Latest news with #SuppliedTawandaKarombo
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Mining industry raises alarm over ferrochrome export tax as electricity tariffs receive nod
Chrome mining has been one of the best-performing subsectors of the South African mining sector, with data from Statistics SA showing that chrome production increased by an average of 8.4% between 1994 and 2024 on an inflation adjusted basis. Image: Supplied Tawanda Karombo The Minerals Council of South Africa has raised concerns over the approval by government of an export tax on ferrochrome concentrates and welcomed the Cabinet's adoption of preferential electricity tariffs for ferrochrome smelters. Chrome mining has been one of the best-performing subsectors of the South African mining sector, with data from Statistics SA showing that chrome production increased by an average of 8.4% between 1994 and 2024 on an inflation adjusted basis. This reflects an accelerated pace of growth than the 1.3% recorded for non-gold production in South Africa over the same period. It was against this backdrop that the Minerals Council on Thursday said it was concerned by the approval by Cabinet of an export tax on ferrochrome concentrates. 'A particular concern in the Cabinet statement is the approval of the concept of an export tax on chrome concentrate. There remains no reason why export taxes would support increased beneficiation in South Africa now,' said the Council in a statement. The tax has previously been raised by government but extensive engagements with the chrome mining sector players resulted in the proposal being set aside. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ South Africa's chrome mining sector, said the Minerals Council, has consistently contributed to employment, with export volumes of the mineral topping 20.5 million tons in 2024. South Africa earned R84.6 billion in export revenue from chrome last year. Despite this employment and export earning potential, South African producers are increasingly mothballing chrome smelters, citing high electricity costs that are rendering them poorly competitive in the face of stiff competition from Chinese smelters. China has been able to offer its chrome smelters incentives, including lower electricity costs. South African producers have also recently battled erratic electricity supply although the government has moved in to address this by approving a preferential tariff for ferroalloy smelters. 'As a consequence of electricity prices increasing by nearly 900% in the past two decades, South Africa's chrome industry has opted to export chrome concentrate rather than beneficiate it at a loss.' The Minerals Council has welcome the Cabinet announcement on preferential electricity tariffs for ferrochrome smelters. This forms part of the government's measures in addressing the key factors that has rendered South Africa's ferrochrome industry uncompetitive. The use of Special Economic Zones to give the industry tax breaks has also been described as welcome. However, the mining industry employers' organisation said 'the details remain lacking, requiring extensive consultations with the government to understand these proposals and which industries will benefit' from the measures. 'To the extent that it prevents illegal exports of chrome, the Minerals Council welcomes the proposal to require all chrome exporters to obtain permits from the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa,' said the Council. 'However, we would strongly oppose any suggestion that such a system be expanded or used to impose export quotas or restrictions on legally mined chrome.' South Africa, a major mining hub in the region, has identified platinum, manganese, iron ore, coal, and chrome ore as 'high-critical minerals' under the new Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy. It has also classified commodities such as gold, vanadium, palladium, rhodium, and rare earth elements as minerals with moderate to high criticality while copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel, titanium, phosphate, fluorspar, zirconium, uranium, and aluminium were identified as minerals with moderate criticality. BUSINESS REPORT
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Astral Foods calls for government support as bird flu vaccination programme expands
At any one point, Astral runs with about 4 million broiler breeders in stock although the company will not necessarily be vaccinating all of them. Image: Supplied Tawanda Karombo Astral Foods, which is planning to expand its recently approved bird flu vaccination programme, wants the government to ease conditions for such initiatives and to finalize payments of compensation to the industry for birds culled to control diseases in the past few years. This appeal comes in the wake of mounting challenges within the poultry industry, which has been grappling with heightened biosecurity risks following successive bird flu outbreaks. Gary Arnold, CEO of Astral Foods, told Business Report in an interview on Tuesday that the company will ramp up its poultry vaccination against bird flu. This comes after the company on Monday announced that the Department of Agriculture had approved its bird flu vaccination program at one of its farms in the country. 'It's only 5% being vaccinated. We do have plans to expand it. We'll have to (expand it), now that we have firmed up the process with the Department of Agriculture,' Arnold said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ However, the company said it would be helpful if the government sped up compensation payments to the industry for birds culled as a disease control mechanism. Arnold, nonetheless, reckons that 'bio-security is the responsibility of producers' as the government doesn't have resources and ability to go around to everyone's farm enforcing it. The government had to aid the industry to enhance bio-security through easing regulatory processes and procedures. 'The government can help through regulatory reforms. The conditions under which we are allowed to vaccinate are very stringent and expensive because you have to comply with all the monitoring and surveillance and this makes it very difficult for everyone to vaccinate,' said Arnold. The South African Poultry Association has been engaging industry regulators over the past 18 months to thrash out a set of guidelines that the industry believes are less onerous to implement but still enforceable. The industry is pursuing recognition of conditions around which producers can vaccinate without exposing the whole industry to any unnecessary risk. This comes at a time when the South African poultry industry is facing heightened biosecurity risks. This has made it imperative for industry players to be extra careful of risks assocxiated with spreading the disease. 'Monitoring and surveillance of flocks is extremely important once they're vaccinated, (but) that is also a cost attached to that, but it is critical to ensure the safety of the livestock in South Africa,' explained Arnold. But with the approval of the vaccination program for one farm, Astral Foods hopes to 'expand this to include other' farms it runs. Arnold added that the company's intention was always 'to get one blueprint farm going that could guide both the Department of Agriculture and ourselves' on the process. The vaccination against bird flue costs the company about R2 to R2.50 per bird over its life cycle. It is a necessary cost for Astral which together with other industry players in SA and globally that nolonger have access to bird flue insurance. 'Astral used to pay a premium for bird flu insurance. Now, bird flu insurance is no longer available to any producer in this country and globally… They stopped it after 2023 because of the large claims that they had against them on the severe outbreak in 2023 so that was the last time that insurance cover was available,' Arnold revealed.
