Hadeda News - 17 February 2023

Minerals Council Says Letter To Transnet’s Derby ‘mandated’ After Kalagadi Quits Industry Body

The Minerals Council defended a letter asking for the resignation ofTransnet CEO Portia Derby in December, saying decisions of this order had the mandate of the organisation’s members.

“Something like this has got to be approved by the board and office bearers,” saidAllan Seccombe, spokesman for the Minerals Council which has 77 members representing 90% of SouthAfrica’s production in 2022.

Business Day reported that Kalagadi Manganese had resigned from the council in protest against its letter to Derby. “This call for the removal of the few female corporate leaders is more than just a misrepresentation of us as member, but goes against the ethos for which we stand,”

Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, chairwoman of Kalagadi Manganese wrote in a letter

seen by the publication.

Instead of pushing for management change, the Minerals Council andTransnet subsequently decided to establish “collaborative structures” aimed at improving the efficiency of Transnet.Transnet, a stateowned company, freights South Africa’s minerals, including coal and manganese, to export handling facilities in Richards Bay, Durban and Saldanha Bay, among others.

In its letter, the Minerals Council said Derby should resign because she could not “resolve the crisis” and they were not “capable of turning around performance” at Transnet. “We are insisting on the critical need for urgent change,” the council said in the letter Richards Bay CoalTerminal, a privately-owned company, said it had received 50.43 million tons of coal in 2022, the lowest level in 30 years.The Minerals Council later said the decline in coal

exports represented R30bn in lost revenue, adding that the decline in performance was related to management rather than exogenous factors such as corruption. “We know that only about 20% of the lost tonnages were due to cable theft and electricity disruptions on the coal rail corridor,” said the council’s chief economist, Henk Langenhoven. “The bulk of the explanation lies with inefficiencies

on rail and in the ports,” he added.

Said Mashile-Nkosi in her letter: “We are therefore left with no option but to reconsider our membership of the Minerals Council SA. We, therefore, terminate our membership of the Minerals Council SAwith immediate effect and trust that you find this in order”. - Miningmx

Executive Chairperson of Kalagadi Manganese, Daphne Mashile-Nkosi.

Skrywersblok? Bestaan dit ooit?

Skrywersblok

van Welbekende Gepubliseerde Skrywer - Annerle Barnard

gaan wees (al is dit dan nou na-ure of vroegoggend).

Stap 2: vermy die Internet en jou selfoon.

Stap 3: Kry die storie op papier: jou woorde hoef nié perfek te wees nie. Kry net die storie op papier, selfs al reken jy dis pateties. Jy kan swart op wit redigeer. Met ‘n leë bladsy kan jy niks doen nie.

As stap 3 jou bly ontwyk: gaan stap ‘n ent.

motivering, byvoorbeeld die behoefte om die storie te vertel.

Ongelukkig, ja, maar moenie moed verloor nie: daar ís raad.

Wat beteken dit?

Dis wanneer ‘n mens nie weet wat om te skryf en hoe om met jou huidige skryfstuk voort te gaan nie.

Wat is die oorsaak daarvan?

Erge self-kritiek (perfeksionisme).

‘n Vrees om met ander skrywers vergelyk te word (perfeksionisme).

‘nTekort aan eksterne motivering, byvoorbeeld om deur ander geprys te word.

‘nTekort aan innerlike

Hoe ons dit normaalweg probeer oorkom?

Deur te tob en uit te stel. Ja, wanneer jy twee ure per karakterkaart spandeer, dit in Grieks en Hebreeus vertaal en die rand van jou kaart met Egiptiese hiërogliewe versier, is jy besig om uit te stel, of jy dit nou wil weet of nie. Kan jy skrywersblok oorkom? Baie beslis.

Hoe?

Stap 1: plak boude op stoel. Sonder grappies: vestig ‘n skryfroetine. Die meeste mense werk van 9:00 tot 17:00. Vasgestelde ure. Roetine is belangrik. Besluit wat jou amptelike skryfure

Broei op jou storie terwyl jy stap, kook, rose snoei, kinders skool toe ry. Doen ook sommer net dinge wat niks met skryf te doen het nie. Skryf iets heeltemal anders om jou kreatiwiteit te stimuleer. Wat? Soek na ‘creative writing prompts’op die Internet. Daar is hordes. Praat met ‘n vertroueling oor jou idee en hoor wat hy/sy te sê het. Soms kry ‘n mens die antwoord op jou probleem terwyl jy daaroor praat. Iets wat my altyd help is om die kern van die probleem met ‘n kenner te bespreek. Soms haak ‘n mens vas bloot net omdat jy nie genoeg kennis/inligting het nie. In een manuskrip moes my karakter ‘n wapen gebruik waarvan ek geen kennis dra nie. Ek was later moedeloos gestoei en een van my beste pelle, Google, het niks bruikbaar opgelewer nie.Toe bel ek ‘n kenner. Voila!

Terug by jou eie storie: moenie by die begin begin

nie. Kyk of dit werk indien jou storie nié chronologies verloop nie.

Verander die perspektief. Werk aan jou karakters (beslis ‘n wenner!)

Kyk weer na jou navorsing (dit werk altyd vir my!)

Beplan jou storie in meer besonderhede. Jy is ‘n ‘pantser’en nie ‘n ‘plotter’nie? Moenie bekommer nie. Ek is ook ‘n ‘pantser.’Daar’s steeds raad: Kyk of dit help as jy ‘n nuwe karakter by jou storie betrek (dalk een wat konflik veroorsaak), of ‘n nuwe probleem vir die karakters gooi.

Die belangrikste is dat jy jouself nie daaroor kasty nie. Hierdie is iets wat die meeste skrywers soms beleef. Per slot van rekening is more nog ‘n dag.

Indien jy ‘n aspirantskrywer is en nog nooit ‘n skryfskool/slypskool bygewoon het nie, oorweeg dit in erns. (Daar is selfs aanlynslypskole waarna jy kan kyk.) Dit behoort jou probleem op te los en antwoorde op jou vrae te verskaf.

As jy regtig nie nog ‘n dag kan wag nie en die skrywersblok is ‘n probleem wat jou reeds geruime tyd kniehalter, onthou dat dit bietjie soos Wiskunde is. Dit lyk dalk na Grieks, maar daar móét ‘n antwoord wees.

Lekker skryf!!!

NOORD KAAP TUINE

Wenke

Maalvleis En Brood Gebak

500 g maalvleis

1 ui, gekap (opsioneel)

½ bakkie knoppies

sampioene, gekap

bietjie olyf olie of kookolie

45 ml tamatiesous

15 ml blatjang

20 ml suiker / versoeter

250 ml water

1 pakkie

sampioensoppoeier

sout en peper na smaak

bietjie fyn naeltjies

gemengde kruie na smaak

Witsous

30 ml

botter/margarien

30 ml koekmeel

300 ml melk

ongeveer 8-10 snye

brood, sonder korsies, in driehoeke

gesny

genoeg gerasperde

Cheddar kaas

Metode

Verhit die oond tot 180°C. Indien jy die gekap ui gebruik, braai die ui bietjie in die olie, en voeg die maalvleis by, braai tot die vleis lekker los is. Voeg die gekapte sampioene by, braai lekker deur. Meng die pakkie soppoeier met die water, tamatiesous, blatjang, sout, peper, suiker en kruie en giet die mengsel oor die maalvleis. Verlaag die hitte en prut die maalvleismengsel vir ongeveer 10 min. Maak intussen die witsous deur die bestanddele vir die witsous in 'n mikrogolf bstande bak te meng. Kook die mengsel in die mikrogolf vir ongeveer 5 min, roer gereeld, dit kook maklik oor, so hou dit dop. Dit moet lekker dik wees. Gebruik ‘n klein brood pannetjie,

spuit met kleefwerende kossproei en skep die helfte van die maalvleismengsel onder in die pannetjie. Pak ‘n lagie brood bo-op die vleis, sodat die punte van die driehoeke mekaar oorvleuel.. Skep die ander helfde van die maalvleis bo-op die brood. Giet die witsous oor die laaste laag brood. Rasper genoeg kaas oor die witsous en bak in die oond vir ongeveer ‘n half uur of tot mooi bruin en deur gebak. Bedien saam met ‘n lekker slaai.

Nota: Ek het ‘n broodjie gebak van glutenvrye meel en dit gebruik en dit was net so lekker Resep en fotos: Facebook / Rina Kleinhans

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the full-scale construction works for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase 2 will commence this year after being delayed for a number of years.

Delivering his State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Cape Town City Hall onThursday evening, President Ramaphosa said the Lesotho Highlands project is critical to ensuring security of water supply in Gauteng, the Free State, Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Cape.

The LHWPis a binational infrastructure project between Lesotho and SouthAfrica, which involves the construction of a network of tunnels and dams to transfer water from the Orange–Senqu River in the Lesotho Highlands to South Africa, and to utilise the water delivery system to provide hydro-electric power to the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The water transfer component of Phase 2 comprises an approximately 165-metre high concrete faced rockfill dam at Polihali, downstream of the confluence of the Khubelu and Senqu (Orange) Rivers, and an approximately 38-kilometre concrete-lined gravity tunnel connecting the Polihali reservoir to the Katse reservoir

The completion of Phase 2 of LHWPwill augment the transfer of water from Lesotho to South Africa, with an extra 490 million m3/year from the current 780 million m3/year, to make it 1 260 million m3/year through the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS).

The IVRS is the biggest system in the country, which comprises 14 dams with catchments in four provinces, namely the Free State, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and North West.

Major infrastructure projects underway

The President also announced that the Department of Water and Sanitation is leading the process of investing in major water infrastructure projects across the country to ensure water security now and into the future.

“Several decades after it was first proposed and nine years after a sod-turning ceremony was held, the first phase of the Umzimvubu Water Project will start in the next financial year This phase, which involves construction of the Ntabelanga Dam, irrigation infrastructure and the distribution of water to communities, will be financed by government.

“The next phase will be the

construction of the Lilane Dam, which will include a hydro power station. Major projects to increase the capacity of Clanwilliam Dam, Hazelmere Dam and theTzaneen Dam will improve the supply of water to the West Coast, eThekwini and the eastern part of Limpopo,” President Ramaphosa said.

The President said 24 bridges in KwaZulu-Natal are currently under construction and site preparations are being made for a further 24 bridges.

Improvement on water use licence applications

The President also announced an improvement on the turnaround time for water use licence applications, which has seen all applications being processed with 90 days. This follows last year’s

announcement by the President that a comprehensive turnaround plan was being implemented to streamline the process for water use licence applications, with the aim to clear the backlog of applications by June 2022 and to process 80% of all applications within 90 days during the next financial year

“We announced a comprehensive turnaround plan to streamline the process for water use licence applications, which is vital to enable greater investment.

Since then, we have cleared the backlog of water use licences and reduced the turnaround time for applications to 90 days,” President Ramaphosa said. –SAnews.gov.za

Copper 360 Starts Drilling Campaign In The Northern Cape

Emerging miner Copper 360 has started a drilling campaign to confirm the historical drill database from Newmont and Gold Fields on the Rietberg copper mine, in the Northern Cape.

The company had used the previous extensive geological database to model large bodies of copper mineralisation which will be targeted for mining. Owing to the core from the drill holes not being available, the company, as the final step before mining begins, has started a drilling campaign to test the validity of the historic geological database.

The company says results from the first two boreholes have confirmed the validity of the historical database in every aspect from geological rock type, type and quantity of mineralisation, and intersection widths and depths.

The first two holes have made copper intersections of over 45 m each just 30 m below surface. Initial X-ray fluorescence analysis yielded copper values of between 5% and 7% copper

“Having copper orebodies of over 40 m wide with continuous mineralisation running over 3%

to 5% copper over the entire hole just 30 m below surface is spectacular and has exceeded all our expectations.

“What is more, we have development less than 50 m away from the mineralisation with all underground infrastructure in terms of orepasses etcetera already in place. We are currently busy with plant construction and will provide the market with further project updates in the coming months. We continue our drilling programme and will present these results on the day of listing aimed for the end of February,” comments CEO Jan

Copper 360 was formed in November 2022 following a reverse takeover of copper producer BigTree Copper and copper miner SHiPCopper The company will list on the JSE this month.

Copper 360 is currently producing 1 200 t/y ofA-grade copper cathode and is aiming to ramp up production to 7 700 t/y of copper within 24 months.

It is currently building three new copper flotation plants at a cost of R280-million. - Mining Weekly

Nelson.

Vrydag 17 Februarie 2023

Santam: Eise Vir Skade Aan Sensitiewe Elektroniese Items As

Santam, Suid-Afrika se grootste versekeraar, is oorval met medianavrae oor die impak van beurtkrag op versekeringseise.

Beurtkrag is nie ’n versekerbare risiko nie, maar versekeraars bied wel dekking vir skade aan sensitiewe elektroniese items wat deur kragonderbrekings veroorsaak word.

Santam het ’n toename van 60% in eise vir skade aan sensitiewe elektroniese items

as gevolg van kragonderbrekings gesien.

Om toestelle te beskerm en veilig te bly tydens beurtkrag, raai Santam verbruikers en besighede aan om van stroombeskermingstoestelle gebruik te maak, seker te maak dat hul alarmstelsel in ’n goeie werkende toestand is, ’n flits of koplamp byderhand te hou, noodkontakinligting byderhand te hê, toestelle te laai en toestelle te ontkoppel gedurende beurtkrag. -

Afrinuus

Foto: Unsplash

Bladsy 12

For some people, it’s just the ocean,” said Peter Owies, a Doringbaai community leader who grew up and lives in the small fishing community in the Western Cape.

“But if you live along the coastline, for some of us here, it gives you certain answers to certain questions. It’s an area where I used to look, to be quiet and still. No more.”

Owies’s comments come against the backdrop of a case due to play out in the Western Cape High Court between an environmental group and a mining company over continued mining along the West Coast.

Environmental NPC Protect the West Coast (PTWC) lodged an application with the Western Cape High Court to stop a diamond-mining company, Moonstone Diamond Marketing (Pty) Ltd (previouslyTrans Hex), from mining near the fishing community of Doringbaai and potentially along a stretch of coast north of the village that includes biodiversity hotspots such as the Olifants River Estuary and other critical biodiversity areas.

PTWC is arguing that the company, which broke ground last May, is mining with a renewed mining right that is not up to date with current social and environmental legislation nor upto-date science-based recommendations and rehabilitation measures.

In its founding affidavit, which PWTC filed on 15 December 2022 with the Doringbaai and Olifants River Small Scale Fishing Communities, PWTC’s legal team argue that the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), which is responsible for granting mining applications in South Africa, was incorrect to renew Moonstone’s mining rights, which are based on a 17-year-old environmental management plan (EMPr) last updated in 2005.

“If we don’t stop the situation, and we don’t stop companies like Moonstone andTrans Hex from operating under an out-of-date EMPr and in the way that they’ve always operated [not sustainable methods], our entire west coastline will start to look like that of the Northern Cape — a stretch of coastline that spans 250km, and it looks like the moon,” said Mike Schlebach, the CEO of PTWC.

Schlebach emphasised that they were not against mining, but that their main aim was to hold mining companies like Moonstone, the DMRE and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (respondents in the case) accountable and to prioritise issues such as the cumulative impact of mining and to ensure sustainable mining practices are implemented along with the required social and environmental plans.

Moonstone is partly owned by SouthAfrican businessman Christo Wiese — his company Cream Magenta is the biggest shareholder

Trans Hex has an old mining site in Doringbaai from the 1990s that needed a renewed right to start mining there again, which it is entitled to apply for under section 24 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources DevelopmentAct.

It last updated its EMPr in 2005, but SouthAfrican legislation has since changed.

Patrick Forbes, the legal head of PTWC, explained to Daily Maverick that as part of the amendments made to the National Environmental ManagementAct (Nema) and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources DevelopmentAct, we now have the “one environmental system”, which lists mining as one of the trigger activities for which a company needs an environmental authorisation. PTWC contends that the outdated EMPr cannot stand as an environmental authorisation and the mining right ought never to have been summarily renewed on that basis.

Forbes explained that “an application for environmental authorisation requires at the very least public participation, something which was entirely avoided with the current renewal, issued behind closed doors for another 30 years. By avoiding the environmental authorisation process Nema makes provision for, the local communities, the environment and fellow South Africans lose out.Allowing mining to take place in accordance with EMPrs that are 17 years old, without so much as calling for an update, is reckless.”

Moonstone’s mining right was renewed on the basis of its old EMPr from 2005, when the “one environmental system” was not in place, so it doesn’t have an environmental authorisation,

according to PTWC.

InAugust 2021, Moonstone started the first phase of obtaining an environmental authorisation by preparing a draft scoping report for an upgrade of its EMPr.

“So they were themselves of the view, at least at a point in time, that they needed to upgrade their EMPr And then suddenly, that process just stopped,” Forbes said.

As far as PTWC can see, the application for an environmental authorisation was never finished, and the nonprofit didn’t see an environmental impact report circulated for public comment after the scoping report.

Professor Merle Sowman from the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at the University of CapeTown and who is on theAdvisory Board of PTWC has been providing technical advice on the environmental assessment processes linked to the Moonstone and other cases said: “What was weird about the whole thing was that last year they appointed environmental consultants fromArchean resources to start an environmental impact assessment process, which they did begin, and they did prepare what’s known as a draft scoping report [first part of an environmental authorisation process].”

But after the final scoping report had been submitted, in which Moonstone planned to do multiple specialist studies on the beach ecology and fisheries, as well as the impact of aesthetics on tourism, and after the report had been opened for comments (many of which were received on the method of mining and

rehabilitation plans), nothing more was heard.

Then, a few months later in May 2022, Doringbaai residents noticed digging on the beaches had started.

Benefit to the local community Owies said that initially opinion was split in his community when trucks turned up on their beaches in May 2022 — battling extreme levels of unemployment, many people in Doringbaai hoped the mining operation would provide jobs.

But so far only three locals have been hired. What’s more, the small-scale fisheries industry — the main economic activity in the town of 2,500 people — and kelpdrying projects have been affected since the mining prevents access to the beach and the water, while it has had an impact on the area’s ecology too.

“The ecosystem is broken, basically,” said Schlebach, explaining that the excavation of beach sand and disruption of sediment movement can affect various marine organisms, including certain fish species.

“As I grew up, those were areas where we as kids played… that was one of my favourite spots, where I took my dogs for a walk,” said Owies. “Now it is restricted.”

For Owies, the most critical point is to find an alternative that addresses unemployment in the area, but in a way that is meaningful for locals and less harmful to the environment.

He said the government has ignored their socioeconomic problems in the past, and only now that there is an opportunity to mine, has it taken notice.

To the surprise of locals, Moonstone Diamond Marketing started mining on the Doringbaai beach, Western Cape, in May 2022. (Photo: Sacha Specker)

No benefit for indigenous people

Martinus Fredericks, the leader of the Nama (originally spelt !Aman orAmaqua) people of SouthAfrica (clans that lived in this area for hundreds of years, part of the indigenous Khoikhoi), told Daily Maverick that “very few of the indigenous people are being incorporated into the mining activities, because those mining companies normally come with their own people”. “The people of the area don’t really benefit from any of the mining activities… [the only impact is] their coastal resources are now further diminished and destroyed.”

Mining companies are supposed to submit a social and labour plan to government departments as part of their application to mine. It is meant to outline job opportunities the operation will bring, any community-building projects they will undertake, and the contribution their activity will make to the locals.

Because Moonstone hasn’t applied for a new mining right, only the renewal of a decadesold one, PTWC claims there isn’t a new social and labour plan.

Daily Maverick askedTrans Hex’s head of legal,Aaron Larkins, on 23 January why Moonstone hasn’t applied for an environmental authorisation, considering the legislation and environmental landscape has

changed, why it stopped and started the process of obtaining the authorisation, and what benefit it would provide to the community (and whether it had a social labour plan).

Larkins said “the information appears to be incorrect, in material respects, and in any event premised on a one-sided version of the facts/law”.

He did not clarify which facts were incorrect, but added: “Moonstone Diamond Marketing (MDM), or its predecessors, has been conducting a diamond mining operation in the De Punt area for more than 30 years, subject to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s oversight — these operations benefit the local community, not only through employment opportunities but also Social and Labour Projects (SLPProjects).”

Larkins did not provide Daily Maverick with a social and labour project outline or plan.

Finally, he said that if Daily Maverick wanted to publish a “well-balanced” version, it should wait for Moonstone’s answering papers. Moonstone was meant to file answering papers on 25 January, but had not done so by the time of publication.

Daily Maverick also approached the DFFE and DMRE on 23 January, but had not received a response by the time of

publication.

Cumulative impacts

UCT’s Professor Sowman said the 2005 EMPr was out of date since new laws (such as the Integrated Coastal Management Act, 2009) and updates to the environmental impact assessment regulations had not been considered.

“Additionally, the DMRE has not taken into account the cumulative effects of all the developments (past, present and future planned) nor the new knowledge we have about climate change, impacts of mining on beach and marine environments, as well as coastal communities dependent on the sea for their livelihoods, in their decision to renew this mining right.”

Forbes said that since the EMPr was updated in 2005, “significantly more scientific research has been done, more up-to-date and detailed mapping of the West Coast is available, and there has been an avalanche of new mining and prospecting applications that have been given authority and authorisation to mine up there or are under consideration”.

Sowman explained that the DMRE was responsible for approving applications for prospecting or mining on the West Coast — it granted the environmental authorisation.

“Of course, there is a lot of

concern about the minister of DMRE having the authority to give environmental authorisation when DMRE’s main mandate is the exploitation and development of our mineral resources,” she said.

‘Time for change’

PTWC wants the DFFE — also a respondent in the case — to have a coordinated approach with the DMRE, to consider the cumulative impact of all the mining operations that are continually being granted along the West Coast.

“If you look at the Northern Cape — it has just been obliterated in certain areas,” said Forbes. “That’s going to happen on the West Coast as well, if that same sort of dynamic or modus operandi is allowed to take place, where the DMRE just says, ‘go ahead’.”

“This is how mining on the West Coast has happened for the last 100 years — because it’s out of sight and out of mind. It’s time for change,” said Schelbach.

Reflecting on how the cumulative mining operations had affected his clan’s way of life, Fredericks said: “The remnants of our people that are still along the coastline, they live off the sea. They became fishermen, they made their livelihood out of the sea. So if you destroy the coastal areas, you destroy a whole community.”

DM/OBP

Frank Solomon, from Sentinel Ocean Alliance, on the northern side of the Doringbaai Moonstone mine on World Beach Clean-up day, 17 September 2022. (Photo: Sacha Specker)

Environmental NPO Protect the West Coast has lodged an application with the Western Cape High Court to halt diamond mining company, Moonstone Diamond Marketing, from mining near the fishing community of Doringbaai. (Photo: Sacha Specker)

Coca-Cola Beverages Expands Rollout Of 2l Returnable Pet Bottles

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) is rolling out its 2Lreturnable bottle, also known as its refillable PETbottle (RefPET), in Mangaung in the Free State and Northern Cape, as part of its stated commitment to reduce plastic waste.

Source: Supplied

Source: Supplied

Since 2019, CCBSAhas successfully launched RefPETin the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo, North-West, Mpumalanga and parts of the Free State and plans to expand this offering in a bid to include consumers as an important part of the recycling value chain.

Food and beverage packaging is important to ensure food safety and reduce food waste, but packaging has also created an environmental waste problem that requires a comprehensive response.

As part of its responsibility to help address this challenge, CocaCola Beverages SouthAfrica, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola BeveragesAfrica (CCBA) and a bottler forThe Coca-Cola Company, has committed to help collect a bottle or can for every single one it sells by 2030.

It will also use 50% recycled content in all packaging and make 25% of its packaging reusable by 2030, while making all its packaging 100% recyclable by 2025.

“We are very excited by this progressive phase of our RefPET rollout in the two provinces.This innovation is part of our World Without Waste Vision 2030, which relies on partnerships with customers, consumers, communities, industry, and governments to succeed. Our vision and annual targets are ambitious, but our results have shown us that it is possible to make a meaningful contribution towards helping create a wastefree planet,” said Velaphi Ratshefola, CCBSA’s managing director

Ratshefola added that the consumer response to the new 2Lreturnable PETbottles has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Where we have launched RefPET, we have seen consumers switching to purchasing the returnable 2L bottles and returning them after consumption.This is what we

envisioned with this innovation, to encourage consumers to return the bottles for reuse, for as long as the bottle passes the quality test. We are excited about this next phase of the project in the two provinces,” says Ratshefola.

How the system works

The returnable PETbottles are identifiable by a paper label, with ‘RETURNABLE’appearing in green on the front of the bottle.To start the communities and households on this loop, the company will give each household a 2LRefPETsample that they can exchange for a deposit when they buy any of the products available in a 2L RefPETfrom the local store.

Plastics SAannounces latest industry production, recycling stats

The recommended retail price for the 2LCoca-Cola OriginalTaste –Less Sugar beverage is R16, which excludes a R9 deposit. Other brands, like Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite and Fanta, are also available in the new 2Lreturnable PETplastic bottle at a recommended retail price of R14 excluding the R9 deposit.This means a saving of around R9 per

Source: Supplied

bottle, depending on where a customer purchases their favourite beverage. Once a bottle is returned to CCBSA, it goes on a looped journey to be cleaned in accordance with Coca-Cola’s stringent measures and requirements, then refilled to start its next lifecycle. When the bottle reaches the end of its useable lifecycle, it joins the recycling value chain and is repurposed into another PETproduct.

High Dropout Rate – Pregnant Learners Need Support To Finish Their Schooling

involve a counsellor and a social worker,” he said.

He said the community has high unemployment.

“We see how appalling the economic situation is and we see how most of the learners, especially the girls — because they don’t have much support from their parents — get resources from older boys and as a result, some of them get pregnant and drop out of school,” said Ocansey

“The prevalence of teenage pregnancies occurs across all districts, but mainly in the Frances Baard and JohnTaolo Gaetsewe districts.These figures are of great concern to the department,” said Van der Merwe.

He said teenage pregnancies were also related to drug and alcohol abuse.

Equal Education researchers

In the Northern Cape Joe Morolong Local Municipality, only half the learners who start primary school make it to high school, and only 15% of all residents finish Grade 12, according to a recent report from the education department.

The Northern Cape Education Department has cited teenage pregnancy as a contributor to high dropout rates. Its Zero Dropout Campaign report documents worrying school dropout and completion rates in the province.

Other factors include a lack of parental support, unsafe journeys to school, pressure to

earn an income, and taking risks to get noticed by “betterresourced groups”, such as criminal gangs and sugar daddies.

“Very few girls go back to school after giving birth,” says Frederick Ocansey of theYethu Club in Kuruman, which is focused on reducing dropout rates.

Ocansey said they are approached by parents, school staff and members of the community who are concerned that a learner is at risk of dropping out. “We will then speak to the learner involved. Where the situation is too difficult for us to resolve, we

He said the education department should provide more counsellors at schools to help pregnant learners cope and to encourage them to finish their schooling. “They need to be motivated that they still need to be educated even though they are pregnant,” said Ocansey

Spokesperson for the department Geoffrey van der Merwe said 5,015 teenage pregnancies were recorded from April 2020 to June 2021 among learners aged 10 to 19. Learners aged 10 to 14 accounted for 154 of these pregnancies.

The Northern Cape has 556 public schools, of which 89 primary schools and 15 high schools are in the Joe Morolong Municipality

Jane Borman and Stacey Jacobs said the psychological impact of a pregnancy also affected male learners, though “female learners are more likely than males to experience social stigma and more likely to have their schooling interrupted because of a pregnancy”.

The prospect of having to financially care for a child may also cause the learner to look for employment instead of completing school.

In 2020, at the height of the Covid pandemic, the average annual learner dropout rate in the Northern Cape rose from 4% (about 11,000 learners) from Grades R to 12 to 7% (21,415 learners). By 2021, there was “a historic decrease” and the dropout rate fell to 2.8%, said van der Merwe. DM

Welcome to Horseshoe Inn

The Horseshoe Inn Conference Centre,a landmarkinKimberley,offersoneof Kimberley’smostsophisticatedandbiggest venues,agenuineprimefacilitythatoffers anythingfromcorporateboardmeetings, auctions,productdemonstrations, conferences,weddings,anniversaries, birthdayparties…..ANYSPECIAL OCCASION!!!

☑ Boardroom-upto25pax

☑ Paddock-upto50pax

☑ Brumby-upto200pax

☑ Stables-upto150pax

☑ Peperboom-upto40pax

☑ Showhorse-upto450pax

☑ WhitehouseBoardroom-upto10pax

☑ WhitehouseLapa-upto60pax CONTACT

TFR And Kalagadi Strike Historic Partnership To Boost Emerging Miners

In a massive boost for emerging miners,Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and Manganese giant, Kalagadi Manganese Resources (Pty) Ltd, have signed a historic partnership.The public signing on the sidelines of the all important Investing inAfrican Mining Indaba at the CapeTown Convention Centre, saw the two parties commit to further growing the sector with the roll out of a pilot project to assist the emerging miners with rail loading facilities.

This first of a kind inititive will help ease the bottlenecks faced by emerging miners which includes access to capital for investment in rail loading facilities, without which the emerging miners are being excluded from the export markets as they cannot access rail services.

Transnet has been engaged in the project to enable new emerging miner entrants in the

export manganese sector and made available 2mtpa of rail and port capacity to emerging miners, commencing on 1April 2023.

Kalagadi has offered to make its state of the art rapid load out station available for use by emerging miners who will benefit from the 2mtpa allocation.This move sees to a number of emerging miners who would not have been able to raise the required capital for investment in a loading facility accommodated on rail. Kalagadi will hand over the common user facility to a third party operator This will enable independent, transparent and equitable operation of loading services across all common users, including Kalagadi.

The Kalagadi rapid loading station is a state of the art facility that can turn aroundTransnet trains less than four (4) hours against the rail service design of

12 hours.This will enable better efficiencies on the rail operations as the trains will turn around quicker, enabling increased volumes through improved asset utilisation.The common user facility is next to the Kalagadi Mine farm in the HotazelArea, Northern Cape.

As a custodian of the Manganese Export Capacity Allocation (MECA) program,

Transnet welcomes this development and is excited at the prospects of the new entrants commencing export market participation by 01April 2023.

The parties have agreed on a working team including a representative from the merging miners that will focus on operationalization of this facility by 01April 2023.

Photo: Supplied

South Africa’s Rightfulshare Unveils Universal Basic Income (UBI) Scheme Using Digital Currencies In Partnership With Gooddollar

The first initial transfer recipient was sent directly to Delano, a local agriculture entrepreneur from the small town of Groblershoop in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, a region where the formal unemployment rate is around 50%, with many young adults trying to find creative solutions like small businesses and entrepreneurship to earn a living.

RighfulShare, an independent initiative by a former SouthAfrican Member of Parliament, has launched an unconditional universal basic income transfer with UBI protocol, GoodDollar, in South Africa.

The first initial transfer recipient was sent directly to Delano, a local agriculture entrepreneur from the small town of Groblershoop in the

Northern Cape province of South Africa, a region where the formal unemployment rate is around 50%, with many young adults trying to find creative solutions like small businesses and entrepreneurship to earn a living.

The GoodDollar protocol is a community-driven, distributed framework designed to generate, fund, and distribute global basic income via the GoodDollar token (G$). G$ is an ERC-20 digital asset built on the Ethereum blockchain that operates within the emerging ecosystem of decentralized and open finance. GoodDollar leverages new protocols and smart contracts across the ecosystem to deliver its basic income economy

“We need a new approach to addressing poverty in SouthAfrica.

The current system is not working and we can no longer pretend that there will be enough jobs for everyone. By bringing visibility to the benefits of a digital basic income transfer, we’re expanding the possibilities for SouthAfricans and nourishing the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit present in the country ,” says Karen Jooste, Founder of RightfulShare.

According to RightfulShare, this is a pioneering step for fairer income access bringing both resources and Web3 solutions to a small town in the country

With the introduction of an unconditional universal basic income (UBI), RighfulShare aims to show that changing the current socio-economic system that disadvantages those without funds

is possible by supporting individuals to meet their basic needs and expand their opportunities.

Alongside the basic income transfer, beneficiaries will also have access to mentoring and learning opportunities.These will range from business development to Web3 education, to introduce and expand the opportunities participants can access.

The project is also being replicated in the metaverse, with the entire town of Groblershoop being built so those across the world can gain context.Those who contribute will be issued a social yield to document their investment on chain, the project says. - https://bitcoinke.io/

Bou Met Poort Beton in 2023

Het u al die materiaal wat u benodig om u projek suksesvol af te handel ?

Moenie onkant gevang word nie

he Umsobomvu local municipality in the Northern Cape has been fined R10 million for spilling raw sewage in the Karoo town of Noupoort that posed a “huge health risk” for local residents.

The fine has, however, been suspended for five years on condition that the municipality is not convicted of further offences in terms of the National Environmental ManagementAct (Nema) and abides by a series of conditions to stop the sewage pollution, detailed in the plea and sentence agreement that was signed on 8 February The conditions include ensuring that wastewater is effectively dealt with and that sewage is adequately cleaned up.

The matter arose after Noupoort farmer Pieter Langenhoven registered a case with the local police, who referred the investigation to the Green Scorpions in the national department of forestry, fisheries and the environment.

The unit’s inspectors investigated and the Northern Cape director of public prosecutions’office decided to prosecute on charges of causing significant pollution or degradation of the environment.

In the dock in the Colesberg regional court were the municipality, together withAmos China Mpela, the former municipal manager, Simphiwe Nkcithiso, acting municipal manager, and Franklin Swartz, the head of water, sanitation

and solid waste.

In their first appearance on 13 December, the matter was set down for a plea.The agreement that was reached noted how the management of Noupoort’s sewage system “falls within the ambit of these three positions in the municipality”. Under the agreement, the state agreed to withdraw all charges against the individuals.

Sewage spillages

The deal detailed how the municipality had admitted that various complaints were submitted to it from 2017 up to date regarding pollution in the area of Noupoort.

During a site visit by the the department’s inspectors on 22 June 2020, at and near the Eurekaville pump station, sewage debris/sludge was observed next to the manhole and untreated sewage water was flowing into Noupoort drift and Van der Heever drift, which is a water course.

There was also a “pervasive” sewage smell and dark green water, “which was clearly contaminated” as well as traces of sewage water, sewage debris and grey water along the Noupoort drift and on Langenhoven’s farm.

The municipality, too, admitted that at and near Reguit street pump station, raw sewage spillages were observed and the manhole was overflowing and pooling water next to the pump station.At and near Klaasen street, the manhole was observed overflowing with sewage,

while there were pools of “potentially contaminated water”.

Noupoort drift flows into the Van der Heever drift, which flows into Langenhoven’s farm right next to Noupoort.The immediate area of the Reguit street pump station was contaminated with the untreated wastewater “because of overflowing of wastewater containing high amounts of faecal coliforms and E.coli over a period of time into the immediate field area”.

Under the agreement, the municipality admitted that on diverse occasions from 2017 to date untreated waste containing high amounts of faecal coliforms and E.coli overflowed from different manholes and at the two pump stations in Noupoort and into the Noupoort drift and Van der Heever drift. It conceded that the pollution of Noupoort drift had a “direct and negative impact” on Langenhoven’s farming activities.

The municipality acknowledged it failed to take all reasonable measures to manage the waste in such a manner that it does not endanger health or the environment or cause nuisance through noise, odour or visual impacts, which failure caused significant pollution or degradation of the environment.

The agreement noted that a sample collected downstream in Noupoort drift was analysed and indicated that the samples contained high amounts of faecal coliforms and E.coli.

“The accused knew that it was its responsibility to ensure the sufficient and safe management of the waste in the town of Noupoort and that it is a punishable offence not to take all reasonable measures to manage the waste in such a manner that it does not cause significant pollution or degradation of the environment or is likely to cause significant pollution or degradation of the environment,” read the agreement.

Aggravating circumstances

Mitigating circumstances in the matter include that the municipality had drafted a business plan and had secured funding for the refurbishment of the Noupoort sewage system.The tender to refurbish the sewer system was finalised and the successful company had already started with

the project, the agreement noted. Funding of about R18 000 000 was provided for this project, which is supposed to be completed by March this year

“The accused undertook to put specific measures in place to sufficiently and safely manage the waste of Noupoort from now on, and shows true remorse for its transgressions.”

The aggravating circumstances were that the pollution had occurred over an extended period and made certain areas in Noupoort “unsafe and led to a huge health risk”; had a direct adverse impact on various members of the community; and that “the negative impact already caused by the pollution “cannot be reversed”.

Among the conditions of the suspension of the hefty fine is that the municipality appoints an independent wastewater engineer to evaluate its refurbishment project, that any sewage overflows or sewage spillages in the Noupoort sewage be cleaned up, and that any blockages in the sewage system be unblocked within 72 hours of the finalisation of the agreement.

All the sewage pump stations and manholes in Noupoort must be inspected twice a week, with a register to be kept noting such inspections.Any blockages of the sewage system or malfunctioning of the sewage pumps must be attended to within 72 hours of the municipality becoming aware of the problem.

The municipality, too, must take water water samples from the boreholes, which supply the town of Noupoort with drinking water, have it tested at an accredited laboratory and submit the results to the department by 28 February

The department’s spokespersonAlbi Modise said the unlawful and uncontrolled release of sewage has the potential to cause damage to the environment, which may result in adverse human health effects.

“For this reason, there are several provisions which are contained in Nema, and its subordinate environmental legislation, which criminalises such behaviour.” - Mail & Guardian

The Umsobomvu local municipality in the Northern Cape has been fined R10 million for spilling raw sewage in the Karoo town of Noupoort that posed a “huge health risk” for local residents. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Chemical Evidence For Milk, Meat, And Marine Resource Processing In Later Stone Age Pots From Namaqualand, South Africa

Continues from last week

These lipid extracts underwent gas chromatography-combustionisotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) analyses (Fig. 4, Table 3) to determine the δ13C values of the major fatty acids, C16:0 and C18:0, which reflect their biosynthetic and dietary origin, and ascertain the source of the lipids extracted41,74,75.

Across the four sites, the δ13C16:0 values of the fatty acids range from − 25.5 to − 19.7‰ and the δ13C18:0 values range from − 27.3 to − 20.2‰ (Table 3).This relatively wide range of values could be interpreted as resulting from the processing of carcass products from terrestrial animals subsisting on diets of mostly C3 and, possibly, minor amounts of C4 or CAM plants.As noted, CAM plants are commonplace in the region.Alargescale study (n = 103) on leaf tissues of vascular plant species from the arid Richtersveld of northern Namaqualand revealed two distinct arrays of δ13C values60.The C3 species analysed had values ranging from -13 to -21‰, with the largest number of species falling in the − 17 to − 18‰ range, in contrast to values for the CAM (mainly succulent) flora where the range is − 4 to − 8‰.Alternatively, and bearing in mind the proximity of SK2005/057Aand SK2006/026 to theAtlantic Ocean and JKB M and JKB K to the Orange River, the somewhat enriched δ13C values could be indicative of mixtures between terrestrial and marine/freshwater commodities39,79,80.

Consequently, 50 lipid-yielding samples (SK2005/057A, n = 10; SK2006/026, n = 15; JKB M, n = 15 and JKB K, n = 10, seeTable 3) were sub-sampled from the original 78 for analysis by GC–MS in selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode to check for the presence of freshwater/marine biomarkers, such as vicinal dihydroxy acid (DHYAs) and ω-(o-alkylphenyl) alkanoic acids (APAAs), which would confirm the presence of precursor longchain mono- and polyunsaturated fats, respectively, abundant in fresh marine/aquatic fats such as fish, marine mammal, shellfish, and crustaceans. In addition, a third class of biomarker, isoprenoid fatty acids (IFAs), comprising 4,8,12trimethyltridecanoic acid (TMTD), 3,7,11,15 tetramethylhexadecanoic acid (phytanic acid), and 2,6,10,14tetramethylpentadecanoic acid (pristanic acid), important biomarkers in the detection of marine food processing39,81,82, were investigated. However, it should be noted that phytanic acid is also found in low concentrations in terrestrial fats such as milk83,84,85 and thus can only be interpreted as a marine biomarker when found in association with

TMTD (which only occurs in the marine environment) and pristanic acid84.The presence and combinations of these biomarkers are routinely used to detect marine product processing39,80,82,86,87. Notably, here, their identification in specific vessels demonstrates that the lipid profiles fall into two distinct categories: marine resources (fish, shellfish, Cape rock lobster and seal processing) at coastal sites (SK2005/057Aand SK2006/026) or terrestrial products (meat and milk) at inland sites (JKB M and JKB K).

Fish, shellfish, cape rock lobster and seal processing

Notably, at SK2005/057A, a coastal site, seven of the ten vessels (70%) which underwent SIM contained C18, C20 and C22APAAs and a further two sherds produced the C18 and C20APAAs, providing unambiguous evidence for the processing of marine products in virtually all vessels tested, possibly in conjunction with animal carcass fats.Two of these vessels also included the 4,8,12-TMTD, pristanic acid and phytanic acid with one only containing the 4,8,12-TMTD (Table 3 and Fig. 4c), further strengthening these attributions.At SK2006/026, nine of nineteen (47%) vessels contained C18, C20 and C22 APAAs and two (10%) included the C18 and C20APAAs (Table 3 and Fig. 4d).Also present in five of the SK2006 vessels were 4,8,12-TMTD and phytanic acid.This suggests that marine products were processed in at least two thirds of vessels analysed at the two coastal sites. SinceAPAAs are only formed at high temperatures (at c. 270 °C), from the protracted heating of polyunsaturated fatty acids, their presence suggests prolonged boiling of either fish, shellfish, rock lobster or sea mammals in pots at SK2005/057Aand SK2006/026, confirmed by extremely high lipid concentrations in many of the vessels.The absence of detectable marine biomarkers in the remaining vessels that underwent SIM does not preclude the processing of marine fats, since they may not have survived or, possibly, were processed under conditions not conductive to their formation.

Meat and milk

In contrast, at the Orange River inland sites of JKB K and JKB M, there is little evidence for the exploitation of freshwater resources, with eleven (of fifteen, 73%) and four (of ten, 40%) vessels, respectively, only yielding the C18APAAs.At both sites, the vessels appear to predominantly be used to process ruminant adipose products, confirmed by the presence of sheep and small bovid bone at both sites (Table 1 and Fig. 4a,b). Notably, the δ13C values of the ruminant lipids from these sites are of C3 origin, albeit somewhat enriched, suggesting they originate

from grazing species (sheep or other bovids) subsisting on mainly grasses (and the possible addition of minor amounts of C4 or CAM plants), rather than browsers exploiting enriched (CAM) plant succulent species. It is also possible that, should the vessels have been used occasionally for dedicated plant processing of C4/CAM plants, then fatty acids derived from these could contribute more enriched δ13C values to the overall fatty acid signature of the C16:0 and C18:0 fatty acids.These results confirm the importance of livestock and/or hunted small bovids, as a meat source over at least the span of the last 2000 years.

Most notably, evidence for dairy processing is present at both sites. At JKB M, one vessel plots within the ruminant dairy region (NAM76, Δ13C value of – 3.6‰, Fig. 4a) and the remainder (n = 18) plot within the ruminant adipose region, save for two sherds (NAM66, Δ13C = − 0.8‰) and NAM69 (NAM69, Δ13C = − 0.6‰) which plot between the ruminant and non-ruminant regions.At JKB K two vessels, NAM82 and NAM103B, plot within the ruminant dairy region (Δ13C values of − 4.6 and − 5.2‰, respectively) with the rest plotting within the ruminant adipose region.

Here, organic residue analysis of archaeological potsherds from Namaqualand provides the first direct chemical evidence for people processing milk and/or milk products in ceramic pottery in western SouthAfrica during the LSA.Three of the 78 lipid-yielding sherds, originating from inland sites which produced sheep bones, contained dairy lipids.These results bear out the ethnohistoric accounts, which suggest milk was usually stored in organic containers but that pots were occasionally used to cook milk, often together with other foodstuffs (see Refs.25,28,33,34,35,36 for examples). Given that the milk from their animals is thought to be the staple feature of LSAherder

diets25, at least in the second millenniumAD, it could be hypothesised that dairy processing at these sites may well be underrepresented, largely taking place in organic vessels such as calabashes and leather bags, particularly bearing in mind its greater prevalence at sites in Lesotho40. Similarly, in a recent study88 on modern-day Samburu pottery from Kenya, combining lipid analysis and ethnographic information, the Samburu pottery lipid residues were found to reflect the functional and ideological suitability of ceramics for processing only certain types of food (meat/fat/bones), despite an overall reliance on milk in their diet88.

The lipid analysis has thus confirmed both the antiquity (from the earliest introduction of sheep) and longevity (to the historic period) of the use of milk products as part of a herd management strategy (Table 3).The high lipid concentrations in two of these dairy sherds, (one from each site, i.e., NAM76, 2.2 mg g−1 and NAM103b, 10.1 mg g−1;Table 3) suggests the vessels saw sustained use, probably in boiling or cooking. Furthermore, two of these fall well within the dairy range, indicating that it is unlikely that people were using these pots to cook milk in combination with other foodstuffs, i.e. meat, as some ethnohistoric36 accounts document.The processing of milk and plants together21, however, cannot be ruled out as low lipid-yielding plants may well be ‘swamped’by milk fats, which contain several orders of magnitude higher lipid concentrations than the lipid concentrations of plant-based foods89,90.

The identification of marine product processing in most vessels at the two coastal sites (and absence of evidence for dairy processing), SK2005/057Aand SK2006/026, are in good agreement with those obtained from the pre-colonial site Kasteelberg De21 where spouted ware vessels were used to process marine-derived animal products,

‘Homestead of the so-called Strandlopers (San or Khoikhoi) just north of the Orange River’s mouth’, showing the roasting of what appears to be shellfish over the fire. Attributed to Robert Jacob Gordon, 1779. Adapted from https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/RP-T-1914-1791.

despite sheep bones being abundant at the site. However, it should be noted that the occupation of Kasteelberg De was earlier (eighth–eleventh centuries AD)39 compared to the coastal sites analyzed here (fifteenth–seventeenth centuries AD)61,65, and are located about 600 km apart.Their faunal assemblages also differ, e.g., seals at KBD versus Cape rock lobster at SK2005/057Aand SK2006/026, possibly reflecting the availability of differing resources at each site.

At SK2005/057Athe pottery lipids ultimately reflect the mixed processing of terrestrial and marine animal products (Fig. 4). Since this is a single occupation open-air site, the results suggest that the people occupying the site may have carried their pottery with them as they moved around the landscape and likely used and reused their pots to process whichever resources were available at different locations and times of the year. Notably, the presence ofAPAAs in the (absorbed) lipid residues from vessel NAM24 suggests the processing of marine products during the lifetime use of the vessel. Conversely, these are absent from the surface residue which was found to comprise ruminant adipose products, thus representing the final foodstuffs cooked within this pot91.

Nonetheless, the dominance of shellfish and Cape rock lobster in the faunal assemblage suggests that two thirds of vessels at the site containing marine biomarkers were used in their processing.

Along with several shellfish and vertebrate species, the Cape rock lobster (Jasus lalandii) was an important marine resource for people during the precolonial past along the Western Cape coast92. However, although there are no ethnohistoric or ethnographic accounts (to our knowledge) for how people specifically cooked either, an image attributed to Robert Jacob Gordon (Fig. 5) does show a group of people just north of the Orange River’s mouth, roasting what appears to be shellfish over the fire22 thus it may be more likely that people boiled Cape rock lobster in pots and roasted shellfish over fires. Alternatively, and since it is likely that people carried their pots from site to site instead of making new ones at each location, the marine signal seen in the pots at SK2005/057Amay originate from rendering of some seal fats even though there are none in the assemblage (Table 1). Seal fat processing would likely produce the high lipid concentrations seen in many of the vessels from both sites (seeTable 3), which do suggest the intensive and/or

specialized processing of marine products.The boiling of seal fat/meat is well-documented ethnohistorically, for example, van Riebeeck3,26 noted that some Khoekhoen groups used seal oil for body adornment as well as to add fat to their diet.

In contrast, the faunal assemblage at SK2006/026 may suggest distinct uses for the vessels.

Marine products processed in the vessels likely again comprised Cape rock lobster and/or shellfish, which dominate the faunal assemblage, although one seal bone is also present (Table 1). However, the faunal assemblage is unusual in that it includes a large number of one species, namely springbok antelope (a ruminant), indicating that it was a springbok kill site. Five of the six vessels which did not include marine biomarkers from SK2006/026 plot in the ruminant carcass region and contain generally high lipid concentrations, hinting that they may have been used for largescale processing of springbok meat, although some minor marine input cannot be discounted.

Ataphonomic analysis of the springbok assemblage25, found that the long bones were highly fragmented, ranging from 24.3 to 40.9 mm in length and over half (54%) displayed spiral fractures, indicating they were broken when fresh.This pattern is consistent with intentional fracturing to boil bones to extract marrow/grease65. While it is unknown if grease was being produced for body adornment26, to supplement a generally fat-lean diet27, or to extract all available nutrients during a nutritionally lean time, the demographic profile of the springbok indicates that the site was occupied during a drought57,64,65.The zooarchaeological results are thus in good agreement with stable light isotope analysis of the juvenile springbok antelope teeth, which identified a trend towards high δ15N values during tooth formation57 with the most enriched numbers occurring closer to the animals’death.These results may suggest vessels did indeed serve distinct purposes, possibly indicating that people were intensively processing springbok antelope and Cape rock lobster and/or seal in specific pots or at least, in some vessels, intensive processing of springbok swamped out any other lipid signal.

In summary, the combination of ethnohistoric accounts, faunal information, and lipid analysis has provided valuable information on the economic strategies of LSA herders and foragers across the unpredictable environment of the northwestern Cape of SouthAfrica.

Our results confirm the extensive processing of marine products by foragers at coastal sites and the importance of both meat and milk products to early stockkeepers.

Methods

Atotal of 106 sherds from the four sites were selected for analysis (seeTable 2).At Jakkalsberg M, we selected 23 undiagnostic body sherds from the 202 potsherds (including at least 6 rim sherds) recovered from the site. Nineteen sherds were decorated with incised horizontal lines61,62 and three lugs and two small bosses were present.Atotal of 798 sherds were excavated from Jakkalsberg K, comprising 24 undecorated rim sherds, two lugs, and one sherd possibly from the base of a spout61. Of these, we selected 36 undiagnostic body sherds for analysis.At SK2005/057A, 86 potsherds were recovered, including a single rim fragment with two rows of impressions, a plain rim sherd, and a cluster of very fine-grained and thinnerwalled sherds61. Here we selected 18 undiagnostic body sherds for analysis. Finally, 160 potsherds were recovered from the site SK2006/026, including five rim sherds, one of which was decorated with two parallel rows of impressed dots.There were no identifiable lugs in the ceramic assemblage, although one body sherd appears to have been reinforced internally, perhaps forming the edge of a lug65.Atotal of 29 undiagnostic body sherds were selected for analysis.

Lipid analysis and interpretations were performed using established protocols described in detail in earlier publications71. Briefly, ~ 2 g of potsherd was sampled, and surfaces cleaned with a modelling drill to remove exogenous lipids. The cleaned sherd powder was crushed in a solvent-washed mortar and pestle and weighed into a furnaced culture tube (I).An internal standard was added (20 µg n-tetratriacontane; Sigma Aldrich Company Ltd) together with 5 mLof H2SO4/MeOH 2–4% (δ13C value measured) and the culture tubes were placed on a heating block for 1 h at 70 °C, mixing every 10 min. Once cooled, the methanolic acid was transferred to test tubes and centrifuged at 2500 rpm for 10 min.The supernatant was then decanted into another furnaced culture tube (II) and 2 mLof DCM extracted double distilled water was added.

In order to recover any lipids not fully solubilised by the methanol solution, 2 × 3 mLof n-hexane was added to the extracted potsherds contained in the original culture tubes, mixed well and transferred to culture tube II.The extraction was transferred to a clean,

furnaced 3.5 mLvial and blown down to dryness. Following this, 2 × 2 mLn-hexane was added directly to the H2SO4/MeOH solution in culture tube II and whirlimixed to extract the remaining residues, then transferred to the 3.5 mLvials and blown down until a full vial of nhexane remained.Aliquots of the TLE’s were derivatised using 20 µL BSTFA, excess BSTFAwas removed under nitrogen and the derivatisedTLE was dissolved in n-hexane prior to GC, GC–MS and GC-C-IRMS. Firstly, the samples underwent high-temperature gas chromatography using a gas chromatograph (GC) fitted with a high temperature non-polar column (DB1-HT; 100% dimethylpolysiloxane, 15 m × 0·32 mm i.d., 0.1 μm film thickness). The carrier gas was helium, and the temperature programme comprised a 50 °C isothermal followed by an increase to 350 °C at a rate of 10 °C min−1 followed by a 10 min isothermal.

Aprocedural blank (no sample) was prepared and analysed alongside every batch of samples. Further compound identification was accomplished using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). FAMEs were then introduced by autosampler onto a GC–MS fitted with a non-polar column (100% dimethyl polysiloxane stationary phase: 60 m × 0.25 mm i.d., 0·1 μm film thickness).The instrument was aThermoFinnigan single quadrupoleTraceMS run in EI mode (electron energy 70 eV, scan time of 0·6 s). Samples were run in full scan mode (m/z 50–650) and the temperature programme comprised an isothermal hold at 50 °C for 2 min, ramping to 300 °C at 10 °C min−1, followed by an isothermal hold at 300 °C (15 min). The instrument was a ThermoFinnigan single quadrupole TraceMS run in EI mode (electron energy 70 eV, scan time of 0·6 s). Samples were run in full scan mode (m/z 50–650) and the temperature programme comprised an isothermal hold at 50 °C for 2 min, ramping to 300 °C at 10 °C min−1, followed by an isothermal hold at 300 °C (15 min). Data acquisition and processing were carried out using the HP Chemstation software (Rev C.01.07 (27),AgilentTechnologies) and Xcalibur software (version 3.0). Peaks were identified based on their mass spectra and gas chromatography (GC) retention times, by comparison with the NISTmass spectral library (version 2.0).

Selected lipid extracts were investigated using GC/MS-SIM for high-sensitivity detection of ω-(oalkylphenyl) alkanoic acids (APAAs) and dihydroxy acids (DHFAs). - Nature.com

Eerste vir STAAL

Accredited Training Centre

TRAININGDATES-Upington,KakamasandKeimoes

*FOOD SAFETY*

20 January 2023

Upington

R900,00 for 1 day

Starting time: 09:00

*HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVE*

25 - 26 January 2023

15 - 16 February

2023

15 - 16 March 2023

Upington

R990,00 for 2 Days

StartingTime: 09:00

01 - 02 February

2023

Kakamas

JanuarytoMarch2023

R990,00 for 2 Days

StartingTime: 09:00

*FIRSTAID LEVEL 1*

23 - 24 January 2023 13 - 14 February 2023 13 - 14 March 2023

Upington

R950,00 for 2 Days

StartingTime: 09:00

30 - 31 January 2023

Kakamas

R950,00 for 2 Days

StartingTime: 09:00

*BASIC FIRE FIGHTING*

27 January 2023

17 February 2023

17 March 2023

Upington

R700,00 for 1 Day

StartingTime: 09:00

*WORD & EXCEL* 08 - 09 February 2023

R980,00 for 2 days

Upington

Starting time: 09:00

*OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR*

24 February 2023

R1200,00 for 1 day

Starting time: 08:00

*STOCK CONTROLLER*

06 - 07 February 2023

R1200,00 for 2 days

Starting time: 09:00

*SUPERVISION*

20 - 21 February 2023

Upington

R1200,00 for 2 days

Starting time: 09:00

*STACKING & STORAGE*

24 February 2023

Keimoes

R900,00 for 1 day

Starting time: 09:00

KOMPETISIE COMPETITION

VRAAG:

Waar is die nuwe The Fish & Chip Co. geleë ?

WhatsApp na: ANTWOORD 060 701 6078

Trekking 28 Februarie 2023

Prys: Fish & Chip / Russian &Chip Voucher

Kolomela Supports Agricultural Seminar For Emerging Farmers

Kumba Iron Ore’s Kolomela mine strives to build thriving communities and protect livelihoods by entering into strategic partnerships that will realise alternative and sustainable economic sectors. Farming in the Northern Cape has been subjected to persistent droughts and the sector must seek innovative ways to overcome challenges. To enhance farming in the Northern Cape, Kolomela recently donated R100,000 towards the hosting of an agricultural seminar by the Northern Cape Dorper Club.

In his speech at the farmers seminar Keaobaka Matilo, community liaison specialist at Kolomela described agriculture as a crucial and strategic sector that facilitates food security and creates livelihoods. “It is very important to sustain the economic growth of the Northern Cape while impacting lives positively This

initiative is in line with one of the pillars of our Sustainable Mining Plan which isThriving Communities and one of our stretch goals which is Livelihoods. It also links to our vision of shared, sustainable prosperity in our host communities beyond the lifespan of the mine.”

The informative agricultural seminar held at the Postmasburg Showgrounds, focused on the informationand training needs of farmers in general, but specifically our emerging Northern Cape farmers. Emerging farmers from all over the Northern Cape attended the seminar and each delegate received an information bulletin that contains valuable farming advice.The presentations of the day included lectures and exhibits by esteemed agricultural scientists, breeding experts and farming specialists.

Keaobaka Matilo from Kolomela addresses the audience at the agricultural seminar by the Northern Cape Dorper Club.

Anja Meintjes – Secretary of the Northern Cape Dorper Club, Rikus van der Merwe – Chairman of the Dorper Sheep Breeders Society of South Africa, Keaobaka Matilo, community liaison specialist from Kolomela mine, Japie Oberholster, Hardus Korb, Larry Snyders (part of the club management) and John Daniel – Chairman of the Northern Cape Dorper Club.

When The Singer Met The Veld Shaman – Healing With Herbs, Song And Blessings

inside. It is his murmurings one occasionally hears during her Friday broadcasts of Kruie Kraai Koning on Radio Sonder Grense.

Healing with herbs

The conversation slips to Karoo plants after Oom Johannes walks in. Oom Johannes says he believes Karoo herbs have an answer for depression, Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficit disorder, ailing kidneys, skin diseases and more.

medical treatment. Her liver was badly damaged and for nearly two months she could hardly move about.

Healed by an old shepherd

“I needed help, and it was clear to me that it would not come from conventional medicine,” she says. “If there was anything that could make me well again, it was the healing herbs of the Karoo,” saidAntoinette.

e meet up withAntoinette

Pienaar and Oom Johannes Willemse in a church hall in Loxton, Northern Cape, on a Saturday morning in 2010.

It’s a fundraiser for a local charity, andAntoinette’s first performance in a long time. She has already spent several years as an apprentice to renowned Griqua herb doctor and jackal hunter Oom Johannes Willemse. He’s sitting in the front row, both hands restful on his walking stick.

Swooping about like a sunburnt angel in an altar-dress white robe, with Morné Serfontein accompanying her on piano and accordion,Antoinette transforms the village kerksaal (church hall) into a New Orleans basement club. One where they sing in Afrikaans.

She sings in praise of windmills, love, yearning and the open skies of the Karoo, filling the hall with her unmistakable voice and huge personality The after-show treats – baked by Loxton farmers’ wives – are memorable.

Sleepover atTheefontein

Two years later, we overnight withAntoinette and Oom Johannes, near Beaufort West onTheefontein farm, a place only found via an intricate set of directions involving small dirt roads with middelmannetjies (the humps between wheel ruts on a dirt road) and a few cattle grids.

You know you’re close when you see a cluster of white buildings resting in the lap of two converging mountains. But first there is a long approach via a rising road.At the top of it, you are greeted with ferocious barking from greyhounds and Italian whippets in large enclosures.

The biggest dog is Danster. He looks as if he could murder any strangers entering the farmyard. Antoinette, dressed in a pink shift and flip-flops, with her hair in two plaits like a schoolgirl, sings out:

“Danster, stil. Ja ons hoor jou. Ja.” (“Danster, quiet.Yes we hear you.Yes.”)

Then she welcomes us and shows us where we will sleep. It is a typical Karoo labourer’s cottage, just like the others. No one stays in the grand old farmhouse. Only ghosts live there, she tells us.

Our cottage has two rooms, divided by a central one, which has a huge hearth. On the wall of our little bedroom – with two venerable hospital beds –someone has painted two angels blessing two people. One of the curtains is a rolled-up Montego dog-food bag.

Antoinette’s cosy den

The first thing you see on enteringAntoinette’s cottage is the view through the unadorned window, which gazes all the way across the vast Karoo to the distant Swartberg.

Acandelabra full of half-burnt candles hangs at head height beside her chair, next to the fire. There is a small table with knitting on it, and a leaking castor oil bottle that she uses to dab on a wound inflicted by a thorn tree.Also a tin full of pencils.Antoinette favours green 6Bs, sharpened with a knife. She wrote her first book, Kruidjie Roer My (The Griqua’s Apprentice is the English translation), by hand in pencil, sitting next to this fireplace.

TikkieTong-Tong theAfrican grey parrot sometimes sits atop his cage and sometimes goes

Oom Johannes andAntoinette often have people seeking healing who come and stay for weeks at a time. While we are there, we meet one of them. By taking the strengthening herbs Oom Johannes prescribes, Paulus van der Merwe says he had managed to postpone a heart-valve transplant until the technology had improved.

Dog walk at sundown

In the last light, we all go for a walk with Danster and his tribe. They preen, sniff about, pee and smile.All except Danster, who holds his pose as lord of the pack.

Night comes. By candlelight, Antoinette serves up the most deliciously tender roast lamb, with gem squash, rice and potato.

Paulus, Oom Johannes, Antoinette, photojournalist Chris Marais and I crowd into her living room before the fire.After eating, everyone thanks everyone else because, as Oom Johannes explains, you eat better and enjoy a meal more when you are with others.

What follows, at the fireside, is a night of storytelling. Oom Johannes tells us how he’d dreamed of meeting “Juffrou Antoinette”.

Malaria from Mali

Johannes had inherited the second sight from his grandfather Oom Hansie and had long foreseen that one day a woman would arrive, ready to learn the art of healing with Karoo herbs from him.

In 2000,Antoinette went on an extended one-woman ramble through Mali, where she marvelled at the hardy spirits of the people who live in desert lands along the Niger River. But on this journey, she also picked up cerebral malaria (what was once called blackwater fever) and had to be swiftly flown back to SouthAfrica for emergency

Born in the dusty Northern Cape village of Carnarvon,Antoinette had also long harboured a desire to know more about the healing properties of the vast Karoo scrublands around her. She recalls that when, as a child, she was asked what she would like to do with her adult life, she would reply:

“One day I am going to stay in the veld with an old shepherd and learn everything about the plants from him.” Her words caused a certain amount of consternation within the family

And soAntoinette finally headed forTheefontein, one of the Pienaar clan farms, where Oom Johannes plied his double trade as jackal hunter and healer. She knew of him, but had never met him. When she finally pulled up on the farm in her red bakkie, weak from the fever, he exclaimed:

“So you have arrived here at last, juffrou [miss].And you still look so bruised.”

The veld shaman

She recounts in her book:

“In a flood of words, I told him about my malaria experience. And I was still telling him when, to my surprise, he disappeared into his kitchen. I could hear him busy doing something in there, and then he re-emerged with a mugful of dried herbs. He made a fire in the grate, boiled the water and brewed me my first infusion of herbs.”

Thus began both her healing and learning journeys with the old man.

Oom Johannes also recalls how he’d been “called” for healing. It was a dramatic thing that happened when he was barely a teenager. His sister had fallen sick, was given medicine and had died shortly thereafter. Now his mother was stricken, unable to move.They were told that she wouldn’t last.

The famous duo on a veld ramble, foraging for ingredients. Image: Chris Marais

Vrydag 17 Februarie 2023

The doctor had brought medicines. But young Johannes distrusted them. He had been praying for a remedy and it had come to him in a kind of vision. Instead of giving the doctor’s medicine to her, he gave his mother the tea made from steenbokbossie (Felicia filifolia).

“My mother responded immediately – she just stood up.”

It was then that he knew the healing power of nature flowed through him.

Oom Johannes’s parents were itinerant pieceworkers, and he was born at Breekkierie farm near Kenhardt, just south of Upington. Oom Johannes never went to school. He grew up learning about the veld, and how to work on a farm. He herded sheep in the days when there were few fences, and any ploughing was done with the help of oxen or donkeys. He spanned fences, trained horses, built kraals, and learnt how to fix windmills.

Morning monochord

It is the morning, and Paulus brings in a strange stringed instrument that stands foursquare on the floor – it is a monochord, and offers a sweetly plaintive sound.

Antoinette checks its tuning, and suddenly begins to sing out a chant:

“BlessTheefontein, bless Chris, Bless Julie, Bless Oom Johannes, bless Paulus, bless us all.”

Thus blessed, we take our leave,

hugged by everyone.The dogs bark a farewell. DM/ ML

For an insider’s view on life in the Dry Country, get the threebook special of tales of the Karoo with monochrome images, Karoo Roads I, Karoo Roads II and Karoo Roads III.

For more details, contact Julie at julie@karoospace.co.za. - Daily Maverick

Turning the Loxton church hall into a New Orleans blues room: Antoinette Pienaar in full song. Image: Chris Marais

Antoinette Pienaar and her offgrid farm cottage Image: Chris Marais

Oom Johannes in front of his neat cottage at Theefontein. Image: Chris Marais

“Making wood” – cutting branches to feed into the Story Fire at night. Image: Chris Marais

An impromptu Karoo soiree with oboe, monochord and singing chants. Image: Chris Marais

Oom Johannes Willemse: a multi-skilled Karoo man with second sight. Image: Chris Marais