
<p>GABORONE, May 16 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Botswana, Africa&#8217;s top diamond producer, sees a prolonged ban on Russian diamonds opening the way for synthetic gems to expand market share, the country&#8217;s minister told a mining conference on Monday.</p>



<p>The United States, the world largest market for natural diamonds, imposed sanctions on Russia&#8217;s state-controlled Alrosa&nbsp;ALRS.MM&nbsp;in April, aiming to cut off a source of revenue for Moscow after its February invasion of Ukraine.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2W61HG&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a></p>



<p>Alrosa, the world&#8217;s largest producer of rough diamonds, accounted for about 30% of global output in 2021.</p>



<p>Botswana&#8217;s Minister of Minerals and Energy Lefoko Moagi said the ban on Russia diamonds might push prices up to the benefit of rival producers but he also said the gap would be hard to fill.</p>



<p>&#8220;We see the 30% gap that will be left by the ban being plugged by something else that is not natural. And for us that will be a challenge,&#8221; he said.</p>



<p>Jacob Thamage, head of Botswana&#8217;s Diamond Hub, said uncertainty over the Ukraine conflict makes it difficult for Botswana and other natural diamond miners to fill the supply gap as ramping up operations requires significant investment.</p>



<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t want to invest a lot of money to up-scale and then the war ends the next day,&#8221; Thamage said. &#8220;We also see the higher prices pushing consumers to substitutes such as the synthetics and this can cause problems for us if we cede the market to unnatural stones.&#8221;</p>



<p>Sales at Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;unit De Beers and Botswana&#8217;s government, accounts for almost all of Botswana diamonds exports. These stood at $3.466 billion in 2021 compared with $2.120 billion in 2020.<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2UB4O2&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a></p>



<p>Thamage also fears that consumers might start to shun natural diamonds due to traceability issues.</p>



<p>&#8220;There is an increased fear that buyers of diamonds will begin to treat all natural diamonds as conflict diamonds and therefore shift to unnatural diamonds,&#8221; he said.</p>



<p>(Reporting by Brian Benza, Editing by Nelson Banya and Jane Merriman)</p>


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Botswana sees Russian diamond ban opening door to synthetic gems

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<p>Anglo American has beat expectations, reporting a 262 per cent year-on-year jump in underlying Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization.</p>


‘A milestone but not the best we can be’ – Anglo American CEO on record half-year earnings

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<p>We’ve all heard how the only way countries will accelerate growth is through private and public sector partnerships. Well Anglo American has launched something called an Impact Catalyst to better accelerate economic development. Khule Duma, Social Performance Specialist at Anglo American joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Anglo American launches Impact Catalyst to help accelerate economic development in Africa

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<p>Thungela Resources is the JSE&#8217;s first main board listing in 2021. Can we expect any more listings in the near future? CNBC Africa spoke to Valdene Reddy, Director of Capital Markets at the JSE. For more.</p>


JSE’s Reddy on Thungela listing

JSE’s Reddy on Thungela listing, outlook for the bourse

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<p>Its day 1 of trade on the JSE for Thungela resources &#8211; this after the completion of the demerger of Thungela from Anglo American. Thungela owns interests in, and produces thermal coal predominantly from, seven collieries located in Mpumalanga</p>


Thungela debuts on the JSE


<p>LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Diversified miner Anglo American said on Thursday first- half profits fell 39% as coronavirus-related lockdowns hit production and it said it was halving its interim dividend.</p>



<p>The London-listed miner posted underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $3.4 billion for the six months to June 30, beating a consensus of $3 billion from nine analysts compiled by Vuma.</p>



<p>Anglo declared an interim dividend of 28 cents per share, down 55% from a year earlier but in line with its 40% payout policy.</p>



<p>“The year has been like nothing I have ever seen in my 43 years in the industry,” CEO Mark Cutifani said on a call.</p>



<p>This month, Anglo stuck to most of the full-year production targets it set in the spring after lockdowns hit its output of diamonds, iron ore, coal, platinum and palladium.</p>



<p>Anglo also suffered operational incidents at its platinum unit in South Africa and in its Australian metallurgical coal mine which were partially offset by a good performances in Brazilian iron ore and its Chilean copper operations.</p>


Anglo American lowers dividend after 39% profit fall from lockdowns

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<p>Anglo American is offering a R7bn purchase for a UK potash miner and is in serious talks with Sirius Minerals. The multinational mining company is willing to make a 5.5 per share cash offer. Analyst at Mergence Corporate Solutions, Peter Major joins CNBC Africa to discuss if this is the right move.</p>


Sirius Minerals set for R7bn takeover by Anglo American: How profitable an investment will this be?

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<p>Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani, who has been inducted into the Joburg Indaba’s SA Mining Hall of Fame, in a frank discussion with CNBC Africa’s Karabo Letlhatlha discussed how South Africa can attract investment into its mining sector and plans for the mining giant to be here for 100 years.</p>


Anglo American CEO Cutifani’s lessons for SA govt


<p>LONDON (Reuters) &#8211; Anglo American’s diamond subsidiary De Beers is scaling back production after trade tensions between the United States and China contributed to a 27% first-half fall in diamond earnings, its CEO said.</p>



<p>De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver cited a range of factors in an interview, including trade tensions, the U.S. government shut-down that ended in January and Hong Kong anti-government protests, which he said had left the diamond market in a state “not dissimilar from 2014-15”.</p>



<p>The diamond market was weak in 2014-15 in the run-up to a deep commodity price fall linked to declining Chinese demand for raw materials.</p>



<p>“A nasty cocktail is affecting the mid-stream, with too much polished (diamonds), financial pressure from the banks and a slow down in demand for jewellery,” he said.</p>



<p>But demand was still expected to grow in the U.S. market, the world’s biggest, meaning stock levels should become more balanced in the second half of the year, Cleaver said.</p>



<p>De Beers is working with its customers and limiting supply, the company said. In the first half it reduced rough diamond production 11% year-on-year.</p>



<p>While the diamond division fell, Anglo American on Thursday reported a 19% increase in overall first-half underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), largely because of high iron ore prices.</p>



<p>The group cites future diamond demand as one of the principle risks it faces.</p>



<p>De Beers has been fighting competition from laboratory-grown diamonds by producing its own synthetic diamonds from its Element Six subsidiary at a lower cost than peers.</p>



<p>The impact had been to reduce overall wholesale prices for laboratory-grown diamonds by around 60%.</p>



<p>Cleaver said De Beers was still working to eliminate what he said was customer confusion concerning the difference between mined diamonds and those produced in laboratories.</p>



<p>De Beers is banking on a long-term future for natural diamonds and is investing $468 million in a new vessel to mine diamonds off the coast of Namibia.</p>



<p>Cleaver said the project was on track to add an estimated 500,000 carats per year from 2022.</p>



<p>Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle </p>



<p><br></p>


Why De Beers is scaling back on diamond production

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<p>JSE-listed mining companies clear the dust hanging over many African mine dumps .Lonmin, Glencore, Kumba, BHP Billiton, Anglo American Platinum and Anglo American have published details of their managed tailings storage facilities that is where they. This comes as ethical investors with $10.3 trillion in assets under management, sent a letter to 683 listed extractives companies in April. They requested disclosure on every individual tailing facility under these miners’ control, asking for the information to be made public within 45 days. Adam Matthews, Director of Ethics and Engagement at the Church of England Pensions Board joins CNBC Africa more.</p>


JSE-listed miners extract tailings information for ethical investors

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<p>The CEOs of South Africa&#8217;s biggest mining companies say they are willing to collaborate with government to restore the sectors shine. But they ask President Ramaphosa to also play ball in growing the mining industry to create jobs. CNBC Africa’s Fifi Peters caught up with some of them for more.</p>


Mr President, help us help you – Mining CEOs

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<p>Today we celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science. The day is set to encourage more women and girls into careers involving Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths .South Africa is in desperate need for qualified engineers but when looking at the statistics of engineers, most are male. However , companies like  Anglo American has had a lot of exciting scientific innovations that have positively impacted operations at one of the largest producers of iron ore globally , Kumba and the lady at the forefront of this is Sibongile Ntsoelengoe; Technology Manager at Kumba.</p>


Sibongile Ntsoelengoe on increasing women’s role in science

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<p>Five people have been arrested in connection with a petrol bomb attack on a bus that killed six workers on their way to the Modikwa platinum mine earlier this week.</p>


Anglo ramps up safety after Modikwa mine killings

<p>South African gold producers will likely reach a settlement within six weeks in a lawsuit over a fatal lung disease that companies have set aside 5 billion rand ($420 million) in provisions for, a lawyer and industry group said on Sunday.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-43173 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/miner_in_a_gallery_potosi__pixinn.net_.jpg" alt="Update: All 87 workers underground Lily Gold Mine rescued; 3 office workers missing" width="600" height="350" /></p>
<p class="">“I am confident we will finalize the settlement within six weeks,” Richard Spoor, the human rights lawyer who has spearheaded the class action suit over the disease silicosis, which gold miners contract while working underground, told Reuters.</p>
<p class="">A spokesman for the working group on Occupational Lung Disease (OLD), a group put together by the six companies involved, said it was is “hopeful” the settlement can be reached in that timeframe.</p>
<p class="">The settlement would still need to be approved by a High Court before it was implemented.</p>
<p class="">In February, Graham Briggs, the chair of the working group, said the settlement was seen within “months”. On top of the 5 billion rand that companies have made in provisions, there is 4 billion rand available from a compensation fund to which the industry has been contributing for years.</p>
<p class="">The suit was launched around six years ago on behalf of miners suffering from silicosis, contracted by inhaling silica dust in gold mines.</p>
<p class="">Almost all of the claimants are black miners from South Africa and neighboring countries such as Lesotho, whom critics say were not provided with adequate protection during and even after apartheid rule ended in 1994.</p>
<p class="">The six companies involved are Harmony Gold (<span id="”symbol_HARJ.J_0”"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=HARJ.J">HARJ.J</a></span>), Gold Fields (<span id="”symbol_GFIJ.J_1”"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GFIJ.J">GFIJ.J</a></span>), African Rainbow Minerals (<span id="”symbol_ARIJ.J_2”"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ARIJ.J">ARIJ.J</a></span>), Sibanye-Stillwater (<span id="”symbol_SGLJ.J_3”"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SGLJ.J">SGLJ.J</a></span>), AngloGold Ashanti (<span id="”symbol_ANGJ.J_4”"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ANGJ.J">ANGJ.J</a></span>) and Anglo American (<span id="”symbol_AAL.L_5”"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AAL.L">AAL.L</a></span>).</p>
<p class="">Anglo American no longer has gold assets but historically was a bullion producer.</p>
<p class="">($1 = 11.8078 rand)</p>
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South Africa gold miners’ silicosis lawsuit settlement expected within six weeks

<p>Anglo American on Monday announced the sale of the New Largo thermal coal project in South Africa for approximately $71 million to a new majority black-owned-and-managed company, marking its exit from South African domestic coal.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-126461 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Eskom.jpg" alt="" width="696" height="435" /></p>
<p>During the depths of the commodity crash in late 2015 and early 2016, Anglo American sought to sell a large part of its assets, saying it would focus on copper, diamonds and platinum.</p>
<p>As commodity markets recovered, however, the pressure to sell decreased and at least one coal sale fell through because shareholders could not agree to sell when the asset was making money.</p>
<p>Coal prices are again strong at close to $100 a tonne for Richards Bay coal. Many companies are shunning the fuel because of its carbon-intensity, but the mining industry says the developing world still needs it.</p>
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<p>Mining coal in South Africa is complicated by a dispute with the government and the industry over a new mining code and by turmoil at indebted power utility Eskom.</p>
<p>“The sale delivers on our long-standing strategy to exit our Eskom-tied coal assets,” Norman Mbazima, deputy chairman of Anglo American South Africa, said in a statement.</p>
<p>New Largo’s main asset is an 585 million tonne coal resource and related mining rights, which is positioned to supply Eskom’s new Kusile Power Station, the statement said.</p>
<p>New Largo Coal Proprietary Limited is owned by Seriti Resources Proprietary Limited and Coalzar Proprietary Limited, two companies majority owned and controlled by historically disadvantaged South Africans.</p>
<p>The deal is subject to regulatory approval and expected to close in the second half of 2018.</p>
<p>Anglo American’s share price rose around 1.5 pct by 0845 GMT, slightly above the broader market.</p>
<p>Paul Gait, analyst at Bernstein, said he liked the deal, carried out in a supportive coal price environment.</p>
<p>It was a “a tail asset that does not form part of the Anglo investment case for most shareholders,” he said.</p>
<p>Another South African player South32, the company spun out of BHP, has said it willl run its South Africa Energy Coal business as a standalone unit and is expected to either float it on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange or to sell it.</p>
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<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw">Reporting by Barbara Lewis; editing by Jason Neely and Louise Heavens</p>
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Anglo American sells Eskom-tied coal assets for $71 million

<p>Six gold mining firms, including Anglo American, have made a 5 billion rand ($361 million) provision to settle a class action law suit with thousands of miners who contracted fatal lung diseases while working in South African mines, an industry document said on Wednesday.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_282095" style="width: 1930px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-282095" class="wp-image-282095 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/law-and-justice-concept_public-domain-pictures1.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1440" /><p id="caption-attachment-282095" class="wp-caption-text">Image: Public Domain Pictures</p></div></p>
<p data-reactid="40">Earlier on Wednesday, lawyers acting for miners who contracted silicosis and TB said settlement talks with implicated gold companies for an out-of-court deal could be reached by December.</p>
<p data-reactid="41">($1 = 13.8422 rand)</p>
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<p class="Attribution_content_27_rw" data-reactid="43">Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Joe Brock</p>
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Gold mining firms set aside $360MN for S.Africa silicosis law suit

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<p>Anglo American has resumed paying a dividend after a two year hiatus following net debt reduction and stronger cash flow.</p>


Anglo American

Botswana sees Russian diamond ban opening door to synthetic gems

‘A milestone but not the best we can be’ – Anglo American CEO on record half-year earnings

Anglo American launches Impact Catalyst to help accelerate economic development in Africa

JSE’s Reddy on Thungela listing, outlook for the bourse

Thungela debuts on the JSE

Anglo American lowers dividend after 39% profit fall from lockdowns

Sirius Minerals set for R7bn takeover by Anglo American: How profitable an investment will this be?

Anglo American CEO Cutifani’s lessons for SA govt

Why De Beers is scaling back on diamond production

JSE-listed miners extract tailings information for ethical investors

Mr President, help us help you – Mining CEOs

Sibongile Ntsoelengoe on increasing women’s role in science

Anglo ramps up safety after Modikwa mine killings

South Africa gold miners’ silicosis lawsuit settlement expected within six weeks

Anglo American sells Eskom-tied coal assets for $71 million

Gold mining firms set aside $360MN for S.Africa silicosis law suit

Anglo American resumes dividend payment six months early

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Anglo American

Botswana sees Russian diamond ban opening door to synthetic gems

‘A milestone but not the best we can be’ – Anglo American CEO on record half-year earnings

Anglo American launches Impact Catalyst to help accelerate economic development in Africa

JSE’s Reddy on Thungela listing, outlook for the bourse

Thungela debuts on the JSE

Anglo American lowers dividend after 39% profit fall from lockdowns

Sirius Minerals set for R7bn takeover by Anglo American: How profitable an investment will this be?

Anglo American CEO Cutifani’s lessons for SA govt

Why De Beers is scaling back on diamond production

JSE-listed miners extract tailings information for ethical investors

Mr President, help us help you – Mining CEOs

Sibongile Ntsoelengoe on increasing women’s role in science

Anglo ramps up safety after Modikwa mine killings

South Africa gold miners’ silicosis lawsuit settlement expected within six weeks

Anglo American sells Eskom-tied coal assets for $71 million

Gold mining firms set aside $360MN for S.Africa silicosis law suit

Anglo American resumes dividend payment six months early

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