Mines placed on temporary care during the lockdown

◆ African Rainbow Minerals: The mining company announced that, in compliance with the nationwide lockdown, all of the firm’s mining operations – including Khumani, Beeshoek, Black Rock, Modikwa, Two Rivers and Nkomati – had been placed on temporary care and maintenance for the duration of the 21-day lockdown. The company’s joint venture, Assmang, has received authorisation from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy to operate its load-out stations at Khumani and Beeshoek to continue loading iron ore from the mines’ respective stockpiles.

◆ Nampak gets R1.5 billion from sale of glass business: Packaging manufacturer Nampak said it had received R1.5bn from the sale of its glass business on schedule, having recently relaxed debt covenants with lenders partially due to the risk of a delay.

◆ Rebosis Property Fund: The property fund announced that due to the impact of nationwide lockdown the JSE has acceded to the firm’s request to release the company’s interim results in the last week of June. If the lockdown is extended, Rebosis will re-evaluate its ability to produce results by June 30. ◆ Northam cancels Master Drilling’s innovative tunnel borer: One of the two projects that will determine the future of Master Drilling has been derailed by Covid-19, with mining group Northam Platinum cancelling work on the innovative mobile tunnel boring machine that promises to revolutionise mining.

◆ Spear will provide rental relief: JSE-listed Spear real estate investment trust will provide rental relief to some tenants as the lockdown hits non-essential retailers.

◆ MTN tops survey of online consumers: South Africa’s secondlargest mobile operator, MTN, has received the most positive feedback from consumers for its response to queries during the Covid-19 crisis, a BrandseEye study shows.

◆ AngloGold makes a big Covid19 contribution before its exit: AngloGold Ashanti handed over two hospitals to fight the Covid-19 spread as the mining sector comes under criticism from some unions over their approach to the lockdown. ◆ Telkom and partners create track-and-trace platform for Covid19: Fixed-line operator Telkom, together with a group of partners, has developed a new track-and-trace platform to help fight Covid-19.

◆ Resource Generation (Resgen) secures extra funding amid Covid19 uncertainty: ASX- and JSE-listed coal group Resgen said it had agreed in principle to receive $2.25 million (R41m) in additional working capital from lender Noble Group, as it battles uncertainty over the Covid-19 outbreak.