
<p></p>



<p>By Chris Bishop</p>



<p>In the lucrative business of catering the company was the golden goose in more ways than one. Gold fed and strengthened it for seven years – COVID-19 all but killed it over-night.</p>



<p>Clinton Verhoog, who trained as a chef in the hospitality industry, was bitten by the kitchen bug early on and in 2007 threw himself into building his own catering company &#8211; The Chairman’s Choice.</p>



<p>Down the years he made millions from serving top executives everything from breakfast to dinner at conferences around South Africa.</p>



<p>“The smaller jobs would cover your costs and a big corporate gala dinner, with 200 people, would be the cherry on top,” says Verhoog. He made money almost from the off partially thanks to setting up the company’s first coffee shop just over the road from the headquarters of Gold Fields, in Sandton near Johannesburg, &nbsp;one of the world’s largest gold miners. It gave Verhoog an idea that led to him winning a tender to run the company’s canteen and many events flowed from that.</p>



<p>“The gold price was going up and the company wasn’t afraid to spend,” recalls Verhoog.</p>



<p>“I was probably the only chef in the world who watched the gold price!””</p>



<p>Yet the gold price fell and also strikes took their toll on Gold Fields. By 2013, the contract with The Chairman’s Choice was over as the company cut back.</p>



<p>Business held up until the COVID-19 lockdown hit. Verhoog expected R1.2 million for March and April to make up for a slow start to the year. The 21-day lockdown of South Africa, at the end of the March, meant zero. All of his corporate customers cancelled.</p>



<p>Verhoog had to lay off two of his six staff and cut every cost he could find.</p>



<p>”There is no income at all. We were in a very difficult position before the lockdown. If we don’t get anything in the next two or three months we are done,” says Verhoog.</p>



<p>Tough times, maybe, but Verhoog is not sitting around downhearted.</p>



<p>“I am using the time now to really look at my business from a strategic point of view to see how I can improve it,” he says. As you read this most of the five million small businesses in South Africa will be doing the same- if they are lucky.</p>


SA chef takes his skills to social media as COVID-19 hurts business operations

How COVID-19 cooked the golden goose – The SA chef who went from golden days to zero.


<p></p>



<p>By Chris Bishop<br>
Most mines in South Africa – one of the world’s mining capitals – are either shut down or working at reduced output as COVID-19 takes its toll. All but those mines digging vital minerals – like coal for power generation – closed their shafts for fear the disease may spread in the often difficult hot and wet conditions deep underground.<br>
South African mines have proved resilient since George Harrison first uncovered gold in 1886 in open bush that is now the heart of Johannesburg. They hummed through two world wars and yet a war closer to home and a violent revolt in Johannesburg, the city that gold built, saw the mine shafts shut down.<br>
The current lockdown for 21 days will be the joint longest for nearly a century. The last time the mines shut down for three weeks was during the 1987 strike when 230,000 miners downed tools between August 10 and 31. One of the architects of the 1987 strike – seen as a kick against apartheid – was a young lawyer by the name of Cyril Ramaphosa. He led the fledging National Union of Mineworkers, which he founded in 1982, after being seconded to the mining industry by the African National Congress. The shutdown saw deaths and hundreds of thousands of dismissals. <br>
More peaceful was the more recent shut down in January 2008 when Eskom simply ran out of electricity.   The gold and platinum mines closed for at least five days; Eskom declared force majeure and production resumed – under 10 to 20% power reductions &#8211; early in February.<br>
Surprisingly the mining industry survived both world wars. As thousands of black and white South Africans marched off to battle fields across the continent and in Europe the miners went underground to help finance the allied war effort. Britain struck a deal for cut price gold from the Witwatersrand to fund the First World War and was miffed, to say the least, when South Africa demanded full price again after the armistice in 1918.<br>
This signalled hard times for South African mines.When many white the soldiers returned to South Africa, many complained they were being replaced by cheaper black miners as the mines cut cost. It led to the violent  1922 Rand Revolt  when all the Witwatersrand gold mines closed for 10 weeks. <br>
The strike started on 10 January 1922, halting all gold mining activities, from Springs in the east of Johannesburg to Randfontein in the west. More than 220,000 mine workers downed tools shutting 40 gold mines. <br>
Planes dropped bombs from the blue, artillery shelled suburban houses, riflemen fought street battles, snipers fired from bedroom windows and tanks rumbled through the suburbs. The fighting around the mines saw 200 people killed and more than a 1000 injured.<br>
In Brixton – a working class suburb near the centre of Johannesburg – more than 1500 strikers besieged 183 police; warplanes swooped to drop food for the police and returned to drop bombs on the strikers. The attackers fired back shooting one of the aircrew through the heart. The strike was called off on March 17 and the mines went back to work.<br>
A war closer to home caused the longest closure of the mines. When the South African War broke  out on October 11 1899. Many mines were not put on care and maintenance and were allowed to flood. It was only after Johannesburg was captured by the British on 1 June 1900 – nearly nine months later &#8211; that a few mines began production again. The gold mines in what is now Mpumalanga – Pilgrim’s Rest and Barberton-, which was the other major gold mining area after the Witwatersrand, were also closed during the war. </p>


This is how war and revolt have done worse to the mines than COVID-19.

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<p>Thousands of delegates in Cape Town with the great and the good – the world’s biggest mining event, Mining Indaba 2020. CNBC Africa brings you all the highlights, issues and who boxed their way to glory in the investment battlefield ring&#8230;.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: Highlights Special of Africa’s Mining Indaba

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On the side-lines of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop sat down with John Volanthen, Cave and Rescuer and Marco Pagnini, Operational Risk Director DuPont Sustainable Solutions to discuss mine safety and whether the mining industry is investing enough in looking after its workers.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: Is the mining industry investing enough to protect its workers?

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CNBC Africa&#8217;s Chris Bishop spoke to David Urqhurt, the Bishop of Birmingham from the Church of England about ethical investing in mining at the just ended Mining Indaba in Cape Town.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: Church of England’s David Urqhurt on ethical investing in mining

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<p>A platform created for junior miners to compete for investor funding in the ‘Investment Battlefield’. This year an actual boxing ring in the main exhibition area of the event served as the stage for the contenders&#8230;.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: The 2020 Mining Indaba Investment Battlefield

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The runner-up for last year&#8217;s Investment Battlefield, Walter Shamu, Chief Operating Officer of Orion Minerals says the format of the Investment Battlefield made his pitch even more exciting. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Chris Bishop caught up with him at the Mining Indaba to get more insight on the funds raised since last year.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: Orion’s Walter Shamu on role of the Investment Battlefield in empowering junior miners

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CNBC Africa&#8217;s Chris Bishop spoke with Minister of Trade and Industry for Canada, Mary Ng on how Canada plans to deepen trade ties with South Africa and the rest of the continent.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: Canadian Minister Ng on deepening trade ties with Africa

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As the Mining Indaba entered its third day in Cape Town people are taking stock of how much it has changed over the last quarter of a century and in particular during the last turbulent decade of uncertainty. The organisers of the Mining Indaba claim numbers are up this year, CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop spoke to one of the delegates Michael Ryan.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: FTI Consulting MD Michael Ryan reflects on 25 years of the Mining Indaba

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<p>In this #MiningIndaba2020 special CNBC Africa looks at the greening of South Africa’s mining industry: the costs and implications with Kevin Fell, Co-Founder and CEO of Clean Earth Technologies and Alan McKenzie, General Manager: Technology, Mintek&#8230;.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: The greening of SA’s mining industry

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African Mining Indaba 2020 released its top 10 trends reports and CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop spoke to mining expert, Andrew Swart outline how he sees the trends.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: These top ten trends will shape the mining sector in 2020

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At the ongoing African Mining Indaba, CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop caught up with Emma Wade-Smith, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa at the UK Department for International Trade and they discussed the importance of Africa’s mining industry to the United Kingdom.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: Wade-Smith discusses the value of UK-Africa trade relationship in mining sector

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The Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) plans to add significant value to the country’s Bauxite resources. GIADEC CEO, Michael Ernest Ansah says besides bauxite work is in place to revamp the Valco Aluminum Smelter in Ghana. Ansah discussed the opportunities in Ghana’s mining economy with CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop on the side-lines of the Africa Mining Indaba.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: GIADEC CEO Michael Ansah on opportunities

#MiningIndaba2020: GIADEC CEO Michael Ansah on opportunities, projects in Ghana’s mining industry


<p>By Chris Bishop</p>



<p>Gold was a topic that glistered throughout the Mining Indaba in Cape Town this week. Its price continues to climb &#8211; more than 12% in the last year alone – and the interest in digging more of it up in Africa is growing.</p>



<p>There are around 190,000 tonnes of gold in the world and
demand for it is outstripping supply. A report from the World Gold Council circulated,
at the Mining Indaba, said annual supply of gold was 3400 tonnes while demand
was at 4500 tonnes. The demand is being driven by central banks who are buying
a pile of the yellow metal every year. In 2018, central banks bought 656 tonnes
– the biggest amount since major economies came off the gold standard – and
last year another 650 tonnes. The buoyant demand is being put down to economic
jitters around the world and the eroding of trust in the dollar.&nbsp; </p>



<p>“The gap between demand and supply is being filled by
recycled jewellery but there are not enough new gold mines being built,” says
John Reade, the head of research for the World Gold Council.</p>



<p>[<strong>WATCH</strong>] <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/02/05/miningindaba2020-has-gold-production-peaked/">#MiningIndaba2020:
Has gold production peaked?</a></p>



<p>Reade, who worked in South African mines for Gencor,
believes now mines will come on stream, but slowly, with hopes of a 30%
increase by 2029. He said growth in gold mines was unlikely to be seen in South
Africa where environmental and regulatory concerns were dampening new
investment.</p>



<p>In South Africa, also, the deep narrow shafts of the gold
mines, some going down as far as four kilometres, were making the seams
expensive and hazardous to mine by many of the 93,150 people who work in the
operations. The Minerals Council of South Africa also warned at the Mining
Indaba of the bitter and costly harvest of power cuts in the country. In 2019,
according to the latest MCSA report, gold production fell by 13.5 %, to 101.3
tonnes, largely due to power cuts of up to 3000MW at a time.&nbsp; </p>



<p>No matter, say the West Africans who appear poised to profit
from growing gold demand. West Africa has a competitive advantage over the more
established gold fields in the south. Its deposits are shallow, easy to get to
and largely under exploited. It is a sign of the times that the winner of the
investment battlefield contest – where people put their mining projects before
a panel of experts – was a 2.2 million oz open cast gold project in Cote D’Ivoire
that hopes to be 3 million oz before the end of the year.</p>



<p>Both Ghana and Nigeria are working on their mining codes to
ease the cost of doing business to encourage more capital.</p>



<p>Nigeria, in particular, has high hopes, even though its
mining is in its infancy and the whole economy struggles from a lack of
electricity. <br>
“We are sorting out this power problem and we hope to one day export more gold
than oil from Nigeria,” says the minister of mines and steel development
Olamilekan Adegbite.</p>



<p>The minister needs a golden touch combined with steel
resolve to see it through.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>[WATCH]</strong> <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/videos/2020/02/05/miningindaba2020-nigerias-gold-exportation-has-potential-to-surpass-oil-and-gas-minister-olamilekan-adegbite/">#MiningIndaba2020: “Nigeria’s gold exportation has potential to surpass oil and gas” – Minister Olamilekan Adegbite</a></p>


#MiningIndaba2020: How Nigeria wants to become the gold coast as well as the oil capital

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On the final of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, CNBC Africa’s Chris Bishop spoke to Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe about the key takeaways from the gathering and the need for greater cooperation among African countries.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: Mantashe on self-generation

#MiningIndaba2020: Mantashe on self-generation, Mining Charter deadline & greater cooperation among African countries

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<p>In this CNBC Africa special Fifi Peters speaks to the Head of Natural Resources at Absa Corporate and Investment Banking, Shirley Webber in an exclusive one-on-one interview on Absa’s outlook on the current mining status in Africa&#8230;.</p>


#MiningIndaba2020: Shirley Webber on Absa’s mining outlook for Africa

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The World Gold Council came out with a report last week on supply and demand for gold, the man behind the report, John Reade, chief market strategist of the council talks about how the gap between supply and demand for the precious metal is still far apart.</p>


Mining

How COVID-19 cooked the golden goose – The SA chef who went from golden days to zero.

This is how war and revolt have done worse to the mines than COVID-19.

#MiningIndaba2020: Highlights Special of Africa’s Mining Indaba

#MiningIndaba2020: Is the mining industry investing enough to protect its workers?

#MiningIndaba2020: Church of England’s David Urqhurt on ethical investing in mining

#MiningIndaba2020: The 2020 Mining Indaba Investment Battlefield

#MiningIndaba2020: Orion’s Walter Shamu on role of the Investment Battlefield in empowering junior miners

#MiningIndaba2020: Canadian Minister Ng on deepening trade ties with Africa

#MiningIndaba2020: FTI Consulting MD Michael Ryan reflects on 25 years of the Mining Indaba

#MiningIndaba2020: The greening of SA’s mining industry

#MiningIndaba2020: These top ten trends will shape the mining sector in 2020

#MiningIndaba2020: Wade-Smith discusses the value of UK-Africa trade relationship in mining sector

#MiningIndaba2020: GIADEC CEO Michael Ansah on opportunities, projects in Ghana’s mining industry

#MiningIndaba2020: How Nigeria wants to become the gold coast as well as the oil capital

#MiningIndaba2020: Mantashe on self-generation, Mining Charter deadline & greater cooperation among African countries

#MiningIndaba2020: Shirley Webber on Absa’s mining outlook for Africa

#MiningIndaba2020: Has gold production peaked?

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Advertise With Us

Mining

How COVID-19 cooked the golden goose – The SA chef who went from golden days to zero.

This is how war and revolt have done worse to the mines than COVID-19.

#MiningIndaba2020: Highlights Special of Africa’s Mining Indaba

#MiningIndaba2020: Is the mining industry investing enough to protect its workers?

#MiningIndaba2020: Church of England’s David Urqhurt on ethical investing in mining

#MiningIndaba2020: The 2020 Mining Indaba Investment Battlefield

#MiningIndaba2020: Orion’s Walter Shamu on role of the Investment Battlefield in empowering junior miners

#MiningIndaba2020: Canadian Minister Ng on deepening trade ties with Africa

#MiningIndaba2020: FTI Consulting MD Michael Ryan reflects on 25 years of the Mining Indaba

#MiningIndaba2020: The greening of SA’s mining industry

#MiningIndaba2020: These top ten trends will shape the mining sector in 2020

#MiningIndaba2020: Wade-Smith discusses the value of UK-Africa trade relationship in mining sector

#MiningIndaba2020: GIADEC CEO Michael Ansah on opportunities, projects in Ghana’s mining industry

#MiningIndaba2020: How Nigeria wants to become the gold coast as well as the oil capital

#MiningIndaba2020: Mantashe on self-generation, Mining Charter deadline & greater cooperation among African countries

#MiningIndaba2020: Shirley Webber on Absa’s mining outlook for Africa

#MiningIndaba2020: Has gold production peaked?

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