In our current context of constant change and disruption, digital transformation enabled by Internet connections has been a lifeline for many companies and entrepreneurs, helping them preserve livelihoods, careers, and businesses. In 2019, South Africa exceeded 1.6 million fibre-to-the-home or fibre-to-the-building subscriptions, making our country a leader when it comes to Sub-Saharan Africa’s fibre uptake. […]

Komati’s sole remaining working unit is facing closure within two years under plans by state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. to shut about a quarter of its coal-fired capacity by 2030. Next door at the Goedehoop mine, arrays of solar panels line the main access road, a sign of what may be to come

A new report says South African mining companies are increasingly leaning on technology as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has accelerated the application of fourth industrial revolution (4IR) technologies. It says SA’s mining sector is now making use of innovative and cutting-edge technologies to run more efficient operations. The report, jointly produced by

A new type of hollow-core optical fibre makes light-based gyroscopes up to 500 times more stable by eliminating sources of noise. If optimized, devices based on these so-called nodeless anti-resonant fibres could find use in next-generation civil navigation systems. Fibre-optic gyroscopes (FOGs) rely on a pair of laser beams travelling in opposite directions around the

Mining has entered a robotics boom as developers take substantial strides in AI, use of drones, and data capture and analysis technology that will deliver safety improvements and better managed mines, says Queensland Robotics executive chairman Andrew Scott. He told an IMDEX Xploration Technology Symposium that with the development of autonomous haulage and drilling technology,

Lighting up our skies for the first time back in April 2020, and coming to British homes as early as this year, the revolutionary US-based satellite broadband service Starlink has won licensing approval from Ofcom to operate in the UK. Owned by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk and run through his commercial aerospace company SpaceX, the

An increase in Internet traffic during the pandemic, fibre optics, competition on the cloud… 2020 has seen many advances in connectivity but three major challenges remain. Africa’s digital economy will surely remember 2020 as some kind of huge pop quiz which received the following feedback: “Solid achievements to build on.” COVID-19 has indeed led to

Covid-19 has tested our health care, our economy and our faith. Who’d have thought it would also require a crash course in personal technology? When the coronavirus first started upending our lives in March, I wrote about the apps, websites and services that made it possible to never leave my home. Grocery deliveries, streaming movies

In a year when African economies are battling to stay on course due to a global pandemic, it has become urgent for South Africa to unlock the potential of sectors that can enable new industries for economic growth. In order to meaningfully participate in the post Covid-19 economic recovery efforts that African countries will pursue in

The post-coronavirus mining industry will need to emphasise input cost containment, productivity and efficiency increases, and stay the course on the road to zero harm as part of a health and safety initiative for mineworkers. Digitalisation, particularly through smart mining, offers great value and opportunity for recovery and to turn this sector around. Smart mining