CEO Natascha Viljoen on Thursday said Anglo American Platinum expects to bring its mining production back up to 75% to 80% of capacity by the end of this year as South African mines recover from a forced COVID-19 shutdown.

she told reporters that their ramp-up is targeted to get to 75 or 80 percent towards the end of the year.

She said Production lost during South Africa’s early lockdown, when most mines in the country shut down, would probably not be recovered.

Viljoen estimated the platinum miner had spent 25 million rand ($1.45 million) on sanitation and personal protective equipment at its mines so far.

Viljoen said she estimates they will have an infection rate of between 7% and 10% with COVID-19 screening procedures in place at the mines.

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The Chamber of Mines on Thursday said Mining companies in Zambia, Africa’s No.2 copper producer, have suffered a 30% drop in revenue over the three months to April due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout could last for at least 12 months.

The mining industry association said severe global restrictions on movement have hit mining supply chains and hindered the export and sale of copper whie hurting company revenues and government coffers.

The chamber said the fall in mining revenues is mirrored exactly in the fall in mineral royalty payments, as royalties are levied on each tonne of copper that is sold.

Royalty payments are estimated to have come in at $60 million to $65 million over the three months from February to April, around two-thirds of the $90 million that was expected.

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The Ghana Chamber of Mines says it is adopting innovative approaches to sustain gold production to rake in more revenue from export.

Gold prices saw a sharp rise in prices during the early stages of the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic due to low supply, as economic activities slowed down.

As at June 4, 2020, gold prices hit 1,715 dollars an ounce which was due to the fact that investment in gold is seen as a safe haven during uncertainties.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Mines, Sulemanu Konney, while speaking to Citi Business News on how the mining sector performed in 2019, said mining companies are adopting innovative means to continue gold production to increase revenue for the state.

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The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said that the state is introducing measures to absorb the shocking effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the state.

Sanwo-Olu said these measures, which include an additional N5bn palliative, will ensure business sustainability and stimulate economic growth.

The governor made this known during in a private sector interactive webinar organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.

Sanwo-Olu said the funds would enable MSMEs to stay afloat and reduce job losses.

He added that within the next one month, an internship programme, which would accommodate not more than 10,000 persons to acquire additional skills to keep them employed and engaged, would be embarked upon.

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Nigeria and other members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries have said the global oil market will recover in the second half of this year.

OPEC on Wednesday said that world oil demand was anticipated to decline by 6.4 million barrels per day in the second half, compared with a decline of 11.9 million bpd in the first half, with a gradual recovery projected until the end of 2020.

The group said in its June monthly oil market report  that the dust is starting to settle after a highly turbulent first Quarter due to the enormous impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and oil market fundamentals.

It said available first quarter of 2020 and Q12020 economic data showed that the major declines in output were mostly due to the severe lockdown measures across the globe.

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Nigeria’s rate of inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index, rose to 12.40 per cent in the month of May, the highest ever recorded in the past 25 months.

The National Bureau of Statistics in its Consumer Price Index May 2020 report released on Wednesday said the latest increase represents 0.06 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in April, which was 12.34 per cent.

Findings showed that the 12.40 per cent May inflation rate is the highest to be recorded by the economy in the last 25 months. The last time the index was as high as this was in April 2018 when the CPI was put at 12.48 per cent.

The NBS statistics showed that in January, February and March, the country’s inflation rates were 12.13 per cent, 12.20 per cent and 12.26 per cent, respectively.

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The Federal Government has perfected a plan to concession 10 major highways in the country.

The Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, stated this on Wednesday while presenting details of the plan to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Works.

He told the lawmakers that the project titled, “Highway Development and Management Initiative,” was anchored on a private sector engagement.

The minister said investors would carry out the development and management of the road networks adding that the rationale behind the private sector engagement was to provide an avenue to mitigate paucity of funds.

Fashola said the first phase of the project would attract a capital investment of N163.32bn at a cost of about N16bn per each of the 10 roads.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said Nigerians and neighbouring countries that benefit from smuggling consume 54 million litres of petrol.

The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, said this at an interactive hearing on ‘Exiting petroleum subsidy: Ensuring self-sufficiency in domestic refining of petroleum products.”

Kyari said the corporation did not know the exact litres of petrol being consumed in the country per day.

He, however, said the NNPC had the record of the number of litre being lifted from the various depots every day.

The national oil firm had put the daily consumption of petrol in Nigeria, based on product evacuation record at the depot, at about 54 million litres.

The NNPC boss told the senators the subsidy payment covered every litre evacuated from the depot but that not all the product got to the end user.

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The dollar exchanged for N452 at the parallel market on Wednesday over speculations by operators in the market and the effect of the country’s rising foreign debt.

The Central Bank of Nigeria resumed foreign exchange sales in April ending to commercial banks, to be made accessible to customers wishing to pay school fees, and businesses making essential imports needed to revamp economic activities across the country.

This followed its one-month forex sales suspension at the onset of the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said the suspension had no doubt caused speculation, volatility and spikes in the market.

He said speculators are taking advantage of the fact that the major source of foreign currency liquidity is now foreign debt not petrol dollars.

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China's second largest online retailer JD.com has raised almost $4bn (£3.2bn) after making its Hong Kong Stock Exchange debut on Thursday.

Its shares jumped by more than 5% after listing, marking the second-largest share sale this year.

The move comes as pressure grows in the US on Chinese companies amid escalating tensions between the two economies.

Several other firms that are based in China are now preparing similar listings in Hong Kong.

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) coincides with JD.com's largest annual online sales event and comes hot on the heels of the Hong Kong debut of Nasdaq-listed gaming giant NetEase.

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