Mining: SA’s Soul

South Africa, the tip of the continent and truly the hyperbole of diversity, can thank mining for its growth, economy and a large portion of its history (including the two Boer Wars). More importantly, mining played a vital role in the development of the early South African Republic. 

When that Erasmus Jacobs guy found a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867, the start of mining as the enterprise it is today began. The next step was the Kimberley pipes (and now Hole). Then came the gold rushes to Barberton, Pilgrims Rest and eventually the Main Reef Leader on Mr Oosthuizen’s farm in Langlaagte, 1886. Diamonds and gold are where it all started but certainly not the only place the path leads…

South Africa is a veritable melting pot of mineral wealth: being the world’s largest producer of chrome, vermiculite, manganese, vanadium, and platinum; the world’s second largest producer of ilmenite, zirconium, palladium, rutile, and diamonds; and the world’s third largest producer and exporter of coal.

This country is a cornucopian collection of plenty.

   

Microsoft Xbox Releasing Gaming Paradise

It has been almost a decade since the very first Microsoft Xbox console was launched. That’s 10 years of gaming happiness, technological advancements, sleep deprivation and completed levels; happy birthday Xbox (on the 14^th of March)!

To celebrate this milestone the exclusive anniversary bundle is being launched in Europe (the original playground for Xbox). This is not just a lucky packet kind of bundle… this one comes with a 250-gigabyte Xbox 360, a three-month gold subscription to Xbox Live, two wireless controllers, three digital games (Gears of War2, Fable 3 and  Halo: Reach) and a disc copy of Halo: Anniversary.  

It seems, unfortunately, that there will be no anniversary bundles making their way to South African shores. BUT something wicked-cool this way certainly comes: the Star Wars-themed Xbox 360.

Oh yes, you did just read that. The limited-edition, customised gadget is headed this way and has been decked out to look like R2-D2, comes with gold wireless C-3PO-style controllers (C-3PO), a white Kinect and the Kinect Star Wars game.

May the force be with you!

Winning Awards the Synergy Way

The weekend before Valentine’s Day was a perfect time to show some love. So Sage did at the Sage Insights 2012 conference.

Sage used the annual event as the official release of the Standard Edition of X3 as well as a celebration of the best solution providers. Synergy won their fair share of awards, including maintaining their decade-long standing as one of only six Sage Premier Partners in South Africa. 

For 2011 Synergy was awarded Best Performer for Sage CRM and won the Technisoft award for the highest sales of Report Manager.

Below are a few pictures of the formal awards dinner on the last evening.

Jonathan Smart (Synergy Group), Jacqui Scorgie (Sage) and Charl Haasbroek (Synergy Group)

Bob Reinking (Technisoft), Charl Haasbroek, Jonathan Smart, Mark Kornhauser (Technisoft)

Jonathan Smart, Jeremy Waterman (Sage), Charl Haasbroek

Charl Hassbroek, Jonathan Smart, Adrian Burney (ACDC Dynamics - Special Invite from Sage)

K2 – The Workflow Wunderkind

The very nice people at K2 are continuing the generosity and have been improving an already-excellent business process management (BPM) tool.

A workflow framework that’s all about simplicity, streamlining and enterprise efficiencies that can be integrated with Accpac and customised to do whatever you need it to?! We’ll take it!

Do yourself a favour and discover more about the K2 platform!

What’s Happening, People?

If you’re interested in finding out what’s what you can thank Microsoft’s information and entertainment network for msnNOW, the nifty new tool that stops you from having to jump all over the internet to gather information.

msnNOW trawls social media outlets to uncover the hottest internet trends, breaking news and conversations in real time.

The buzz from Facebook, BreakingNews.com, Twitter and Bing can now all be found in one place. Cutting through the clutter of the internet, this service provides up-to-the-minute trends and social bits and pieces: what’s being said and why.

Get msnNOW at now.msn.com and stay informed with relevant and credible news, thanks to exclusive technology that taps into trends and enables continuous updates with fresh content.

If you want the lowdown (anywhere, anytime), go to msnNOW now for:

• Breaking trends
• A variety of sources
• Biggest movers (the day’s most discussed topics)
• Topic pages (including a summary of why it’s trending)

Well played, Microsoft. Well played.

Random Facts about Coal

Since you need to open a coal mine to get rich in 2012, we thought some facts would fuel your interest. And give you something to talk about at that next dinner party.

·    Coal ash, a result of coal mining, can also make you money – as filler for golf balls, linoleum and tennis rackets. 

·   Coal has been part of international trade since the Roman Empire was in full swing.

·    The world average age for a coal miner is 50 (with 20 years of experience).

·    Coal is responsible for 37% of the electricity generated across the globe.

·    Coal has been used as a source of fuel since 371 – 287 BC.

·    Worldwide, China is the largest producer of coal, Australia the largest exporter and Japan the largest importer.

·    Coal reserves are spread over almost 100 countries and are estimated to last over 200 years.

·    In 2006 the total consumption of coal, worldwide, was 6,743,786,000 short tons.

·    Coal is the official state mineral of Kentucky and rock of Utah.

·    Coal comes in seven different grades (graphite, peat, anthracite, lignite, steam coal, sub-bituminous and bituminous).

                                       

The Legend of Love… Valentine’s Day

There are a fair number of people around the world who don’t turn into mushy, gushy, love-soaked fools in February. But then there are those who do; the very same people who are the reason Valentine’s Day has become the commercial success that it is.

But, there really is more to this day than heart-shaped chocolates, red carnations and sentimentality. This is a day steeped in history and mystery. It or not. It’s no secret that February is celebrated as the month of romance and the 14^th in particular displays vestiges of ancient Roman and Catholic tradition, but who was Saint Valentine, the day’s patron saint? And how did he become associated with this soppy rite?

The most prevailing myth suggests Valentine was a Roman priest during the third century, serving under Claudius II. The evil emperor decided that single men were superior soldiers, so he outlawed marriage for the young, fit men in Rome. Valentine decided this was grossly unjust (and probably really bad for population growth), so he decided to defy Claudius’ law and secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young lovers.

So sweet. Except for the part where he was executed for his actions (sometime around the middle of February) when he was caught out.     

The less romantic version of where the day came from is thanks to the Christian Church wanting to “Christianise” the pagan fertility festival of Lupercalia, celebrated on the 15^th of February.

Either way, at the end of the fifth century, Pope Gelasius declared the 14^th of February Saint Valentine’s Day.  This day first became associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, thanks to Geoffrey Chaucer and his posse, when the tradition of courtly love thrived.

Nice to know where it all started, right? 

                                            

Microsoft Windows 8 is Coming!!

The leap year always brings something exciting with it: the Olympics, an extra day and a pass allowing ladies to do the proposing for once. But this year, something else is coming: Microsoft Windows 8 is being unveiled on the 29^th of February 2012.

Sadly, it’s only a test version. But it will be revealed at a Windows Consumer Preview during a Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The good news is that the beta version is expected to be released with an “app store” stocked full of goodness and mini-programs perfectly geared for the next-generation operating system. This store will be taking Google and Apple head on in the battle to own the title “King of the Castle” for entertaining, trendy and functional programs built for computers, tablets and smartphones.

Well played, Microsoft. Well played.

No Nationalisation for SA’s Mines

In a fantastic move for South Africa, the proposed nationalisation of mines has been dropped on its head.

Susan Shabangu, South African Mining Minister, has declared that the country will not pursue nationalisation of its mining industry.

One of SA’s claims to fame is mining; as one of the world’s most significant mining producers, so much of the South African economy rests on mining. Following calls for nationalisation from members of the ANC, the merits of this extreme measure have been intensely debated, and have found to be lacking.

Shabangu told attendees at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town that the government would not be enacting any plans for nationalisation as nationalisation “is not the policy of either government or the ruling party…[and] is not a viable policy for South Africa.”

Before we all break it down in a victory dance, what exactly is “nationalisation” and why is it bad? Basically, it is what the word suggests: privately-owned businesses get taken over by the government. In some instances it’s a good thing – like when a company needs to be bailed out of financial hardship and the government becomes the hero. But when someone wants to nationalise something like the mining industry (when there is really no need for bailing out) the overall taste left in the mouth is one of greed. A bit like someone playing Marie Antoinette in a game of dress up… with absolutely no regard for the real consequences… 

Read the following article for more about why nationalisation is not the answer for South Africa: http://mondediplo.com/openpage/south-africa-why-nationalising-the-mines-is-not

Wanna Make Money? Open a Coal Mine…

Forget about reducing debt and saving – just open a coal mine. Where you get the capital is your baby, but find a way. Ok, maybe you should reduce debt and save first, then open a coal mine.  But, at the end of the day, make sure you are coal mine owner if you plan on making your millions.

Not gold, diamonds or other precious gems. Coal. Supply simply cannot keep up with demand and, given the way we all live, coal will always be necessary. Even if a green lifestyle is embraced – there will still be a need for fossil fuels.

Coal will be king in the commodity markets according to Evy Hambro of Blackrock. When one of the biggest investors in the mining industry reckons coal is where it’s at, it’s time to get down to business and make it happen.

So, how exactly do you go about opening a coal mine? Well now, that’s quite a thing.

First, decide on the type of mining you want to do: shaft mining, slope mining, drift mining or open pit mining.

Second, find a big enough location with enough coal reserves to keep you going.

Thirdly, start digging.

HP Playing the Cloud Game… and Winning

HP has taken the Discovery and Dependency Mapping Advanced (DDMA) software package to a new level. In fact, they’ve put it somewhere in the cloud layer.

The Hewlett Packard whizzes have injected a boost of supremacy into the DDMA package, creating 20:20 visibility and allowing users to track all their IT assets in the cloud. 

The latest software content pack, DDMA 10, includes connectors for mapping resources based on the VMware vCloud standard as well as those stored on Amazon’s web service.

But what does it all mean? The DDMA software analyses a network and comes back with a description of all the resources running on that network. That includes all hardware, software, characteristics of anything connected to an IP address, and any resource dependencies.   

All the above goes by the name of Dependency Mapping and details the way in which all the resources tracked on a network operate amongst themselves. This is useful for understanding how possible changes could affect system performance.

There are many more benefits that the updated DDMA has for businesses, but right off the bat, the new cloud capabilities will provide details regarding the resources on mainframe computers as well as generate specific service maps for Amazon EC2 (Elastic Cloud Compute), Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) and Amazon Elastic Block.

Mining: a Great Thing for Africa

Over the next few weeks, the industry that will have the full tilt of our focus will be mining and, as such, we will be bringing you interesting titbits about the industry.

Anyone with any kind of knowledge about South Africa’s history will know that mining played a significant role in building this country. Gold mining is synonymous with Johannesburg, and what would Kimberley be without its Big Hole?

But, what about the rest of Africa? Let’s look to the future for this one.

Thanks to emerging markets (such as Brazil and China) mining will continue to drive investment on the “Dark Continent”. That is, the demand for development in mining of bulk commodities (iron ore, coal, copper etc.) and metals will be great for Africa.

As a build-up to the Mining Indaba scheduled for March, Rajat Kohli, global head of mining and metals at Standard Bank, shared his thoughts with the media. Given his job title, it would be remiss to not pay attention to what the man has to say. And he says only good and exciting things; Sierra Leone’s new iron ore mining, investments in Mozambican coal (by Brazilian Vale), opportunities in Zimbabwe for platinum mining, and Burundi for nickel will drive investments and are expected to improve each country’s economy.

South Africa has not relegated to a thing of the past; precious metal reserves are still right up there and the Chinese Jinchuan Group has big plans to buy South African Metorex for R9.1 billion.   

Things are looking up for the elephant-shaped continent. It’s about time the rest of the world recognised Africa’s value.