The next focusIR Investor Webinar takes places on 14th May with guest speakers from Blue Whale Growth Fund, Taseko Mines, Kavango Resources and CQS Natural Resources fund. Please register here.
https://amp.theguardian. com/technology/2019/sep/20/google-says-its-energy-deals-will-lead-to-2bn-wind-and-solar-investment
Care for some VRFBs with that, sir?
https://www.miningweekly.com/article/time-of-essence-for-finalisation-of-south-africas-gas-to-power-plan-2019-09-18/rep_id:3650
Altho this article is mostly about GTP plants, it dos contain this juicy little paragraph:
"Key changes were the inclusion, in the IRP, of battery energy storage as an additional flexibility option and a lowering of the assumed load factor for the GTP plants, from the baseload-type profile envisaged initially to a load factors of between 12% and 50%."
Sounds promising to me... ;-)
Hmmm, where have I heard that word before...
https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/politics/2019-09-15-political-week-ahead-cabinet-may-take-major-decision-on-eskom-and-airlines/
"The week could see the cabinet taking ground-breaking decisions on the consolidation of the three state-owned airlines — SAA, SA Express and Mango — as well as the restructuring of flailing electricity utility Eskom."
"This will be the last cabinet meeting in September — they are held every two weeks — and indications have been that these crucial matters would be before the cabinet this month. Also imminent is cabinet approval for the revised Integrated Resource Plan."
I seriously hope so but probs not, altho this could be a bit of schadenfreude after all his wrong-doing over the years ;-)
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-09-11-vbs-bank-liquidators-want-nkandla-homestead-if-zuma-fails-to-repay-loan/
"Former president Jacob Zuma is set to lose his Nkandla property, that is if looted VBS Bank and its liquidators have their way. VBS Mutual Bank liquidators have asked the Pietermaritzburg High Court to grant an order compelling the former president to pay what he owes or face losing his home. "
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/business/319715-south-africa-dodges-downgrade-despite-eskom-debt.html
"Financial markets have been pricing in a downgrade for months, and the two other major rating companies have had South Africa on junk for two years. Yet Moody’s said this week South Africa’s investment rating is probably safe for another 12 to 18 months and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government needs time to implement economic reforms, including fixing the loss-making power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.
“Moody’s continues to give the Ramaphosa government the benefit of the doubt,” said Jakob Christensen, a Copenhagen-based economist at Danske Bank A/S. “A critical part of the reform agenda is Eskom and here Moody’s will await the government plan for the company. If the plan is not forthcoming or is found insufficient, I think the rating agency will pull the trigger and downgrade South Africa to junk.”
We all know that Fortune has worked hard to get his workers and the unions onside and to keep them there, and we know he'll likely do the same at Vanchem once we own it, but this important new ruling means that unions can no longer call wildcat strikes or secondary strikes without holding a secret ballot. Having said that of course, secret ballots can still be open to abuse but at least it's a step in the right direction towards curbing the excessive power of the unions in SA.
"It is now a legal requirement for unions to conduct a secret ballot of members before embarking on strike action.
Controversial new rules have come into force making it illegal for unions to embark on strike action without first holding a secret ballot.
The deadline for unions to amend their constitutions to include such action has now come to an end."
http://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/360390/listen-numsa-slams-new-secret-ballot-strike-rules
Uksteveg - basically it's because the sp is being manipulated by both external and internal agencies. For example, the shorters we already know about but not limited just to them, and the MMs who are wilfully aiding and abetting them by employing many unfair (and potentially illegal) practices, and who for some reason appear to always want AIM share prices to fall.
Apart from that, everything's just fine, and all Bushy systems are firing on all cylinders.
https://fortune.com/2019/09/06/non-renewable-energy-new-generation-solar-wind/amp/
“Solar will be the biggest source for electricity on the planet from 2035,” he said, adding that his calculations show renewables accounting for 80% of electricity production by 2050.
https://ewn.co.za/2019/09/03/sa-economy-grew-by-3-1-in-q2-stats-sa
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4288735-vanadium-miners-news-month-august-2019?platform=hootsuite
Apologies if this has already been posted; Bushy get a mention...
qwerty, here's a comment this morning by Mastermines on niobium which at least partly answers your questions:
"China #Niobium imports in H1, 2019 up 86.9% to over 26000 tons. Brazils CBMM planning to increase output +50% to 150ktpa. Evraz sighting a 30% decrease in China imports seems at odds with what we're hearing that China producers wary of returning to Vanadium due to $ volatility"
Seriously good work Pdub, many thanks for producing the transcript in such a short space of time!
It's a great reference piece that I'll be keeping close to hand and likely consulting often as the plans unfold.