Hadeda News - 14 October 2022

TheAzinam/EcoAtlantic oil rig — which left the North Sea on 12 August — has arrived on South African shores to begin its exploratory drilling in Block 2B off the West Coast.

Drilling atAzinam’s proposed offshore exploration well (the Gazania-1) will be conducted in relatively shallow depths of 50m to 200m.

Aveteran small-scale fisher from Port Nolloth, Walter Steenkamp, said he and his fellow fishers are against the exploration.

“We believe that this will cause huge damage in the ocean. We know there is no solution for the damage that will be done when they conduct the seismic survey The exploration will cause marine destruction and we don’t understand why our government is still continuing with the oil and gas explorations on our ocean,” said Steenkamp.

He said residents of Hondeklipbaai and other areas don’t know about the planned exploration as they were never consulted.

“We say no to oil and gas exploration because it is dangerous for our fish and water, and it contributes to global warming.

“We believe that our government should do more to educate the affected communities about all the impacts of offshore oil and gas exploration and they definitely need to consult the people before they make decisions that could negatively affect them, but instead it feels like all our government is doing is stripping our land of its minerals and leaving us with nothing but hunger,” said Steenkamp.

Another resident,Andy Pienaar, said there had been no meaningful consultations with communities about the planned exploration. “We do not want a situation where the developer and the department come to us

to feed us with information in the same way the apartheid education system did — just enough to say they did inform us,” said Pienaar

“Only half the impact of the drilling and further seismic testing has been communicated to us and we demand the full assessment.This activity, together with other planned projects like coffer dams, underwater mining and the expansion of the nuclear industry, spells the end of our relationship with the ocean.

“It is an understatement that we believe that drilling will not only threaten a great deal of the sea life in the area but also that it will contribute to the extinction thereof.Ago-ahead for the drilling in Block 2B will set a precedent for other similar projects in the area in which there is now a high level of interest,” said Pienaar

He said they were concerned by the utterances of the minister, who, he said, wants them to betray their birthright for a project that largely won’t benefit them.

The Green Connection’s strategic lead, Liziwe McDaid, said an oil spill contingency plan (OSCP) in respect of the proposed exploratory drilling was a central mitigation measure proposed in the final environmental impact report.

“The report also acknowledges that the greatest potential risk associated with oil and gas exploration are oil spills and well blowouts — which would have a devastating impact on the oceans and coasts and would directly affect the welfare and livelihoods of coastal communities and small-scale fishers. “However, it should be noted that this OSCPwas not subject to public participation during the environmental impact assessment process, and we understand, only submitted to the relevant authorities recently,”

said McDaid.

The Green Connection’s Neville van Rooy said the question of whether to exploit our oceans and natural environment for fossil fuel profits, while simultaneously ignoring the many livelihoods that depend on it as well as ignoring the climate crisis, had become a contentious issue.

“In a country that is struggling to cope with rising unemployment, and which is bearing the brunt of climate change, SouthAfrica should make a more concerted effort to move toward the just transition,” he said.

The Green Connection said it had tried unsuccessfully for months to obtain the oil spill contingency plan for the drilling operation off Hondeklipbaai fromAzinam consultants and lawyers.The ecojustice organisation eventually approached the PetroleumAgency SA, which provided the plan on Tuesday

EcoAtlantic said it acquired Azinam SouthAfrica early in 2022 and with that acquisition came a 50% working interest in Block 2B, which is located in the Orange Basin and covers 3,062 sq km off the West Coast. EcoAtlantic told Our Burning Planet: “Public participation processes were undertaken in accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental ManagementAct and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources DevelopmentAct.

“In the first half of 2022, as part of its environmental and social

governance strategy, the company undertook additional public information-sharing sessions by meeting with regional community members, organisations and area representatives to discuss the exploration activities undertaken to date, including the upcoming plans for exploration drilling.”

EcoAtlantic said regional leaders, fishing community associations and cooperatives, local businesses and the general public were all notified about the meetings, which were well attended.

“NGO organisations were also invited to discussions.The company has strived and successfully communicated information on the projects and maintained transparency directly with the community stakeholders.

“The company and community stakeholders had an excellent opportunity through multiple meetings and an area workshop on the objectives of the drilling programme, including the environmental controls in place and the oil spill contingency plan. The company brought in independent environmental specialists to discuss the fishing impacts, timing, migration depth and regional fishing operations.

“Asuccessful outcome at the Gazania-1 well will give South Africa access to its own hydrocarbon resources to decide how it can support the country with the next phase of its energy transition,” said EcoAtlantic. DM/OBP

Image: Unsplash / Ian Schneider | Rawpixel

Is

BIG companies should not apologise for their existence. They should get better at marketing the good they do for society, saidAnn Bernstein, executive director at the Centre for Development and Enterprise.

Bernstein and Songezo Zibi, director of the Rivonia Circle, were two panelists at the second day of the 2022 Joburg Indaba conference during a discussion on politics and policy in South Africa and the mining industry.

The CDE is an independent policy analysis and advocacy organisation that frequently hosts webinars on trade and the economy The Rivonia Circle was recently launched as a think tank that liaises with government, business and civil society to find political and economic solutions for South Africa.

Bernstein said SouthAfrica will not see reform unless it puts the private sector at the heart of its growth plans. “The nongovernment sector – in particular the private sector – is the only sector that can get things done in SouthAfrica.”

She said SouthAfrica should

have a realistic conversation about SouthAfrica being a developmental state and government’s ability to drive growth and reform. “It’s a false assumption. We have a state that can’t ensure safety, give quality education or create an environment for employment.”

Big business should stand up and talk about the remarkable things they do – running profitable, legally compliant companies that pay taxes and pensions and create careers.

“You saved us last year with your tax.You are important,” she said in reference to the handsome tax contribution mining companies have made to the fiscus over the past two years.

Zibi, a former Business Day editor, and the former flak catcher for mining group Xstrata said it’s no longer the case of “the business of business is business”.

“I want to appeal to you to reimagine your political participation in the country You need to co-determine the political direction. Only then you’ll see the right statutes and legislation. Because Parliament doesn’t the capability to put that in place.”

Zibi also said it won’t benefit mining companies to try and forge new relationships with communities in which they operate. “The politicians are inciting those very communities (to turn) against you.You need to find out who the ‘new elite’is you need to talk to. Who is your new ‘ANC in exile’you need to get consensus?”

According to Zibi, the taxes and royalties that mining companies pay should be put aside for the work that is needed in certain provinces and communities. “Use the proceeds (from mining companies) for specific communities. Otherwise it gets

wasted on overheads.”

Both Bernstein and Zibi lamented Mines and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe’s absence at the Indaba. Mantashe was in CapeTown where he attended the OilAfrica Week conference. He was supposed to deliver the keynote address virtually, but cancelled at short notice.

“Whatever we had of the consensus reached between 1986 and 1994, it collapsed. It’s all the more evident by the fact that the minister didn’t even turn up today,” Zibi said. - Miningmx

ANC Headquarters, Johannesburg

TRANSNETCEO Portia Derby made it clear at Joburg Indaba onThursday thatTransnet’s strategic priority is going to be to allocate any new capacity on its iron ore, coal and manganese channels to emerging black miners to address the lingering historical imbalances in the economy

While this is a noble goal, it strikes an unfortunate note when SouthAfrica is begging for bigticket infrastructure projects. Transnet itself does not have sufficient capital to continue funding its own maintenance and expansion.

The reality is that funders in general are wary of the risks that emerging miners present. Transnet is not a low-margin cash business like Shoprite Checkers. Big customers, with

deep pockets and long-term contracts, are vital to support a vast logistical business with huge fixed costs – and better able to withstand the financial shocks of an unreliable service. In PwC’s latest Mine 2022 report, it estimated the decline in Transnet’s coal deliveries in the past year had cost the economy $4.5 billion.

Derby said thatTransnet’s development model “is not about pricing. We are pushing hard for inclusion. It is time we included black miners and farmers and manufacturers in our system. It will get ugly for a while but at the end of the day there is growth in the economy if black people become real participants, especially in mining.”

At this point, Derby said, 94% of Transnet’s rail capacity for the

mining industry went to large miners and only 6% to junior miners. In iron ore, there was a waiting list of 14 junior miners, butTransnet’s ability to expand capacity on the iron ore line to Saldanha was limited by the conditions of the port’s air emissions licence. If this could be addressed, another 6Mt could be added to the current 60Mt capacity. Currently only 12% of manganese rail capacity was allocated to emerging miners, andTransnet intended to double theirallocation to 4Mt from 2Mt at present.

On the coal line,Transnet could add another 14Mt of capacity by bringing back to service the locomotives that have been sitting idle while they wait for parts.About 455 of the locomotives are Chinese-made, butTransnet now has a draft agreement with the manufacturers which should improve maintenance and repair over the next 12-18 months, Derby said.

Transnet’s plans for a new manganese terminal at Coegaharbour, for which a Request for Proposals has been issued, envisages a funding consortium, and Derby sees this as a potential model for other expansions.

“We don’t want to create another Richards Bay CoalTerminal

(note: RBCTis the privately funded and owned coal export terminal near Durban) which is difficult to get into,” she said.

“We want to get everyone mining in a particular commodity and put them into a joint structure to help us fund the infrastructure. We have started talking to banks, because if you have the allocation, banks should fund you. We are looking for innovative structures to ensure these don’t become exclusive clubs.”

Derby saidTransnet’s demand from customers this year represented 224Mt, but it would be able to carry only 180Mt. For the last couple of yearsTransnet had not generated enough profit to expand capacity, she said. There was a lot of demand from emerging black miners, but “noone wants prices to increase,” she admitted.

The situation may get even worse in the short term as the United NationalTransport Union has declared a strike atTransnet over wages, and it may be joined on Monday by the SouthAfrican Transport andAllied Workers Union. Derby said at this point the situation was uncertain. “One union has declared a strike and not met all the requirements and we are negotiating picketing rules with another union.”Miningmx

Portia Derby, CEO, Transnet

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braai nog 'n bietjie. Meng stadig die beesaftreksel, tamatiepuree, heuning, wyn en tamaties in en strooi die meel oor terwyl jy aanhou roer. Voeg die lourierblare by en bring tot kookpunt. Nadat die vleis 'n uur en 'n half gekook het, meng die inhoud van die pan met die vleis en plaas die “chick peas” en buttenut boop die vleis. Sout die potjie liggies en kook vir nog ongeveer 30 minute. Roer liggies en bedien.

Bron: Facebook /

Watertand Resepte

Foto: dailymaverick.co.za

When Art Meets Mining

“Whether they are active or long dormant, mines speak of a combination of sacrifice and gain.”These are the opening lines of the virtual expo For What It’s Worth, by SouthAfrican photographer Dillon Marsh.

Throughout his personal site/gallery, Marsh explores what he calls “the tenuous relationship” between humans and the natural environment.

One way in which he presents such interaction is by pointing his lens toward some of South Africa’s most famous mines, whether that glory is the product of hosting a world-class deposit or whether some dramatic events have taken place there.

The artist also introduces computer-generated imagery into some of his photos to reveal underlying features or dynamics that, in his view, can’t be illustrated with photography alone.

“The CGI objects represent scale models of the materials removed from the ground. By doing so, the intention is to create a kind of visualisation of the merits and shortfalls of this industry that has shaped the history and economy of the country so radically,” Marsh writes.

When it comes to diamonds, the photographer explains that following a fortuitous find in the Northern Cape province in 1867, the news of diamond-bearing pipes in the area quickly spread out, eventually creating the backbone for towns like Kimberley

For him, the immense scale of the open-pit mines and the relatively low yield associated with diamond mining make for a dramatic visual comparison.

Moving onto gold, Marsh used CGI to represent the total amount extracted from each of

the seven gold fields in the Witwatersrand Basin, an area that hosts the world’s largest gold deposit.

For the platinum group metals, the photographer decided to capture the Marikana platinum mine area, now owned by Sibanye-Stillwater but which rose to the spotlight in 2012 when it was in the hands of its previous owner Lonmin.The reasons for

its sudden fame were, however, rather negative, as the mine site saw police opening fire on a group of striking mineworkers, killing 34 people and injuring 78 others.

“Against this backdrop, I’ve placed the total national output of all six of the platinum group metals since mining operations began in 1924,” Marsh points out. - Mining.com

The Koffiefontein mine in South Africa, which has produced 7.6 million carats of diamonds. (Image by Dillon Marsh).

Kimberley mine. (Image by Dillon Marsh).

Marikana mine site. (Image by Dillon Marsh).

Koffiefontein Mine. (Image by Dillon Marsh).

Central Rand Gold Field. (Image by Dillon Marsh).

Die pad na publikasie

Wenke van Welbekende Gepubliseerde Skrywer - Annerle Barnard

Ek skryf jeugfiksie, want ek is mal daaroor. Dit beteken egter nié dat dit maklik is om ‘n boek vir tieners te skryf nie. Die jeug verloor vinnig belangstelling en die jeugfiksieskrywers kompeteer met elektronika, maats en sport.

5) Die begin van jou manuskrip

Selfs as laerskoolkind het ek in die biblioteek boeke oopgemaak om die eerste sin en eerste paragraaf te lees.As dit my nie geïnteresseer het nie, het ek die boek nié uitgeneem nie.

replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing.”

Neil Gaiman, die beroemde skrywer (veral bekend vir sy jeugfiksie), sê die volgende: “As a writer, you’re always going to be rejected, and that’s basically healthy.”

7) Herskryf: die pad na publikasie.

Wil jy jou manuskrip deur ‘n tradisionele uitgewer laat publiseer, maar weet nie hoe gemaak nie? Jy het dalk al probeer, maar was nie suksesvol nie? Hier is ‘n paar wenke wat jou moontlik op die pad na publikasie mag help:

5 Dinge wat voornemende skrywers moet weet

Wenke: redigeer jou skryfwerk

1) Slypskool

Voordat ek met my eerste jeugroman begin het, het ek ‘n slypskool/skryfkursus bygewoon. Dit was van onskatbare waarde. Ek het onder andere geleer wat wys vs. vertel beteken. Dit klink dalk onbenullig (of maklik), maar dis noodsaaklik (en minder maklik as wat ‘n mens dink). Plus, dis vir alle genres van kardinale belang, ook wanneer ‘n mens boeke vir tieners skryf. Die pad na publikasie is aansienlik makliker wanneer jy weet wat jy reg en verkeerd doen.

2) Manuskripontwikkelaar

Nadat my eerste jeugroman deur

‘n uitgewer afgekeur is, het ek iemand betaal om vir my ‘n leesverslag te gee. Dit is beslis die moeite werd om ‘n goeie manuskripontwikkelaar te betaal om vir jou terugvoer te gee. Vir seker ook wanneer jy jeugfiksie skryf.

3) Die uitgewer se vereistes betreffende manuskripvoorleggings

Gaan kyk op die betrokke uitgewer se webblad na hulle vereistes betreffende lettertipe, formaat en dies meer. Vir NBUitgewers se vereistes rakende manuskripvoorleggings, gaan kyk na die volgende blad.

4)Temas en idees

Skryf oor dit wat vir jóú belangrik is en dit wat jou na aan die hart lê. Mense vertel my dikwels dat hulle ‘n briljante idee vir ‘n storie het en dat ek dit net móét skryf. Feit is, ‘n idee/storie moet met mý praat.As dit nie met mý praat nie, gaan ek nié daaroor skryf nie. Maak seker dat jou idee en tema jou fassineer

Maak seker dat jou storie se begin die leser se aandag trek. Ongelukkig (gelukkig!) moet jy die spanningslyn dan vir die res van die manuskrip volhou, maar die lewe is kort en daar is baie boeke. Wanneer lesers (en uitgewers) nie deur jou skryfwerk gefassineer is nie, gaan hulle die boek toemaak.

Veral jeugfiksie moet van begin tot einde boei. My twee tieners raak gou verveeld wanneer die storie die spanningslyn effens verloor. Luister na ‘n uittreksel uit Sindikaat (silwerwenner van die Sanlam-prys vir Jeugliteratuur) en kyk of jy kan agterkom hoe ek spanning skep.

6) Hou moed op jou pad na publikasie!

Baie skrywers se eerste pogings word afgekeur — selfs die wat groot en onaantasbaar lyk. Stephen King het in sy boek On Writing gesê dat hy elke ‘nee dankie’brief vanaf ‘n uitgewer aan ‘n spyker in sy muur opgehang het. “By the time I was fourteen,” he continues, “the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I

Wanneer die eerste weergawe klaar is, is die manuskrip nog baie ver van klaar af. Herskryf, herskryf, herskryf!Tydens elke herskryf, leer ‘n mens nuwe dinge en sien jy foute wat jy vantevore nie opgemerk het nie. Herskryf en redigeer!

Ek moet eerlik erken dat ek dit baie geniet om te redigeer en hoe meer ‘n mens aangaande die skryfproses leer, hoe lekkerder raak dit.

8) Lees Lees is van onskatbare waarde. Dit stimuleer onder andere jou eie kreatiwiteit. Lees veral soveel as moontlik in die genre waarin jy skryf. Ek lees daarom hope boeke vir tieners.

9)Ten slotte

Dit maak dalk nie vir jou sin nie, maar wanneer jy skryf, moenie op publikasie fokus nie. Dit sal mettertyd kom. Leer soveel as wat jy kan en skryf elke dag. Word skryf-fiks. (Is daar so ‘n woord?)

Een van ons land se bekendste skrywers het (voordat ek begin skryf het) vir my gesê dat skryfwerk wat in jou laai lê, nie van jou ‘n skrywer maak nie. Wie nie waag nie, sal nie wen nie.

The SouthAfricanAstronomical Observatory (SAAO), a ‘business unit’of the National Research Foundation, is focused on optical astronomy and formally came into being in 1972, although it can directly trace its ancestry back to the Royal Cape Observatory, set up in CapeTown in 1820. SAAO’s head office still occupies the location of that ancestral institution, in the suburb of Cape Town named in its honour –Observatory. However, for the past 50 years, all its operating telescopes have been located near Sutherland, in the Karoo region in the Northern Cape province.

The Sutherland complex today hosts no fewer than 24 telescopes, although not all of these belong to SAAO. SAAO owns five, while also having a 50% share in the largest, the SouthernAfrica LargeTelescope, and also co-owning another four Of the remaining 14, 13 are owned by overseas institutions or agencies, and one by the South African National SpaceAgency Many of these overseas telescopes are simply hosted by SAAO, but in some cases, it cooperates in their operation and research projects.

SAAO never stands still. Just this year alone, a new telescope and a major new instrument (mounted on an existing telescope) were assembled, installed, tested and commissioned.They were the AsteroidTerrestrial Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope, and the Mookodi spectrograph, installed on the 1-m-diameter Lesedi telescope (Lesedi, which started operating in 2019, is SAAO’s newest telescope). Both these programmes involved SAAO engineering as well as scientific expertise.

Atlas

TheATLAS telescope is particularly interesting in that it is an entirely overseas-owned and funded instrument, yet SAAO played the major role in setting it

up at Sutherland and an SAAO astronomer, Dr Nic Erasmus, is assigned to the programme.The Sutherland instrument is one of fourATLAS telescopes, owned by the University of Hawaii, in the US, funded, and operated on behalf of, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration.Two of the others are at separate sites in Hawaii, and the third is in Chile.The Hawaii telescopes cover the northern hemisphere, the South African and Chilean telescopes cover the southern hemisphere. “TheATLAS telescopes are specifically designed to discover near-Earth asteroids that are on courses that could impact Earth,” explains Erasmus. (Near-Earth asteroids are asteroids whose orbits are close to Earth’s orbit or cut across Earth’s orbit, and so will, sooner or later, come close to Earth.) “They don’t form the only asteroid-detection telescope survey and they are also not the most sensitive, but they are designed to complement the other such surveys. For example, ATLAS sweeps more of the sky in a single night than the other asteroid-detecting surveys.As a result, whileATLAS does not necessarily see as deep into space, it covers a wider area of space and so is likely to pick up asteroids that the other suveys have missed. Its speciality, therefore, is to detect fastmoving small asteroids near Earth that ‘slipped through the net’of the larger telescope surveys.To put it into context, a relatively small 100-m-diameter asteroid hitting the Earth wouldn’t remotely be an extinction-level event, but it could still cause serious localised damage and even death if the impact occurred close to a populated area.There are also significantly more 100-mdiameter near-Earth asteroids in our Solar System than extinctionlevel 10-km-diameter asteroids, so the likelihood of impact by a 100-m-diameter asteroid is also significantly greater.”

He cited the example of the 20-mdiameter asteroid which made an

undetected approach to Earth in February 2013, exploding when it hit the thicker part of the atmosphere, some 30 km above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. The explosion was 20 to 30 times more powerful than the atomic bomb which destroyed the city of Hiroshima in Japan in 1945.The resultant shockwave damaged some buildings and shattered a lot of glass in the city below Some 1 500 people were injured, mainly by flying glass and debris.

As part of the arrangement under which SAAO hostsATLAS, Erasmus was sent to Hawaii to be trained on, and learn all the details of, the existing Hawaiian ATLAS telescopes. Erasmus was chosen because he was already working on near-Earth asteroids (one of the few SouthAfrican astronomers doing so) and had some instrumentation experience. The idea was that both the telescope dome and the instrument itself would be shipped, separately and sequentially to SouthAfrica, and erected byAmerican teams with the assistance of SAAO staff, led by Erasmus. It didn’t work out that way: the Covid-19 pandemic got in the way

Although the telescope dome ‘kit’ safely arrived in SouthAfrica, the US team could not come because of travel restrictions. So, the Americans proposed that the SAAO team assemble it, using the instruction booklet in the container And Erasmus and SAAO technician Willie Koorts did so, although it proved to be more difficult, frustrating and timeconsuming than they had expected! With the easing of the pandemic, the actualATLAS telescopes and the instruments to be mounted on it were shipped to SouthAfrica. Because the main instrument is basically a highly specialised camera, a University of Hawaii team was meant to follow, and set it up in its dome at Sutherland.Then the Omicron variant of Covid-19 hit, and they couldn’t come either. So, again, theAmericans proposed that Erasmus and Koorts assemble it, with real-time assistance from Hawaii through a video conferencing link.

“It worked!” reports Erasmus. “We assembled it in about two weeks. But it took another four months to fully calibrate and commission the instrument. It’s now fully operational, six months after installation started.”

As of September, theATLAS telescope at Sutherland had discovered 15 near-Earth asteroids, plus one comet, and

that number would probably have been greater, had Sutherland not suffered from unusually high levels of cloud cover during the past few months. One of those asteroids was “potentially hazardous”. Potentially hazardous asteroids are those which come within 20 lunar distances of Earth (that is, about 7 700 000 km) and are roughly 100 m in diameter or larger. Because it scans the whole sky all the time, theATLAS network is also generating lots of valuable data about phenomena it was not intended to study: what astronomers call ‘transients’. These are astronomical phenomena that last for periods ranging from fractions of a second to weeks or even years (but all within human life spans) and involve the release of huge levels of energy, across some or all wavelengths. In particular, the ATLAS network is providing lots of data on variable stars.

Erasmus is one of the astronomers around the world who are using the data gathered by all theATLAS telescopes (which are remotely operated from Hawaii) for his research. He is also continually involved in the maintenance of the telescope and acts as the contact point for other SouthAfrican astronomers seeking to accessATLAS data. (SomeATLAS data is available in a public- access online source, but some are not; through Erasmus, SouthAfrican scientists can get access to all the data.)

Mookodi

Observatory Has Added Important Capabilities This Year continues on pg 13

Mookodi is both a spectrograph and an imager Aspectrograph is an instrument that separates incoming light into its different wavelengths or frequencies and then records the resulting spectrum in a recording device. Virtually every optically visible astronomical phenomenon has its own characteristic spectrum, so spectrographs allow rapid identification of, for example, transient events. ‘Mookodi’is a Sesotho word, which translates into English as ‘rainbow’. Mookodi is a wholly SAAOfunded project, and forms an important early element in its long-term ‘Intelligent Observatory’ operational transformation programme, which includes a major stress on automation and robotic telescopes. Mookodi is based on a spectrograph developed by theAstrophysics Research Institute at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU), in the UK.The institute includes engineers as well as astronomers

and astrophysicists, and operates the Liverpool Telescope, a fully robotic 2 m telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands (part of Spain). For this telescope, the LJMU designed, developed and built an instrument they called SPRAT, for SPectrograph for the Rapid Acquisition ofTransients. SPRAT is equipped with a small imager as well as a spectrograph; the imager, having a much wider field of view than the spectrograph, is used as a ‘target finder’for the spectrograph.

SAAO’s original plan was simply to buy a duplicate of SPRATfrom the LJMU. But then the South African scientists and engineers realised there was an opportunity to optimise the instrument, to adapt it so that it could do a wider array of science, by altering the imager from just a target acquisition device into a dual-purpose instrument that would both acquire targets and record scientific images.

Moreover, scientists can learn more information from images that are collected through different wavelength filters than from unfiltered images.

“At this point, the project became a design collaboration,” highlighted SAAO mechanical engineer Kathryn Rosie. “We moved from being just a customer to being a collaborator

To use the imager as a science instrument, we had to fit it with a filter mechanism, which was designed in-house here at SAAO. It was an iterative process, as it was not merely a matter of designing and engineering the filter mechanism, but it also needed integration on to the instrument.That needed close collaboration with the LJMU team in the UK.”

The original plan had been that the LJMU team would come to SouthAfrica with Mookodi and install it on the Lesedi telescope. Of course, Covid-19 prevented that (as well as delaying the entire project in other ways). So,

the LJMU team assembled Mookodi in their laboratory and tested it there.They then disassembled it and shipped it to SAAO, where it was reassembled and again labtested in CapeTown.The tests were most thorough, with the testing of individual components, then of subassemblies and finally of the entire instrument; they also helped the SAAO staff to train themselves on it.Then the astronomers were asked to review the results and approve its transfer to Sutherland and installation on Lesedi.They did so.

“Lesedi had to be readied for Mookodi,” she points out. “It has two ports where instruments can be bolted, and Mookodi was going to be bolted on to one of these. But mounting Mookodi required the design and assembly of a cable-handling device, as the telescope moves and otherwise all the electronic cables would become tangled. Also, a structure to support the instrument’s associated

electronics had to be created. We did these in-house. Further, we had to develop a plan to assemble Mookodi within Lesedi’s dome and mount it on the telescope, while protecting the instrument and telescope at all times.”

Mookodi was assembled and bolted on to Lesedi in early December last year, with ‘first light’being achieved about 48 hours after installation started. That did not mean the instrument was operational, but that it was working. Over the following days, Mookodi was focused and repeatedly tested.Then, during the first quarter of this year, it was categorised as ‘available’, meaning astronomers could use it, but that there was a high risk that any undiscovered glitches could affect observations. Valuable feedback was obtained from the early users, allowing the refinement of the instrument’s software, to make it more userfriendly and powerful. Mookodi was officially accepted by SAAO from the LJMU in September

Although an Employee’s remuneration is something that can be negotiated between Employer and Employee, depending on the sector, there are some minimum wages that all Employers’should abide by

The National minimum wage and the lowest hourly rate for any employee to earn is set at R23.19 per hour

If you are working on a certain minimum wage (hourly Rate) and would like to establish what the monthly remuneration would amount to, you can use the below format:

Rate per hour * hours a day required to work = Day Rate

Day rate * Days per week required to work = Week wage

Week wage * 4.33 = Monthly

The Calculation Of Remuneration And Wages For My Employees?

If you have the monthly wage and would like to ensure that you are paying the required minimum wage, you will use the below format:

Wage Monthly wage / 4.33 = Weekly wage

Weekly wage / days a week required to work= Daily wage

Daily wage / Hours a day required to work = Hourly rate.

Once you have established the Employee’s hourly rate, you will be able to calculate any overtime, Saturday, Sunday and/or public holiday payment rates.

If an Employee’s normal working hours are from Monday to Friday and you require them to work over a weekend, such

hours should be paid at a different rate in comparison to their normal hours. Saturday hours will be paid at 1.5 times the Employee’s normal rate and Sundays will be paid at double.

If an Employee’s normal working hours are scheduled from Mondays to Sundays, they will earn their normal rate on a Saturday and 1.5 times their normal rate for the hours worked on a Sunday. Should an Employee be required to work on a public holiday, such hours would be paid at double their normal hourly rate, regardless of the day the public holiday falls on and/or normal working hours.

Employees should be paid in SouthAfrican currency, on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Payment can be made in cash, by cheque or by direct deposit into an account of the

Employee’s choosing. Payment that is made in cash or by cheque should be provided to the employee during working hours, or within 15 minutes of commencement or conclusion of those hours and must be in a sealed envelope.

All outstanding payments due to the Employee should be paid to the Employee no later than seven days after the completion of the pay period for which the remuneration is payable, or the termination of the employment relationship. It is important to note that the aforementioned seven day period does not apply to any pension or provident fund payments due to an employee.

For more information contact 054 333 1115 /6 or email ontvangs@joblaw.co.za.

AngloAmerican-controlled Kumba Iron Ore said today exports of the steel-making ingredient would be disrupted after receiving a force majeure fromTransnet, the state-owned freight and logistics company

This followed a strike called by unions last week which coal producerThungela Resources said would hit hard were it sustained for two weeks or more.

Kumba said today the initial

Will Cost

by the SouthAfrican Iron and SteelAssociation last week which said it would have “devastating” consequences.

“Compounded by the ongoing energy crisis in SouthAfrica, [it] is likely to have devastating consequences for all sectors of the SouthAfrican economy, at a time when the country is trying to rebuild following the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said.

impact on production would be about 50,000 tons a day for the first seven days, increasing to 90,000 tons daily thereafter

Export sales would be hit to the tune of 120,000 tons a day

Transnet issued the force majeure on October 7.

The strike, called by United NationalTransport Union (Untu) and the SouthAfricanTransport andAllied Workers’Union (Satawu), was heavily criticised

Kumba said it would “… continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates, as appropriate”.Athird quarter production and sales update was scheduled for publication on October 27.

Thungela said last week that its operations were able to run without rail for a further seven days without experiencing a significant impact on production, but it added “in the event of a protracted strike extending to two weeks we would be forced to

In Iron

further curtail production with the potential resultant impact being a reduction of up to 300,000 tons of export saleable production.”

According toThungela, it had already built up “relatively high stockpile levels” on its operations because of rail constraints over recent months.

Thungela pointed out that the Richards Bay CoalTerminal operated independently of Transnet “should be able to continue to load vessels subject toTransnet continuing to provide a number of services required for the berthing and unberthing of vessels such as pilots and tugboats”.

Thungela concluded that “given RBCT’s ability to load vessels andThungela’s ability to draw down on healthy stock levels at port, we currently expect the impact on sales for quarter four 2022 to be limited”. - Miningmx

The deterioration ofTransnet's capacity in rail and ports has cost the mining industry R50 billion in lost opportunities in 2022 alone, says the Minerals Council.

The poor performance of rail, which is well below targets, cost bulk mineral exporters R35 billion in lost revenue in 2021.

While other mining economies have ramped up output to take advantage of record-high prices, SAhas not been able to do the same.

Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter outlined SouthAfrica's logistics constraints in a presentation to the Joburg Indaba Summit on Wednesday

Declining rail deliveries – the result of crime and cable theft (1

500km copper cable has been stolen in five years), onerous government procurement rules, vandalism, idled locomotives bought in a corrupt transaction and poor maintenance – are the main reason for falling productivity at rail and ports, he said.

Constrained or lost production affects mining companies, the economy and fiscus more broadly as SAloses out on potential employment and tax revenue.The council estimates that without logistics constraints, mining could have added another 50 000 jobs and increased the tax take for 2021 by about R27 billion.

In the case of iron ore, export sales could have earned R16 billion more had export targets been reached in 2022.

If the target was raised to an optimal level, another R33 billion would have been earned from iron-ore exports. For the fiscus, this equates to R3 billion in forfeited taxes or R6 billion had the industry been able to export the optimal amount.

While coal prices reached a historical high last month at $452 per tonne, SA's export volumes have been falling.

Between 2015 and 2019, SA exported 72 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), but by 2021 coal exports had dropped to just above 50 MTPA. Baxter says the council estimates that 2022 will be no better. IfTransnet Freight Rail improved its capacity, the Richard's Bay Coal Terminal would be able to export 91MTPA.

The poor rail infrastructure has

led miners to increasingly use roads to move bulk minerals.

For instance, manganese producers now move between 6 to 7 million tonnes by road and 14 to 15 million tonnes by rail. Moving manganese by roads increases costs by R350 to R400 a tonne.

"There is an urgent need for real partnerships between bulk mining companies, rolling stock providers,Transnet and government focused on jointly agreed solutions that benefit all parties and the country Treasury also urgently needs to consider emergency funds to maintain the rail corridors for bulk commodities, recovering the investment through improved tax generation on mineral exports," said Baxter

This Is How Much It Will Cost To Apply For A Passport From November

THE MINISTER of HomeAffairs,

Aaron Motsoaledi

people are paying for our passports.This means the government is heavily subsidising passport holders when such a subsidy is not realised for ordinary ID applicants.

The department said in a statement that the amended fees, were published in Government Gazette No. 47256 on October 6, 2022, and come into operation on November 1, 2022.

The department said the South African Passports andTravel DocumentsAct, 1994, enables the Minister of HomeAffairs to make regulations regarding the fees payable for the issuance of a SouthAfrican passport or travel document, in consultation with the Minister of Finance.

It said the fee changes to passport and travel document come after a bench-marking exercise with other countries which found that SouthAfrica’s tariffs were apparently up to three times lower

“The decision was also informed by the fact that production costs are much higher than what

“We believe that the people who are able to travel out of the country are financially better off than ordinary citizens and they don’t need to be subsidised in the manner we have been doing,” said Motsoaledi.

The department also said that fees payable for the issuing of SouthAfrican passports and travel documents were last adjusted in 2011.

The fees payable in respect of applications for a SouthAfrican passport or travel document made within the Republic are as follows:

Adult passport R600 for 32 pages (current fee R400); R1,200 for 48 pages (maxi, current fee R800)

Child passport R600 (current fee R400)

Official passport R600 (currently no charge)

Diplomatic passport R600 (currently no charge)

Document for travel purposes R600 (current fee R300)

Crew member certificate R600 (current fee R350)

The fees payable in respect of applications for a SouthAfrican passport or travel document made outside of the Republic, at Missions, Embassies or Consulates, are as follows:

Adult passport R1,200 for 32 pages (current fee R400); R2,400 for 48 pages (maxi, current fee R800)

Child passport R1,200 (current

fee R400)

Emergency travel certificate R140 (current fee R140).

Motsoaledi also clarified that HomeAffairs does not issue emergency passports.

“The emergency travel certificate mentioned above is a document available only to SouthAfricans stranded abroad. It helps them to come back home and when they arrive, the usefulness of the document lapses.There is no emergency travel certificate for South Africans who need to travel abroad,” he said.

Bou Met Poort Beton in

onkant gevang word nie

INHEEMSE VOLK GROET ‘N GROOT KAMEELDORINGBOOM

In ‘n emosionele huldeblyk het die provinsiale sekretaris van UNDRIP 1652 - NC verwys na “die pastoor van die mense” en “’n groot kameeldoringboom” by die begrafnis van Pastoor Hans Paulsen op Saterdag (8/10) in die saal van die Kathu Golf-klub.

Verskeie leiers van die kerkgemeenskap in die Sentraal Karoo-streek het die eggenote en kinders van Pastoor Hans Paulsen getroos met boodskappe van bemoediging vir Paulsen se pionierswerk, sy onwrikbare geloof as ‘n man van die kleed en sy sterk mentorskap oor die jare wat vandag sigbaar is by verskeie jonger pastore wat onder Paulsen se hand gevorm was. In onder andereTsantsabane en Gamagara was Pastoor Paulsen bekend as die pastoor van die mense, maar dit was by sy statige begrafnis waar sy voormalige kollegas in die mynwese, sy kollegas in die pastorale bediening, sy uitgebreide vriendekring en familie verneem het van sy groot rol betrokke by UNDRIP1652-NC in die Noord-Kaap en op nasionale vlak vir die behoud en beskerming van die regte van die Inheemse mense. Neil Steenkamp, provinsiale sekretaris van UNDRIP1652-NC het in sy huldeblyk ‘n senopsis gegee van Pastoor Paulsen se betrokkenheid om op te staan teen myne in die NoordKaap. Die provinsiale bestuur van UNDRIP1652-NC is tans betrokke by

verskeie sensitiewe sake om mynmaatskappye in die Noord-Kaap tot besef te bring dat die eiendomsreg van minerale vestig in die inheemse mense en nie die staat, departement van minerale en energie of mynmaatskappye wat mynregte bekom nie.

“Niemand sal ooit besef die ware impak en grootse bydrae van Pastoor Paulsen nie. Sy betrokkenheid by gewigtige besluite op provinsiale en nasionale vlak vir die regte van inheemse mense sal beslis ‘n leemte laat,” het die provinsiale voorsitter van UNDRIP1652-NC, Vernon Mostert gesê. Dr GlenTaaibosch, die nasionale leier van UNDRIPhet die Paulsen-familie via video-boodskap bemoedig en hulde gebring aan Paulsen se betrokkenheid by ‘n wêreldwye beweging wat stadig besig is om veral mynmaatskappye in die Noord-Kaap tot orde te roep en ‘n sterk boodskap aan die regering te stuur dat wetgewing rakende die regte van Inheemse mense as oorspronklike eienaars van alle minerale in Suid-Afrika hersien moet word.

UNDRIP, NIEMAS en verskeie tradisionele huise in die Noord-Kaap salueer leier Hans Paulsen. Mag sy siel in vrede rus.

Volledige berig in die Horison Gazette by www.nkmedia.co.za

Foto1 : Pastoor Hans Paulsen tydens 'n UNDRIPuitreik in Vanzylsrus

Foto2:Die begrafnis van pastoor Hans Paulsen by die Kathu Golf-klub

Louis Liebenberg Gives R500 000 To Bankroll Zuma

Controversial diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg has pledged R500 000 towards helping former president Jacob Zuma foot the private prosecution bill of senior State advocate Billy Downer and News24 specialist legal writer Karyn Maughan.

This was revealed in an affidavit by Mongezi Ntanga, Zuma’s lawyer

Downer and Maughan appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday, where the case was postponed. Zuma has launched a private prosecution against the pair on allegations that Downer leaked his confidential medical records to Maughan. Both deny any wrongdoing.

Downer had applied to the court to have Zuma put up a security deposit of at least R1 million if the prosecution failed.

Downer claimed the trial could take 10 days, which would leave him with a legal bill of about R1 million. He estimated a cost of about R500 000 for senior counsel, R450 000 for two junior counsel, about R100 000 in consultation and contingencies of R5 000.

However, the requested R1 million should be reduced to between R375 000 to R500 000 at a maximum, Ntanga’s affidavit stated.

He labelled Downer’s application as “incomplete and premature”, and asked the court to dismiss Downer's application with costs.

Ntanga said he did not believe there would be a need for Downer to require the services of representatives who charge “highend rates”, and said the trial was not likely to last for more than five days.

Billy Downer in court on Monday for the matter where Jacob Zuma is seeking to privately prosecute him and News24's Karyn Maughan.

He therefore argued that only one senior counsel and one junior counsel, which would cost R75 000 a day, amounting to R375 000, was required. He said contingencies and incidentals amounted to R125 000 and included a previous security deposit of R43 750, totalling R543 750.

He said Zuma had made arrangements through fundraising efforts to "raise whatever amount will ultimately be determined adequate by the court.

"There is therefore no issue of any possibility of insufficiency of funds,” the affidavit read.

"My client is already in possession of a pledge by Mr Louis Liebenberg, to the effort that in the event of the more generalised public fundraising resources or those coming from efforts yielding insufficient funds, he will top up the required amount," said Ntanga, adding:

In that regard, he has already deposited an amount of R500 000 with his own attorney Walter Niedinger Ntanga said the monies were held by Niedinger in a trust, and Niedinger had assured Zuma that any extra money determined by the court would be provided, the affidavit said.

Speaking to News24 about the money, Liebenberg refused to directly comment. "Is there nothing else you are interested in ... what I think about Mr Zuma, the country's future or politics? I never talk about money because it is just a digit in your bank account."

He added:

This R500 000, I was not aware of that amount. I thought it was more than that.

Liebenberg was among a crowd of around 200 to 300 supporters outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court following the first set of proceedings in Zuma's private prosecution against Maughan and Downer

"I think my thoughts are what most of the population who live without fear are: Mr Zuma was the best president we've had," said Liebenberg.

Zuma was supported in court by his daughter, Duduzile ZumaSambudla, Mzwanele Manyi, Dudu Myeni, Carl Niehaus, newly elected ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Siboniso Duma and deputy chairperson Nomagugu SimelaneZulu.

Liebenberg has a controversial past, with the state provisionally freezing bank accounts in the name of Liebenberg, his colleague Ronelle Kleynhans and his companyTariomix in March.

The accounts containing about R100 million were frozen following an order of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria after allegations of money laundering

and of running a Ponzi scheme. The order was granted in terms of section 39 of the Prevention of Organised CrimeAct, which allows a high court to freeze assets if "reasonable grounds" exist to believe that the proceeds may result from unlawful activities, reported News24 Business.

Such orders are granted on an ex parte basis, meaning the court only heard one party. Liebenberg opposed the granting of the provisional order

The larger-than-life Liebenberg is a self-styled advocate of what he refers to as a "partnership" between the Nama people of the West Coast andAfrikaners, whom he says share a common history

News24 Business reported him as previously involved with West Coast marine diamond miner Wealth 4 U Mining & Exploration, which aimed to mine marine diamonds. It was liquidated in 2009.

He is a vocal critic of large mining ventures - what he terms the "big boys" - and the role of the state.

“I have been harassed since 2004, and I still have a clean criminal record," he previously told News24 Business.

Louis Liebenberg at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday Gallo Images/Darren Stewart

MEC MONAKALI VISITS GARIES HIGH SCHOOL

TUESDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2022

The MEC for Education, Mr Zolile Monakali visited Garies High School, as today marks the reopening of schools for the final quarter for the 2022 school academic year.The MEC was accompanied by the Member of Parliament, Mrs. Sandra Beukes, the local Mayor, Cllr. Susarah Nero, Head of Department, Ms. Moira Marais and officials from Head Office and district office, local ward councillor and BrigadierAndrews, the District Commissioner of the SAPS.

The purpose of the visit was to provide clarity to the school community on the exact cause of the fire and the progress the Department has made, following the devastating fire on Saturday, 17 September 2022.

The Department has delivered 5 mobile classrooms, whilst the outstanding 6 classrooms, administration block and ablution facilities will arrive by the end of the week.The delivery of School furniture which includes desks, learner and teacher furniture as well as cupboards is in progress. Learning and Teaching Support Material for learners have been sourced from Kimberley and Upington, and will arrive tomorrow The Department is in process to procure ICTequipment for the school for administration purposes and as interim measure the District office will provide support the school.

The Department envisage normal schooling to commence from Monday,17 October 2022, where all

learners from all Grades will be accommodated.All systems are in place to ensure that no learners academic performance are negatively affected by the tragedy and a curriculum recovery plan will be implemented as from next week.

Meanwhile, the SAPS has confirmed that exact cause of the devastating fire was arson. SAPS has indicated that the fire was started in three sections of the school building.This is of great concern to the Department, that a school is destroyed by the very same community it serves.

Our school community must take ownership of our schools and institutions of learning as they represent a beacon of hope in our society The Department continues to strengthen our relationship with communities through the “LoveYour School Campaign”. Therefore, the active involvement of every school community is crucial to ensure that school buildings are protected and guarded against any form of vandalism and theft. It is our plea, that school communities must take ownership of our schools and become actively involved in their children's education.

Lastly, we appeal to the members of the community or anyone with information to come forward and assist the SAPS with their investigation. End.

Geoffrey vd Merwe

Media Liaison Officer to the MEC Northern Cape Department of Education

The Department has

classrooms, administration block and ablution facilities will arrive by the end of the week.

Boere

Aandag Alle Boere

en

Elmboë, Sluise volgens

Hoë digtheid (HDPE) pype en toebehore: Koppelstukke, saalstukke, lugkleppe, krane, ens.

pype en toebehore, staal opmaak stukke, watermeters, isolasie kleppe, cascade/Klamflex herstel koppelstukke/saalstukke.

produkte: Koper pype en toebehore, cobra produkte, PVC SV & UG toebehore

nog vele meer.

Swem uitslae

Sacha Willemse, Marlo Lensing en Charles Radford het

gedurende 7 – 8 Oktober aan die Flamingo Gala wat gehou is te Kimberley deelgeneem.

Hul skop die jaar goed af en presteer as volg:

Sacha

200m IM – 4de plek

50m Rugslag – 3de plek –Brons

800m Vryslag – 1ste plek –Goud

Brons

Marlo

200m IM – 4de plek

50m Rugslag – 4de plek

100m Vryslag – 4de plek

50m Borsslag – 5de plek

50m Vryslag – 5de plek

50m Vlinderslag – 5de plek

100m Rugslag – 4de plek

Charles

200m IM – 5de plek

50m Rugslag – 10de plek

100m Borsslag – 4de plek

100m Vryslag – 5de plek

50m Borsslag – 4de plek

50m Vryslag – 8ste plek

200 Rugslag – 2de plek –Silwer

50m Borsslag – 5de plek

1500m Vryslag – 1ste plek –Goud

100m Vryslag – 3de plek –Brons 50m Vryslag – 2de plek – Silwer

50m Vlinderslag – 3de plekBrons

100m Rugslag – 3de plek –

50m Vlinderslag – 4de plek

100m Rugslag – 5de plek

Ons is trots op julle! Sterkte met die nuwe seisoen.

Body Stress

Black

Reinforcing Steel Supplier

Steel For 30

Gives Famsa R300k for

Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela mine’s SED strategy aims to address various social ills, one of which is the focus on high incidences of genderbased violence directed at vulnerable groups in our community

InAugust, during Women’s Month, Kumba Chief Executive Officer, Mpumi Zikalala accompanied by the Executive Mayor ofTsantsabane, Ms Helena English, visited the local branch of Families SouthAfrica (FAMSA) in Postmasburg. As a gesture of support for the work done in response to escalating genderbased violence incidences and to strengthen the capacity of FAMSA, the CEO handed over a cheque to the value of R300,000.The donation was a joint contribution from Kumba and Ninety One, one of the biggest Investment Managers in SouthAfrica to support the work done for Gender Based Violence (GBV) victims within the local communities.

Speaking at the event, Christian Du Plessis, CEO of FAMSA, told the audience how, Kumba supported

FAMSAto grow from a container at the police station, to where it currently runs a national call centre that services the Northern Cape. “Over the years Kolomela put us in a position where we could grow FAMSAinto something special. Without the financial support, FAMSAwould not be able to do their work.”

Kolomela mine has partnered with FAMSAsince 2010 to address social ills in the area.The mine invested more than R15 million in supporting the operational activities of FAMSA, including infrastructure set up towards FAMSA.The relation with FAMSAenables Kolomela to make a positive contribution to theTsantsabane community. “When we look at the work that FAMSAdoes it is actually a great honour for us as a business to associate with the organisation because you’re helping us to make a positive impact in society,” CEO Zikalala said

Finance, Mavis Kolberg, Manager CorporateAffairs and Social Performance, Mpumi Zikalala, CEO Kumba Iron Ore, Christian Du Plessis, CEO of Famsa, Pranill Ramchander, Executive Head Corporate Relations, Simi Ramgoolam, Executive Head of Human Resources, Helena English, Mayor ofTsantsabane and Nandi Sibanyoni, Executive Head of Safety during the FAMSAhandover

Photo 2: Mpumi Zikalala, CEO Kumba Iron Ore, Christian Du Plessis, CEO of Famsa, Clls. Helena English, Mayor of Tsantsabane.

Hey Leah

Hey Leah

Photo1:Arnoldus Ludick, Manager

Esmie van Goede Hoop Equestria Skitter

van Rooyen, 'n ruiter by Goede Hoop Equestria, het die afgelope naweek deelgeneem aan die Northern Cape Dressage Championships te Kathu Perde Klub. Sy was die enigste Laerskool OranjeNoord ruiter by GHE, wat deelgeneem het.

Haar prestasies was fantasties, ongeag die stormwinde wat gewaai tydens die toetse wat sy op Dagab Brave gery het.

Esmie was in beide haar toetse eerste, in DSAPR

Test 1 & in DSA

Test 2.

geluk Esmie.

Welbekende Afrigter en Eienaar van

Goede Hoop Equestria

Meeghan Swiggelaar Louw

Eco Atlantic Begins Gazania-1 Exploration Drilling Offshore South Africa

EcoAtlantic has started operations on the Gazania-1 exploration well following arrival of the Island Innovator semisubmersible drilling rig on Block 2B offshore SouthAfrica.

Eco is drilling 25 km offshore the Northern Cape in Orange Basin SouthAfrica in about 150 m of water. Gazania-1 is being drilled to a depth of 2,800 m through a multizone pay section and up dip of theAJ-1 discovery well on the block, which proved about 50 million bbl of contingent resources, the company said in

The Gazania-1 prospect is targeting over 300 million bbl of light oil. Pending discovery in the vertical section, the joint venture partners have the option to directionally drill a second sidetrack well from the main well bore. Both the vertical well and the sidetrack optional well will be logged and then plugged back to surface, the well will be sealed, plugged and the casing cut off below surface. No equipment will remain on the sea floor

Gedurende die September vakansie het Cleantha Koetzee aan SACOPAgaan deelneem in Rustenburg aan die SuidAfrikaanse Kampioenskap vir Uitvoerende Kunste in die ModelAfdeling.

Die SAKampioenskap vir Uitvoerende Kunste het hierdie jaar hulle 25ste herdenking gevier. Die kompetisie is van hoogstaande gehalte en word jaarliks in Rustenburg aangebied. Dit is hier waar die span vir SuidAfrika gekies word om aan die Wêreld Kampioenskap vir Uitvoerende Kunste in Los Angeles,Amerika te gaan deelneem.

Cleantha Koetzee het die Grand ChampionAward vir Modelwerk gewen, dit is die hoogste individuele punt in hierdie afdeling. Met haar

pragtige trofee het sy die Noordkaap trots gemaak.

ontvang ook

goud in photogenic

silver in Runway

bronze in

bronze in Pageant

Chinese Trial Of Human Trafficking And Child Labour Once Again Postponed in the Absence of an Interpreter

The trial of seven Chinese nationals arrested for alleged human trafficking and child labour was today postponed in the Johannesburg High Court to next week Friday because the Court is still trying to get a Mandarin interpreter

It emerged in Court today that the previous interpreter spoke Cantonese and the accused were battling to follow proceedings as they did not understand the language. Cantonese is one of the dialect of Chinese language.

The seven Chinese accused are KevinTsao Shu-Uei, Chen Hui, Qin Li, Jiaqing Zhou, Ma Biao, Dai Junying, and Zhang Zhilian.They are facing schedule six offenses which include trafficking in persons, contravention of ImmigrationAct, kidnapping, pointing a firearm, debt bondage, benefitting from the services of a victim of trafficking, conduct that facilitates trafficking, illegally assisting person(s) to remain in SouthAfrica, and failure to comply with duties of an

employer In another development accused number two, Chen Hui also tried to flee South Africa using the Lebombo Border post. He was arrested last month (September) and is now in custody. He now joins another fellow accused (number seven) Zhang Zhilian who is also in custody because on 24 February 2021 violated her bail conditions by trying to flee the country. She was arrested at the ORTambo International Airport.The other accused are out on bail.

Last October (2021) the accused in a written statement read by their attorney Jannie Kruger made an admission of guilt for violation of several South Africa’s labour laws. However, the other charges still stand and they will continue to face trial on those.

Kruger told the Court that the accused could not understand a “single word” in English. He said in the interest of justice the State

has a responsibility to get an interpreter who speaks Mandarin.

The accused were arrested in 2019 for allegedly running an illegal enterprise called Beautiful City Pty Ltd located at Village Deep in Johannesburg in a joint operation by the Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) together with the SouthAfrican Police Services (SAPS) Hawk Unit

and the Department of Home Affairs.

The Chinese factory was allegedly processing the inner cotton of blankets using recycled clothing.The accused have pleaded not guilty to the other charges. They are expected back in court on 21 October 2022.

Prosecutor,Advocate V. Dube said in the next appearance the State will be submitting what is called Section 66 application and to sort out the issue of the interpreter

De Beers’ Eighth Cycle Rough Diamond Sales Fall To $500m As Diwali Approaches

ROUGH diamond sales declined to $500m in De Beers’eight cycle compared to seventh cycle sales of $638m – a downturn the group said was in line with expectations.

“Demand for our rough diamonds during sales cycle 8 was in line with expectations at what is a traditionally quieter time of year for the diamond industry as polishing factories in India prepare for closures ahead of the Diwali holidays,” said Bruce Cleaver, CEO of De Beers.

“The steady overall demand for De Beers Group rough diamonds is reflected in the ongoing consumer demand for diamond

jewellery ahead of the key holiday sales season in the US.”

Rough diamond sales for the eighth cycle last year totalled $492m.

Goldman Sachs has estimated $6.3bn worth of rough diamond sales for De Beers during 2022.

Revenues including the eighth cycle total $4.9bn.

De Beers, which is 85% owned byAngloAmerican, comprised 11% of total interim underlying ebitda for the UK listed miner for the first six months of its 2022 financial year This was following a 55% improvement in average diamond prices to to $213 per carat. De Beers increased its forecast for full year production to

between 32 and 34 million carats which compares to previous guidance of 30 to 33 million carats.The forecast was subject to “further Covid-19 related

disruptions”.

Unit cost guidance was unchanged at $65/carat.Miningmx

Indian woman holding Diwali oil lamp