News Briefs

Centamin Announces growth potential across Egypt and West Africa

Centamin (LSE:CEY) (TSX:CEE) announces an update summarising progress on the ongoing exploration initiatives across it's prospective portfolio in Egypt and West Africa. The work completed so far this year has successfully identified the potential for satellite open pit ore sources within the Sukari concession and extensions of the Sukari underground orebody, inclusive of high grade Bonanza zones.

MARTIN HORGAN, CEO, commented: " The team at Sukari continues to deliver excellent results which demonstrate the quality of our portfolio - positive drill results have demonstrated the upside potential in the orebody that can support both life of mine extensions and an increase in underground production . Across the broader concession we identified shallow satellite surface targets, potentially adding growth and operational flexibility to our mine plan, and completed the first airborne geophysical survey in Egypt - a milestone for Centamin and Egypt's hard rock sector.

IFC and EDM Partner to Increase Access to Renewable Energy in Mozambique

To increase access to renewable energy and expand power delivered to the grid in Mozambique, IFC and Electricidade de Moçambique, E.P. (EDM) has signed a collaboration agreement to develop small-scale solar Photovoltaic (PV) Plants and battery storage facilities.

Under the collaboration agreement, announced on the sidelines of the Africa Energy Forum in Brussels, IFC and EDM target to develop four solar PV and battery storage facilities across Mozambique with an expected total energy production of 50 Megawatts, dependent on the results of a grid integration and financial assessment study to be conducted by IFC.

The solar PV Plants will provide power to the Country’s grid and help to meet growing electricity demand in a country where only about 43 percent of the population has access to electricity, of which 40% from National Grid and 3% from isolated systems.

For EDM’s CEO, Eng. Marcelino Gildo Alberto, this project “signals the Company’s effort in the search for sustainable solutions to accelerate Universal Access to Energy for all Mozambicans by 2030. In this sense, with the commitment to energy diversification, we hope to generate, in the coming years, 200MW in renewable energy. Likewise, with projects of this nature, EDM is at the forefront of the energy transition, in line with the Paris Agreements to reduce global warming”.

“A key priority for Mozambique is ensuring access to affordable, sustainable, and reliable electricity. By combining early-stage project development support and financing, IFC is working with EDM to support Mozambique to develop its renewable energy sources to help power homes and businesses”, said Dan Croft, IFC Regional Manager for Infrastructure in Africa on the Upstream team, which works on early-stage project development.

The project is part of IFC’s work in Mozambique to increase access to power including by bringing on increased renewable energy sources.

Zimbabwean president defends Chinese investment in Africa against Western incitement

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has praised Chinese investment for changing the economic landscape in his country and other parts of Africa, while blasting the West for plundering African resources for decades.

“They have brought value and employment to our economies and societies, enabled through mutually painful partnerships never experienced before in our troubled history as a continent,” he said.

“We have seen Chinese capital supporting landmark and iconic infrastructural projects across the African continent,” he noted, adding, “Here in Zimbabwe, China has helped fund and implement several projects in the sectors of energy, air transport, water, real estate, industrial value addition, mining and defense.”

“All these have secured and bolstered our independence while changing the structure of our economy in this season of punitive Western sanctions,” the president said.

However, the West, Mnangagwa said, has been unhappy about the Chinese footprint on the continent and advising African leaders to be wary of the Chinese, as well as the Russians, Indians, Brazilians and Arabs.

“Apart from generous grants, interest-free or light loans, they have now come back to the continent they helped liberate as new, nontraditional investors. Read against time and historical circumstances, they are new and latecomers in this domain, unlike Western interests which have been exploiting our continent even well before its formal occupation,” he said.

“Including here in Zimbabwe, we have seen some Western governments sponsoring several false environmental and mining advocacy groups which seek to agitate communities against non-Western mining interests,” he said. “Their advice to us is false and cynical; we reject it with utter contempt it deserves.”

Zimbabwe to Launch First Satellite, ZimSat-1 Land Sterling partners with GeoDrones Aerial Services to enhance building surveying reliability

Zimbabwe is set to launch its first satellite, ZimSat-1, into orbit next month after developing it through the BIRDS project. The launch is a milestone that will enhance mineral exploration and monitoring of environmental hazards and droughts. Additionally, it will aid in mapping human settlements and disease outbreaks, among other capabilities.

ZimSat-1, a nanosatellite, will deploy from the Japanese KIBO Module after nearly a year-long delay caused by Covid-19. The satellite is a 1U educational and amateur radio mission CubeSat manufactured under the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan. Many experts consider the programme the first baby steps of the country’s fledgling space programme.

Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) coordinator, Mr Painos Gweme, told The Sunday Mail that the satellite would launch between July and August, depending on weather conditions. “Everything is now ready; we received a report recently indicating that it was tested and approved for flight. “We have our engineers in Japan who are making sure everything goes according to plan”, noted the coordinator.

Mr Gweme also remarked that ZINGSA also heightened its participation in space forums. He said this was to enhance the country’s preparedness for the programme. Regarding the importance of Zimbabwe’s space programme, Mr Gweme said, “Space science and technology present cheap, vibrant and more efficient methods which are superior to traditional ones in solving problems”. “Therefore, as a country, we had to adopt space science technologies to solve our national problems appropriately and, as such, the deployment of these technologies was long overdue.” Land Sterling, a leading global real estate solutions provider in the region, has taken a stake in GeoDrones Aerial Services; one of the UAE’s prime movers in the field of drone operations in order to consolidate services in the specialised areas of property valuation, building & facilities consultancy, project management, strategic and industrial consultancy, asset management and international property sales.

According to Hamza Betraoui, MRICS, Managing Director of Land Sterling, providing detailed external building inspections services is crucial in ensuring client satisfaction, saying, “Incorporating fullylicensed drone operations in our building surveying services is a natural progression in Land Sterling’s growth across the region. We are a techled organisation with highly developed technical expertise at our fingertips. This allows us to empower our clients through expert knowledge-led analysis and a deep awareness of the global investment sector, applying practical solutions across the entire value chain and catering to exponential growth in investment trends. Partnering with GeoDrones gives us an edge in the real estate industry, enabling us to provide commercial and professional aerial services utilising cutting edge drones for relevant applications."

Wärtsilä introduces Decarbonisation Services business model to support customers aiming at net zero CO2 emissions

The technology group Wärtsilä’s strategy for shaping the decarbonisation of the energy sector is strengthened with the introduction of the company’s Decarbonisation Services business model. The service utilises Wärtsilä’s sophisticated power system modelling and optimisation tools alongside in-house expertise to reduce power system emissions. It also ensures power availability with the lowest levelised cost of electricity. The ultimate aim is to help customers decarbonise their assets.

Initially, the service will focus on existing Wärtsilä customers in the mining and industrial sectors, as well as small-scale power utilities. It is carried out in longterm partnership with the customer and is outcome-based, with Wärtsilä’s success tied to the customer’s gains. Wärtsilä estimates, that its existing customers in the mining and industrial sectors have a carbon reduction potential of 460,000 tonnes per annum with initial optimisation projects.

Announcing the new service concept, Håkan Agnevall, Wärtsilä’s President & CEO said: “The need to address climate change is something we take very seriously, which is why we are utilising our unique capabilities to decarbonise power generation. We are combining our strengths in power systems modelling and energy system optimisation, with our flexible power generation technologies. In so doing, we can optimise overall energy costs and secure uptime and reliability of the power supply, while reducing emissions. Recognising that there is no single solution that suits all applications, we will work closely with each individual customer. Decarbonisation Services is one example of how we continue to move up the service ladder.”

Decarbonisation Services is designed to support customers in identifying and implementing the solutions needed to decarbonise their power systems, taking into consideration their long-term planning and CO2 emission reduction targets.

Propeller Aero and Quantum-Systems Partner to Provide PPK Support for Large Site Surveying

Propeller Aero, the drone data visualization and analytics platform, and Quantum-Systems, the Unmanned Aircraft Systems developer, has announced their joint effort to include compatibility of Propeller’s site surveying and 3D mapping software with Quantum-Systems’ Trinity F90+ drone.

Propeller’s Post-Processed Kinematic solution (PPK) enables seamless surveying and 3D mapping of worksites across the construction, mining and earthworks industries. Coupled with Quantum-Systems’ Trinity F90+ drone, a dedicated large scale mapping drone, contractors will be able to improve survey accuracy, condense their traditionally weekslong data collection process into a few hours, and quickly share digital models among their broader worksite teams.

Designed and manufactured in Germany, the Trinity F90+ drone builds on QuantumSystems’ previous F9 model and makes electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft accessible to customers at an affordable price point without compromising technical quality or usability. Additionally, the Trinity F90+ drone can fly for up to 90 minutes – well beyond the industry standard of 60 minutes – allowing earthworks professionals to survey larger worksites more efficiently, and it comes with the broadest choice of integrated sensors in the industry.

“Today’s contractors and surveyors are eager to adopt new technologies that modernize workflows and allow them to analyze more aspects of their worksite than ever before,” said Richie Hadfield, Head of Product at Propeller Aero. “The clients we work with are doing cutting-edge work in the construction, earthworks, and mining space and are already using drone technology to accelerate project timelines, reduce costly rework, and create safer environments for their employees. Our new partnership with Quantum-Systems gives our customers in Europe and around the world even more ways to achieve this increased efficiency and accuracy with the highly advanced F90+ drone.”

Seaforth Geosurveys adds iXblue Gaps M5 USBL to its pool of survey equipment

Seaforth Geosurveys, a leading Canadian marine survey company, recently acquired iXblue new Gaps M5 USBL system to support data acquisition for marine geophysical survey projects, including one in the Canadian Arctic as well as multiple other projects such as support of sidescan sonar operations during lost and abandoned fishing gear (Ghost Gear) identification and retrieval efforts.

“Having rented the iXblue Gaps USBL systems for many years to conduct our subsea positioning operations, we were always pleased with the highly accurate results provided by the system for the tracking of subsea vehicles and towfish,” says Jonathon Randall, Technical Manager at Seaforth Geosurveys. “The system’s performance, as well as its ease of use thanks to its calibration-free feature, played a big role in our decision to purchase the iXblue Gaps USBL, as this can save an appreciable amount of time in the field. The Gaps M5’s simultaneous tracking capability further makes it the perfect fit for all applications requiring highly accurate and reliable tracking and positioning of multiple assets, such as the marine geomatics operations we run.”

The latest addition to iXblue’s USBL product range, Gaps M5 has already been adopted by many companies worldwide. It offers accurate positioning and tracking of subsea assets and provides unrivaled horizontal tracking capabilities and high-precision geo-referenced positioning, especially in shallow waters where it has shown accuracy better than 0.5% up to 995m water depths. It is a medium-frequency ultra-short baseline (USBL) system combined with an Attitude & Heading Reference System (AHRS) based on fiber-optic gyrocompass (FOG) technology. With no calibration required, it can be easily deployed and operated from any vessel of opportunity. Free of export, the new Gaps M5 is quick and easy to ship anywhere in the world, saving even more operational time and offering efficiency on the field.

Septentrio and CompoTEK announce collaboration

Septentrio is strengthening its market reach for high precision GNSS* modules by signing a distribution partnership with CompoTEK for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With over a decade of experience as a distributor of modules and semiconductors, CompoTEK support its customers during the purchasing and sourcing process, works closely with them during the design-in phase, and also offers long-term product support.

“We are excited about our new partnership with CompoTEK, a company with long-term experience and knowledge of the highaccuracy positioning technology and market. We are extending our existing sales and application engineering channels, with a goal of complete coverage of US, Europe, Asia and beyond as well as efficient local support,” commented Jan Reisen, sales manager at Septentrio. The mosaic™ high-accuracy RTK module makes use of all available GNSS constellations and signals for maximum positioning availability even in challenging environments. Its small form factor and low power consumption makes it ideal for high volume applications and assembly lines. The built-in AIM+ Advanced Interference Mitigation technology ensures resilience to GNSS jamming and spoofing**, making mosaic™ a reliable positioning component in any robotic, drone or machine control system.

Seiler Instrument names Eagle as Authorized Distributor of Ground Penetrating Radar Solutions

Seiler Instrument has announced an expansion of their innovative geospatial product offerings as they now are an Authorized Distributor for Screening Eagle’s technology platform including the Proceq GS8000 subsurface ground penetrating radar (GPR). Proceq is the world leader in GPR sensor manufacturing and subsurface applications, and the partnership will allow for more efficient and faster surveys of the built environment and its subsurface utilities.

Seiler Instrument’s corporate office headquarters is in St. Louis and has geospatial offices to serve its clients in Missouri, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. As a Screening Eagle Authorized Distributor, Seiler will now be able to offer its customers the most advanced subsurface mapping systems in the world.

Assistant survey sales director Eric Seiler III, “We are honored to be chosen as the first North American Authorized Distributor for Screening Eagle’s revolutionary technology. Now surveyors and mapping professionals can create 3D maps with centimeter accuracy of the underground. The GS8000 is a game-changer for the utilities and inspection industries.”

In addition, Seiler will be able to offer Screening Eagle products for concrete inspection and structural imaging of large areas in all buildings or bridge decks.

Screening Eagle has a continued mission to protect the built world with sensors, software and data as global infrastructure ages or new construction begins. With the GS8000, objects can be located and the entire ground beneath the inspection site can be mapped within seconds.

Darren Burford, Chief Sales Officer at Screening Eagle Technologies, noted, “We are thrilled to have Seiler onboard as our distribution partners and are excited to see what their customers achieve with our GPRs.”

Cadcorp launches new hosted Data Service

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software company Cadcorp has updated its cloud services offering to include a new Data Service. The managed service provides direct access to a wide range of open data directly from a secure Cadcorp datastore. The service will allow customers to easily access data overlays within Cadcorp SIS Desktop and Cadcorp SIS WebMap. The new service was launched and demonstrated today at the Cadcorp Local Government Conference.

The Cadcorp Data Service provides a central location for numerous datasets from multiple organisations. Open data suppliers include: British Geological Survey; Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Environment Agency; Historic England; Natural England; and Ordnance Survey. As part of the managed service, Cadcorp will keep the datastore updated and plans to add both additional datasets and data suppliers.

The new service is the latest addition to a range of Cadcorp cloud services. Cadcorp customers are already benefiting from cloud hosted and managed GIS software, web mapping, spatial databases, and map services. The new Cadcorp Data Service will be provided to all existing customers who subscribe to the SIS WebMap or SIS Desktop in the cloud. Customers that have onpremise software can purchase a standalone subscription.

Gary Randle, Sales Director at Cadcorp commented: “As more organisations migrate their GIS and web mapping software to the cloud, the new datastore is a great addition to the Cadcorp cloud service. Customers can benefit from a managed cloud service for desktop GIS, web mapping, spatial databases, maps and data. No customer hardware or related IT resource is required, Cadcorp will load and manages all updates as part of the service.”