Rio Tinto has taken its borates business off the market after the sales process did not achieve values acceptable to the company in the prevailing economic conditions. The sales process is continuing for other businesses slated for divestment, including talc.
Rio Tinto believes the borates business is a good fit within its overall portfolio, based on [...]

“2009 changes in the China supply chain” was the theme of the SCLG workshop held recently in Houghton. The delegates wanted to learn more about buying from suppliers in China, and about handling competition from there, both at the strategic level, and also in practical operational terms (presented in case studies by speakers from Cadac [...]

Leading industry exhibition Petro.t.ex together with the Corrosion Institute of Southern Africa (CorrISA) and NACE International are offering a one day workshop on industry standards and test methods for selecting and qualifying metallic materials for the use in sour service specifically refineries and oilfields.
An update on the current international standard ISO15156/NACE MR0175 (Sulphide stress cracking [...]

The new IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook rankings have placed South Africa’s overall competitiveness from a ranking of 53 in 2008 to a marked rise in position to 48 in 2009.The global competitiveness survey
released by Productivity SA ranks 57 countries in various areas of competitiveness.
SA improved dramatically in business efficiency from 38 last year to 30  [...]

 Many of the biggest players in the South African industry remain dedicated to health and safety in the workplace, despite huge cutbacks as a result of the current global economic crisis and Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana’s reservations regarding the importance of employee safety to South African employers.
Occupational risk management specialist NOSA’s 39th annual NOSCARS Awards [...]

Afrox is consulting with several key players in the South African aluminium industry with a view to introducing an innovative new optimised oxyfuel melting process developed by its German parent company, The Linde Group, which delivers process improvements leading to significant cost savings.
Following its introduction in Europe in 2005, the new proprietary ‘low-temperature oxyfuel burner [...]

The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Limited (IDC) has received a EUR 60 million credit line from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to finance private sector small and medium sized enterprises. The funds will support viable projects undertaken by small and medium enterprises businesses in the industrial, resources and services sectors.
The agreement was signed [...]

The idea of moving into China has much appeal for South African firms. However getting your head around the market is tough and many local firms would do well to learn from some of the experiences from the team over at Cadac who have successfully implemented China into their supply chain.
Cadac, an iconic South African brand will be [...]

Despite tough economic conditions ArcelorMittal South Africa will embark on a share buy-back of around 10% of the issued share capital. 
The company recently reported a headline loss of R237 million for the first quarter of 2009, down from a R1.06 billion profit for the fourth quarter last year, as a result of a sharp decline in demand [...]