading operations and maintenance service provider to the steam and boiler sector, Associated Energy Services (AES), can make a material difference to its future success.

“AES has been active in the sector since the 1990s, and has first-hand experience of its implosion after trade liberalisation and an influx of cheap imports toppled less competitive local companies, leading to the loss of over 100 000 jobs. Now, we are well positioned to share our knowledge around energy optimisation, to make a real difference in the much-needed revitalisation of the textile sector,” says Managing Director, Chris Paterson.

Weaving a new textile tomorrow

According to Paterson, the company is already working with a large textile dyehouse in KwaZulu-Natal, looking at options for optimising its steam supply. “Most of the current hope and positivity within the textile sector hinges on key market changes. Overall, according to the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the textile industry accounts for 14% of manufacturing employment (60 000 to 80 000 jobs) and contributes around 8% to GDP (gross domestic product).

According to the Cape Clothing and Textile Cluster (CCTC), a not-for-profit initiative established by government and industry to boost competitiveness, the sector stabilised after 2014 by implementing best practices, lean manufacturing principles and a government-supported machinery modernisation programme,” Paterson points out.