Latest news with #Nel
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Harmony's $1bn (R18bn) copper deal a 'sweet spot' for the company
South Africa's biggest gold producer Harmony Gold estimates that by the 2035 financial year, 45% of its production will come from Australasia after agreeing to buy Australia's Mac Copper for $1bn (R18.42bn). The MAC Copper acquisition is its second foray into copper after buying the Eva Copper project in Queensland in 2022, a mine that is likely to produce up to 60,000 tonnes of the metal a year from 2029. CEO Beyers Nel said MAC Copper's CSA Copper mine in New South Wales, which produces 40,000 tonnes of the metal a year, represented a 'sweet spot' for the group. 'There is a scramble for copper mines in the market at the moment, people pay top dollar. But we believe because this mine is a deeper mine — it is more of a mine that suits Harmony's skills set — it potentially kept other bidders out of the mine. 'It is too big for the juniors and probably too small for the majors. The 40,000 tonnes of copper from a size point of view is ideal and a sweet spot for a company like Harmony to take it. It is production from day one because it is an operating mine. It is also in a tier-one mining jurisdiction; New South Wales in Australia is a good place to mine,' said Nel. Nel said the shift enhanced profitability, reduced geographical concentration risks, and positioned Harmony to deliver sustainable long-term returns. He said the mine also presented near-term copper into Harmony's production mix as opposed to its Eva project in Australia and Walfi-Golpu, a gold/copper project in Papua New Guinea (PNG) it jointly owns with Newmont Corp. He said the Walfi-Golpu project had been frustratingly slow. However despite violence at Barrick Gold Corporation's Porgera Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea's Enga province, the area was calm. 'I would not say there are problems there. It is calm. People sometimes throw one blanket over Papua New Guinea and think what is happening at Porgera with Barrick is happening everywhere in Papua New Guinea. That is not th e case. Where our mine is, things are calm and the communities are supportive of the mine,' he said. The Harmony share traded 6% lower after the announcement this week. Nel said the market still needs to digest the deal. 'It is still $1bn, it's a lot of money. It is typical that when a big transaction takes place that the buying company's share price comes under pressure. 'We are not fixated about the day trade, we think this is a good asset for Harmony's skills set and we can add a lot of value to it, there is a lot of blue sky, upside potential beyond the current mine life. We are very bullish about the copper price long term. if you think about the global energy transition and supply and demand. We need to look at the long-term perspective.'
The Citizen
6 days ago
- The Citizen
Lowveld murder: Accused out on strict bail conditions
The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court has granted bail to murder-accused Sonell Joubert, overturning the Tonga Magistrate's Court's earlier decision to deny her release. According to Lowvelder, Joubert (43) was granted bail of R15 000 with strict conditions in a judgment delivered today. She must attend all court appearances, report to the Tonga Police Station twice a week, notify authorities of any address changes, remain within the district unless permitted, and avoid contact with state witnesses. Should she fail to comply, a warrant for her arrest will be issued immediately, and her bail money will be forfeited to the state. Bail appeal reveals procedural concerns Joubert had appealed her bail refusal, initially denied on February 24. The appeal hearing, presided over by Justice J Vukeya last Thursday, revealed inconsistencies in documentation, leading the judge to request a supplementary affidavit from Joubert's legal representative, Adv Hennie van Rensburg. Judgment was reserved until today. Throughout the case, Joubert has changed attorneys multiple times, including appointing Johannesburg-based lawyer Marco Lamberti, who later withdrew due to non-payment. Details of fatal stabbing Joubert is accused of fatally stabbing Jurgens Nel at Lowhills Farm in the Nkomazi region in early February. On February 1, she approached the KaMhlushwa police, alleging Nel had violated a protection order she had instituted against him. That night, officers visited the farm but did not directly confront Nel, as Joubert and her life partner Johann Möller claimed he was armed and aggressive. According to Van Rensburg, officers remained at the premises from 22:00 to 02:00, observing Nel moving through the house, switching lights on and off. Two days later, on February 3, a group of eight officers, led by investigating officer Sergeant Bonginkosi Given Nguyuza, returned to Lowhills Farm. After retrieving the keys from Joubert and Möller, they entered the house and discovered Nel's body with six stab wounds to the upper body. When questioned, Joubert told police she had stabbed Nel during a fight, during which she sustained a minor cut below her left eye and another on her finger. She was arrested on February 4 and has been in custody since then. Questions over evidence The court raised concerns over the minor injuries Joubert sustained, as well as the missing murder weapon, casting doubt on her account. Additionally, it was revealed that Lowhills Farm had been sold at auction, leaving Joubert without a fixed residence. Joubert attempted to use her ownership of Tswale, a domesticated elephant valued at over R1m, as collateral in her bail argument. Nguyuza responded that he was unfamiliar with elephant auction prices. With strict bail conditions in place, Joubert will remain under close supervision as her case progresses. She is expected to return to court in June, when further evidence, including the post-mortem report and crime scene photo album, will be presented. Breaking news at your fingertips… Follow Caxton Network News on Facebook and join our WhatsApp channel. Nuus wat saakmaak. Volg Caxton Netwerk-nuus op Facebook en sluit aan by ons WhatsApp-kanaal. Read original story on At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
IOL News
6 days ago
- IOL News
Former Lieutenant Colonel arrested for allegedly stealing R1. 2million from the SAPS
IOL Pieter Andries Nel, a former Lieutenant-Colonel, has been arrested on allegations of defrauding the SAPS of R1.2million. Picture: Supplied /Hawks. Pieter Andries Nel, a former Lieutenant-Colonel, has been arrested on allegations of stealing over a million rand from the South African Police Services (SAPS). Nel was arrested by the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as Hawks) on Wednesday. Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe said a J50 warrant of arrest was executed at Nel's home in Upington. Explaining the details of the case, Thebe said Nel worked as the Head of Financial Services in the SAPS in the Upington area.
TimesLIVE
6 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Former police lieutenant colonel in court for fraud and money laundering
Andries Nel, a former police offer, appeared in the Upington magistrate's court on Wednesday to face multiple counts of fraud, money laundering and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act. At the time of the alleged offences, Nel, 59, who was a lieutenant colonel, was stationed at the police supply chain management unit. 'Between December 2022 and April 2024, he is accused of orchestrating fraudulent transactions totalling R1.245m,' National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane said. The charges include submitting fictitious claims under the SAPS detainee feeding programme, filing false claims for tyres and fuel purchases for police vehicles and duplicating subsistence and travel allowance claims. 'The alleged fraudulent payments were made directly into Nel's personal bank account. He faces 97 counts of fraud and 97 counts of money laundering for allegedly disguising the origin of the stolen funds.' The case was postponed until Thursday for a bail application.
Daily Maverick
27-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Harmony Gold strikes R18bn copper acquisition Down Under
Copper is king these days, and the price for such assets is probably only going to keep going north amid warnings about looming shortages of the red metal. With record gold prices filling its sails, Harmony Gold went on a fishing expedition Down Under and landed a big one. The JSE-listed miner said on Tuesday that it had acquired MAC Copper Limited – which has one asset, the high-grade CSA copper mine in Australia – for $1.03-billion (R18.4-billion) in cash. The deal makes sense on a range of fronts. Harmony is on a diversification drive away from gold and its South African base – and copper has long been on its sonar screen. Copper is highly coveted these days because of its applications to the green-energy transition and its older industrial uses. But investors, who have shown themselves wary at times of M&A in mining, did not immediately rise to the bait. Harmony's share price initially sank over 7% on the news – a move that was also partly a reflection of a fall in the gold price overnight – before regaining some of the lost ground. There is often a knee-jerk reaction to the announcement of such deals and this move in that regard is not exceptional for the company that is buying. In 2022, Gold Fields' share price tanked more than 20% after it announced its intention to acquire Canada's Yamana Gold in an all-share deal worth R100-billion – a deal that eventually came unstuck. 'I think the market needs to digest the deal,' Harmony CEO Beyers Nel told Daily Maverick. As the deal is digested, the market may find it more appetising. Strategic boxes ticked Copper these days is king, and the price for such assets is probably only going to keep going north amid warnings about looming shortages for the red metal. For Harmony, it ticks its main strategic boxes: copper exposure and geographical diversification – and the company does not need to build a new mine from scratch. 'This is cash-generative from day one,' Nel said. The CSA mine is one of the highest-grade copper operations in Australia and has a current reserve life of 12 years with what Harmony said was '… significant exploration potential.' At 1.9km deep, the mine is down under in more ways than one. But Harmony owns and operates Mponeng, the world's deepest mine west of Johannesburg, which is more than twice as deep, so its engineers are not intimidated. The deal will also complement Harmony's Eva copper project, which it is aiming to approve this year. Harmony's offer is a 20.7% premium on MAC's closing price on 23 May. The target company's board has unanimously backed the proposal as well as more than 20% of its shareholders. Harmony expects the deal to be finalised by the fourth quarter of this year. The transaction will be paid with $50-million (R893-million) from Harmony's current cash resources. The rest will be financed by a bridging facility, which is effectively a short-term loan to 'bridge' the gap and enable the deal. 'It's an interim arrangement to pay for the transaction. It's just 12 months with an option to extend,' Nel said. Harmony is in a good position for such a financial arrangement. The asset it wants to acquire will generate cash immediately and Harmony is pumping money from its gold operations as the precious metal's price remains elevated and not far off its record peak of around $3,500 (R63,000) an ounce scaled in April. What this means Harmony is raking in cash at the moment, but the price of gold may eventually fall back to earth. Demand for copper, by contrast, looks set to surge as the global economy and the green energy transition will both sink without it. Everyone wants a piece of the copper action these days, and not just South Africa's cable thieves. It's better to secure a copper asset now because down the road, they are likely to be rare and much more costly. For Nel, who has been CEO since only the start of this year, the transaction – if it goes through – will be an ostrich feather in his hard hat. A big, bungled deal can cost a CEO his or her job. By contrast, a blockbuster that delivers long-term value goes down well in the boardroom. DM
