Manufacturing

ABB strengthens foothold in South African mining

africasc_admin — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:18:22 -0500

ABB strengthens foothold in South African mining

africasc_admin — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 23:18:22 -0500

Swedish Vattenfall in controversy over mine workers health in Namibia

africasc_admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 11:10:47 -0500

Swedish mainly state owned energy company Vattenfall's import of uranium from Namibia has shown the difficulty of being a nation of good-doers at all levels. The company is blamed for not worrying enough for Namibian mine workers health, but passes on some of the responsibility to the Swedish Governments recently implemented "partner cooperation" policy which recommends increased trade with Namibia.

In this case a report by a Namibian think tank, stating that Namibian workers are exposed to unacceptable levels of radiation which runs against a newly implemented Swedish partner co-operation policy pointing out Namibia as a favoured trading nation.

Swedish Vattenfall states in its defense of the company's purchase of uranium from Namibia that it fulfills all environmental, workplace and legal requirements after criticism in a report that Namibian mine workers are not adequately protected.

The company's head of environment, Agneta Rising, states that pictures broadcasted on a Swedish news channel, following a report on labour conditions at the Rössing mine, were "strong" but that Vattenfall stands by its decision to purchase from Namibia, which is one of four supplier of uranium to Vattenfall operated nuclear power plants. The other supplier countries are Canada, Australia and Russia.

Ms Rising states hat controls are very tight before any contras are entered into, including that the Vattenfall gets full insight into the suppliers operations.

"Radiation levels at the Rössing mine are on par with the natural background radiation levers. At these levers there is no correlation between radiation and health concerns", states Agneta Rising.

Vattenfall's view is contradicted by a report by the Labour Resource and Research Institute in Namibia which states that workers in the uranium mines run the risk of being exposed to radiation, but when they get sick they have great difficulty to prove that there is a correlation and therefore they don't get paid compensation.

The report, by the institutes head Hilma Shindondola-Mote, also states that workers are generally badly informed about the health risks they run.

As the nuclear power is on the rise, due to carbon emission related global warming the nuclear energy industry will find itself becoming ever more scrutinized not the least by think tanks and the media.

Vattenfall states it doesn't takes political decisions, but relies on the Swedish Foreign office for guidance. And the Swedish Governments officially adopted line is to encourage trade with the South West African desert nation through its freshly adopted policy of so called partnership cooperation - a policy that replaces development co-operation in countries that are too rich to benefit from financial assistance.

With some 20 percent of Vattenfall's uranium needs supplied by Namibia, uranium is the South West African desert Nations major export to Sweden by far.

Alfa Laval offers key to unlock Namibia's uranium mining

africasc_admin — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:54:48 -0500

Swedish industrial technology company Alfa Laval believes it has a clear cut case on how to contribute to lower emissions by helping Namibia to step up its uranium production for nuclear power use dramatically.

The Alfa Laval process would, states the company together with the Namibian company (project owner), will contribute in solving the problem with potable water in Namibia and generate necessary energy in the process.

The company could invest € 25-30 million in the uranium project in Namibia if the client’s own investment plans are cleared.

That way uranium mining in Namibia’s desert areas would become possible and profitable. In particular during times of high uranium prices.

It is more than just a nice idea. A potential client is carrying out a feasibility study on two mining sites in Namibia and a successful outcome would open up for financing.

Alfa Laval presented its case, a combined energy recovery and sea water desalination process, during a Swedish Trade Delegation visit to Namibia earlier this month.

The overall shortage of water is, together with energy, the main obstacle to overcome before Namibia’s uranium production can move up a gear.

Namibia's uranium potential, states an industry sources, could increase the country’s GDP by as much as 20-30 percent.

Namibia in 2007 produced close to 3000 tonnes of uranium, or around 8 percent of the world output. The country could up a gear or two if technology issues could be solved.

The export income would also make the countries own nuclear power ambitions a reality. Namibia presently imports most of its energy from South Africa’s largely coal based power plants.

The way the Alfa Laval desalination process works is that heat exchangers will transform steam from sea or brackish water into pure distilled water. While there are other competitive technologies, Alfa Laval’s titanium plate based technology has shown to be less costly when compared with RO technology in areas where waste heat is available, the company points out that operating and maintenance costs are lower and that it therefore is a cost-effective solution.

Another advantage states an Alfa Laval official, is that the technology is proven and works. The company has delivered desalinization plants to Brazil, Saudi-Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia.

A new African equity fund

africasc_admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:39:04 -0600

JOHANNESBURG. Despite global financial instabilities – Africa is still worth investing in, judging by the growing number of Swedish public-equity funds tracking companies in Africa. A fourth such fund is now being offered to investors by another Swedish bank.

Already on the market in Sweden are Africa funds managed by HQ, Simplicity and Swedbank Robur, which launched its fund a little more than a year ago.

Sweden makes point to meet Africa

africasc_admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:53:36 -0500

JOHANNESBURG. When the Swedish Embassy in Namibia closes on October 15, The Swedish Trade Council will move from its temporary quarters at the Embassy and into the House of Sweden in Namibia, in a nearby Windhoek location. While the Council won’t take over any consular duties when the Embassy closes down, its office will serve as the official Swedish presence in Namibia.

“We will keep the Swedish flag flying here,” Karin Sundby, Country Manager for The Swedish Trade Council in Namibia tells Africascan. “The Swedish presence will stay, but it will have a different focus.”

The new offices will be “a bit of a hub for Sweden,” explains Sundby. There will be offices for Swedish companies to rent, and space to host company functions and ‘Meeting Point’ events.

‘Meeting Point’ is the new buzz word for Swedish-Namibian trade relations.

The concept was born out of discussions between The Swedish Trade Council in Johannesburg, The Swedish Development Agency (Sida) and the Swedish Foreign Ministry (UD) to create a coordination mechanism – a virtual and physical Meeting Point – that can be used to stimulate ‘Actor Driven Cooperation’ between Namibia and Sweden.

(Actor Driven Cooperation being the other buzz word that fairly recently was introduced by the Swedish government in its re-branding of Swedish foreign development aid.)

The Namibia Meeting Point will partly be financed by the Swedish Trade Council and Sida, during 2008-2010, with Sida’s contribution to be phased out by 2010. “A precondition for long-term, sustainable partnerships is the gradual replacement of Swedish grant funding by other forms of financing, e. g. commercial investment and/or direct cost sharing,” says the Council’s development plan.

Under the Meeting Point concept, The Swedish Trade Council identifies potential sectors where Swedish and Namibian ‘actors’ could meet and work together, explains Country Manager Sundby. “This year, transport has been one of the focus areas,” she says.

Concentrating on the transport sector, the Council organized a trade summit in Johannesburg earlier this year, where Swedish companies importing wares to Namibia via South African ports could meet Namibian transport companies and officials from the Namibian port authority in Walvis Bay. The idea being to give Swedish companies the nudge, and the facts, to consider importing their goods directly through the Namibian port instead.

Although no specific contracts have come of this yet, the conference provided a forum for the players to meet. “We are creating a platform … We are pushing for meetings to take place,” she says. And since the meeting, some test imports to Walvis Bay have also taken place.

Other sectors the Swedish Trade Council has identified for potential cooperation are energy and mining. And next year, the Council plans to host several Meeting Point opportunities within the sectors, in both Namibia and Botswana. “Within the mining sector, there are big Swedish actors (companies) who are interested in both Botswana and Namibia,” she says.

Among other Namibian sectors drawing Swedish interests are heavy industry and tourism, especially outdoor activities such as game reserves and wildlife safaris.

In the energy sector, Sundby says she thinks there is a good chance that Swedish-Namibian relations will be kick-started this month already. On October 13-14, the International Council of Swedish Industry hosts a High Level Energy Conference in cooperation with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs – and representatives of 12 Sub Saharan African countries will attend.

The overall objective of the conference is to identify sustainable solutions to the energy situation in Southern and Eastern Africa, particularly regarding access to electricity, by utilizing the private sector’s possibilities to contribute.

Lundin Mining: Tenke Cap Costs Up

africasc_admin — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:33:07 -0500

Lundin Mining Corp. reports that Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Company has advised of further capital cost increases on the Tenke Project, which is under construction in the Democratic Republic of Congo. "We have just been advised of this overrun situation and an increase of this magnitude was not expected,” said Phil Wright, President and CEO of Lundin Mining.

"Fortunately the funding of the majority of this increase is covered by our overrun protection from Freeport and we do not expect this to have a material impact on our cash flow through to start-up,” Wright said.

"We are continuing to review the details, however, we remain extremely positive on the longer-term prospects of this Project," he added.

Lundin Mining holds an effective 24.75% equity interest in the Tenke Project. Freeport holds an effective 57.75% interest and is the project operator.

The initial Tenke project is based on mining and processing ore reserves about 100 million tons with ore grades of 2.3% copper and 0.3% cobalt. Annual production in the initial years of the project is expected to approximate 115,000 tons of copper and 8,000 tons of cobalt. Freeport expects the results of drilling activities will enable significant future expansion of the initial production.

About $475 million in project costs have been incurred to date. Construction activities are being advanced with in excess of 2,200 construction personnel onsite. Current activities are focused on concrete placement, steel tank erection, structural steel, and infrastructure development including shops, warehouses, and extensive social and regional infrastructure programs, Lundin Mining said in a press release issued on April 24, 2008.

All long lead time equipment has been ordered and Freeport advise that initial production is targeted during the second half of 2009.

Freeport is engaged in a review of the capital cost estimates for the project, which were estimated in October 2007 to be $900 million - $1 billion including advances to a third party for the refurbishment of provincial power facilities).

A recent capital cost review prepared in April 2008 indicates estimated capital costs of about $1.75 billion, (about $1.9 billion including loans to a third party for power development). These estimates include substantial amounts for infrastructure to support a larger scale operation than the initial phase of the project.

This includes the provision of expanded power generating capacity providing improved reliability for the region. This regional power infrastructure investment is now estimated to be in the range of $175 million, the majority of which is expected to be funded through a loan to the DRC state power authority.

The latest capital cost estimates include: provision for expanded housing and support facilities for the project work force; enhancements to national roads and bridges; extended social and training initiatives. The latest estimates also reflect substantial industry-wide escalation in construction costs and the incremental costs to develop the project in Central Africa, where infrastructure and logistics are challenging in developing a greenfield project.

Freeport is responsible for funding 70 percent of the project development cost and is also responsible for financing Lundin Mining's share of certain project overruns.

The Company has previously indicated that it expected its contribution to the Tenke Project to be in the range of $150 million - $180 million in 2008. This is now expected to be in the range of $180 million - $210 million.

Freeport is currently reviewing the latest cost estimate with its partners and will strive to enhance the economic returns of the project while progressing its plans for developing infrastructure in the area that will enable rapid expansion of this high potential resource.

Commenting on the increase Mr. Phil Wright, President and CEO of Lundin Mining, said: "We have just been advised of this overrun situation and an increase of this magnitude was not expected.

"Fortunately the funding of the majority of this increase is covered by our overrun protection from Freeport and we do not expect this to have a material impact on our cash flow through to start-up.

"We are continuing to review the details, however, we remain extremely positive on the longer-term prospects of this Project," Mr. Wright said.

Lundin Mining is a base metals mining company with operations in Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Ireland. The Company currently has six mines in operation producing copper, nickel, lead and zinc.

In addition, Lundin Mining holds a development project pipeline which includes the Tenke Fungurume copper/cobalt project in the DRC and the Ozernoe zinc project in Russia as well as major expansion programs at its Neves-Corvo and Zinkgruvan mines. The company also holds an exploration portfolio and interests in international mining and exploration ventures.

Headquartered in Canada, Lundin Mining is part of the Lundin Group of Companies, founded and run by the Swedish Lundin family.