News & snippets Industry
News & snippets Industry insights from the past quarter MINERAL PROCESSING GURU AIMS FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Mineral Processing Guru (MPG) specialises in coal-mining business solutions but offers a wide range of services across the mining industry. The company strives to provide customised service to help clients achieve their objectives. Entrepreneur and mining specialist Rendani Nthangeni wants to see social development within the communities in which MPG operates. To that end, various strategies have been carried out which include opportunities at Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges for practical, in-service training with the company, where students gain real, hands-on experience in plant maintenance and operation. When it comes to employment opportunities, MPG will consider the community in which it operates and aims to contribute responsibly across the board to those communities. Another method whereby local communities will be considered first, is through affirmative procurement policies to be followed by MPG. Mineral Processing Guru is a Level 1, 100% black-owned mineral processing company which was founded in January 2017. Rendani Nthangeni SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING FOR PATTEX SILICONE CARTRIDGES Demand for quality home-based DIY and craft solutions increased during the various Covid-19 lockdowns. The growth of two of Henkel Adhesives’ most popular products, Pritt and Pattex, reflected this trend. Henkel, which celebrated its 70th anniversary in South Africa in 2021, announced that sustainable packaging on the Pattex silicone cartridges had been rolled out as part of its focus on sustainability. The company is proud that its Pritt product, so successful in arts and crafts and schools, has extra levels of safety. New-generation Pritt contains 97% natural ingredients (including water) while the stick now consists of up to 65% post-industrial recycled plastics. Another innovation is a polymer-based adhesive product that can be applied under water without compromising on strength. The Pritt stick was relaunched globally in January 2021. The new-generation product provides consumers an even more natural and high-performing solution combined with improved sustainability. AFRICAN ENERGY INDABA LOOKS FOR SOLUTIONS The 14th African Energy Indaba Conference, to be held at the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC) and virtually from 1-3 March, aims to find solutions to energy generation across the continent. The three conference days cover many illuminating topics. The virtual conference and the physical exhibition at the CTICC include networking and B2B meetings. The topics for the first two plenary panels are “Energy policy – enabling energy transition, sustainable communities and flourishing businesses” and “African off-grid potential: a new business frontier”. The third plenary panel, headlined “Funding – the moving target of investment readiness” intends to explore Africa’s substantial investment needs while striving to strike a balance between the continent’s low ability to repay loans, high funding and investment risk levels. The fourth panel discussion will address the critical topic of Africa’s inevitable transition to a lower-carbon future under the heading “The future of oil and gas in Africa in the energy transition”. A scene from the exhibition hall at the 2020 African Energy Indaba. JAN/FEB/MARCH 2022 • ISSUE 100
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