Member Info for TheGreekLizard

When cyril ramaphosa became South Africa’s president in 2018, business leaders were ecstatic. Here was one of their own: a pragmatic tycoon to fix the incompetent kleptocracy of Jacob Zuma. Yet five years on, bosses of large businesses are exasperated. ceos from several different industries—such as Neal Froneman of Sibanye-Stillwater, a mining company; Daniel Mminele, the incoming chair of Nedbank; and Ralph Mupita, of mtn, a telecoms firm—have sounded the alarm. Could South Africa become a failed state?

https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/05/22/business-leaders-fear-that-south-africa-risks-becoming-a-failed-state

To complicate matters, the country’s once-reliable and cheap electricity has become the single biggest threat to the economy. Eskom, the state power utility, has struggled to keep the lights on for many months, as one plant breakdown after another have made the electrical grid woefully expensive and unstable.

Eskom authorities have turned to enacting forced blackouts to prevent total system collapse, hitting the economy as businesses and households alike have scrambled for more expensive back-up options like diesel generators – or risk staying in the dark. In December, Eskom was forced to shed so much power from the grid that even vital mining operations in the country were temporarily halted, impacting the country’s most critical sector.

This will force fund managers with investment-grade mandates to dump their South African assets and make others rethink their own positions in the country, worsening already high investment outflows from the country.

https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/south-africa-s-leaders-are-facing-impending-disaster-1.963586

After more than a year of enterprise-killing lockdowns, and a decade of declining economic growth, South Africa was gripped by violence and looting in July.

But as South Africans have learned, mere words from the government can only take one so far. Years of policies that discourage economic activity, business- and capital-formation, and job creation, have led the country into this present crisis.

With a 42 percent unemployment rate, and a 74.7 percent youth (15-24 year olds) unemployment rate, a sense of hopelessness and frustration permeates the country.

https://fee.org/articles/south-africa-descends-into-looting-and-violence-amid-economic-turmoil/

Polestar is aiming to make a vehicle without producing a single molecule of CO2. It’s a tough ride, but it is getting there

So what would the car look like, you know, in theory? “Well, it should have yellow seatbelts,” Pehrson says, this being the hallmark of Polestar cars. “But we will have to find out if we can have the colour pigments they need to get the yellow dye without causing emissions. We have to address this just as we have to address the mining of rare-earth minerals in Angola. Can we make the magnet in the motor? Can we have glass without producing emissions? I think it is too early to say what it will look like.”

The UK has a large part to play in this mission. In Coventry, Polestar has assembled a team of engineers whose sole focus is zero emissions, and the UK mining company Pensana is a key partner. Its chairman, Paul Atherley, admits: “In our industry . . . we consume huge amounts of energy. So we’re very fortunate that our rare-earth metal mines in Africa can be run on hydroelectric power. And in the UK we have two things going for us: chemical parks and bad weather.” The chemical parks can be directly connected to the world’s biggest wind farms (powered by the “bad weather”).

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/polestar-motoring-world-first-carbon-neutral-car-times-luxury-7nhtz9q8k?fbclid=IwAR143JitI28seRKke55fqweNe3RcPR7ylluY0lWPXZ0LbzTepgcYTOUBCdo

Theo - You are so full of it any chance you get to Downramp , really is quite lame the lengths you go to , were does the below says LCM makes magnets but purely magnet metals.

Now, Dumbo's latest Doubt raised ie "No Magnet Manufacturers in the UK", 1) Certainly is not based on FACT, for starters LCM have been making Magnet metals at their facility in Ellesmere for years therefore it is a down right Lie !

SA on its way to be a failed state.

Although Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has not confirmed that budget cuts are in the offing, the National Treasury has already told provincial government departments to start cutting costs to prevent a collapse in public finances.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the intensity of Eskom blackouts and perennial inefficiencies at Transnet's operations have undermined any efforts to grow the economy this year, which is also putting public finances under immense pressure.

The harm caused to the economy and public finances is so severe that Godongwana is expected to announce wide-scale cuts to the budgets of provinces for 2023 and 2024 when he presents the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on 25 October.

Since Godongwana presented the 2023/4 Budget in February, South Africa's economic fortunes have turned for the worse, with Eskom blackouts surpassing those of 2022, trains and ports operated by Transnet continuing to be unreliable and commodity prices tumbling. Because of these factors, the government is heading for a bigger-than-expected budget deficit this year, as its revenue from tax collections (especially from mining companies) is declining while state expenditure is rising.

https://allafrica.com/stories/202308290029.html#google_vignette

Looking very doubtful SA will the dealing with the US , Rainbow better star building close ties with the Chinese or Russia if they have any chance to succeed , but no proven technology , i guess just pipe dreams until the money runs out.

Start with South Africa, the summit’s host. Not only was the country excluded from the G7 summit earlier this year, but it has also faced criticism for its supposedly neutral stance on the Ukraine war, and the United States has accused it of providing weapons and ammunition to Russia. In a recent speech, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa noted that ‘some of our detractors prefer overt support for their political and ideological choices’ and vowed not to be ‘drawn into a contest between global powers’.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa has taken great pains to emphasise South Africa’s ties with China: the bilateral relationship, he recently noted, is ‘almost as old as our democracy’. But South Africa’s ‘largest trading partner’ isn’t China, as Ramaphosa claims, but the European Union, and South Africa trades more with the EU and the US than it does with the other BRICS members. For South Africa, BRICS is a convenient platform with which to boost its leadership in Africa and globally.

The Kremlin, for its part, sees BRICS as a crucial means of countering Russia’s international isolation. Russian President Vladimir Putin—who participated virtually, in order to avoid being arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant—used his time in the spotlight to attempt to rally support for his Ukraine war narrative. More broadly, Russia—like China—hopes that BRICS can build alternatives to Western-led initiatives and alliances.

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/for-whom-the-brics-toll/

We have secured the Class 2 AACE study for the redesign of the hydrometallurgical segment of the renowned Pensana Plc Longonjo Project in Angola.

We are honored that Pensana has placed its trust in us for the redesign and modularization of its Longonjo project. This partnership marks a significant milestone for us, and we look forward to delivering exceptional results together.

We are honored that Pensana has placed its trust in us for the redesign and modularization of its Longonjo project. This partnership marks a significant milestone for us, and we look forward to delivering exceptional results together.

The mine at which the project is based aims to achieve a production target of up to 38,000 tonnes annually for refined Mixed Rare Earth product, encompassing 14,000 tonnes of TREO and up to 4,400 tonnes of NdPr oxide. This quantity roughly constitutes 5% of the worldwide yearly output of NdPr oxides, destined for downstream processing. The important strategic minerals project is supported by the Government of Angola, Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA), Absa Group and others.

Https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/05/22/business-leaders-fear-that-south-africa-risks-becoming-a-failed-state

Https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-66609633

Looks like SA heading down the path with anti west sentiment, be interesting to see how plays out with Rainbow and the US , they might want to start talking to China , but saying that , no proven technology to talk to anyone yet.

Https://www.gknpm.com/en/solutions/permanent-magnets/

Now go away and play in your toxic waste dump over a rainbow , we’re no proven technology exists now or in the future to extract REEs , you all we be shafted of your money you pack of fools.

Https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev-RcvBCvxk

Theo - Fixated on the PRE BB again, what a lonely poor old existence you must at have , You hateful behaviour towards PA must be all time consuming. , might be time to step out and live life again , as your bankruptcy must be nearly discharged ,

Dumbo - Dredging a toxic waste dump is never going to work on the commercial scale for the extraction of REEs , Mosaic a 5 billion dollar MC company have tried and failed, they are just throwing a few dollars scraps RBW way to write off as a tax loss, your SA directors are just feeding off the hope that they can draw this out as long as possible, as they are now on plan B after first African disaster , with no C in sight , clearly running out of options fast .

Dumb punter - You have just showed everyone on this forum what a complete fool fool you are , really feel sorry for any past readers of this forum reading any of your posts, as you do know research and you quote some outdated irrelevant content, RBW have no technology to separate REEs now or in the future, only other to drain imbecilic fools like yourself out of your funds over the coming years.

Are you incapable of reading a company RNS or just making thing up to suite your own nonsense, would suggest you do some research before making an absolute fool of yourself.

https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02692868-6A1161352?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4

You would have absolutely no idea , LYC have over 10 years experience in the separation of REEs from there LAMP in Malaysia , soon to be a second LAMP in Kalgoorlie, with now the US DoD tipping in $220 Us to use their IP in Texas for HREEs , you are either clueless or off with the fairies, if you think the US will be interested in a toxic waste dump with no proven technology.

Https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02693752-6A1161780?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4

Https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02692868-6A1161352?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4

Https://www.cfr.org/blog/facing-reality-south-africa?amp