By John Helmer in Moscow The Russian Grain Union has accused the Egyptian government of a legal manoeuvre with an arriving wheat shipment, in order to force a cut in Russian export prices. Alexander Korbut, vice-president of the producers’ union, told Fairplay a 52,000-tonne shipment of medium-quality wheat has been arrested at the Red Sea […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, May 17th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow President Dmitry Medvedev will make his first visit to Africa in June, with stops planned in Egypt, Nigeria, and Angola. The disclosure of the Russian President’s first Africa trip was made in an interview with Business Day by Mikhail Margelov, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Federation […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
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By John Helmer in Moscow The sudden death, announced Tuesday, of Guinea’s 25-year president, Lansana Conte, threatens to uproot United Company Rusal from its lucrative bauxite mining concessions in the west African republic of Guinea. The bauxite reserves, whiuch Rusal controls, are among the largest and most valuable in the world, and are vital to […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
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By John Helmer in Moscow After six months of negotiations have failed to resolve investment and spending conditions, Victor Vekselberg’s Renova group and United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK), its South African partner, have been unable to agree on whether the project is dead, on care and maintenance, or life-support. One result is that the Russian […]

by John Helmer - Monday, November 24th, 2008
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By John Helmer in Moscow Russia’s space agency Roskosmos has agreed to launch the South African Sunbandila satellite by the end of this year at the Baikonour cosmodrome, Roskosmos sources have told Business Day. They confirm earlier statements by Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma that an earlier controversy over launch agreements between the two governments for […]

by John Helmer - Sunday, September 14th, 2008
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By John Helmer in Moscow The IMR takeover of Shaft Sinkers is the second major asset purchase in SA for a trio of Kazakh businessmen. THE decline in mining stocks and metal prices is unlikely to hurt SA’s specialist in shaft and tunnel excavation for mines, Shaft Sinkers MD Rob Schroder says. Johannesburg-based Shaft Sinkers […]

by John Helmer - Monday, September 1st, 2008
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By John Helmer in Moscow Russian state uranium miner now no.2 in control of world uranium resources. The structure for managing and -run capitalizing the mining of uranium in Russia, and Russian uranium mining ventures abroad, is now clear. And also large, as Russia has recently moved into the number-3 spot in the world ranking […]

by John Helmer - Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
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By John Helmer in Moscow Reported Russian billions for Zambian copper are flash in the pan. The prospect of several billion dollars in Russian mining investment in southern Africa cannot fail to be alluring. But an announcement by a single newspaper in Moscow last week that three major Russian mining companies “hope to announce a […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
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By John Helmer in Moscow South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, said there has been a breakthrough in negotiations with the Russian government over terms for the Russian space agency to launch a South African communications satellite. She said she hopes to “see the launch of the satellite by the end of this year.” Dlamini-Zuma […]

by John Helmer - Friday, May 23rd, 2008
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By John Helmer in Moscow Russia has been locked out of the largest nuclear power contract ever prepared in Africa, despite two years of promises from the South African government that it would invite Russia’s nuclear industry to join a competitive tender with the French and American companies, Areva and Westinghouse. The lockoutappears to be […]

by John Helmer - Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
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