BHP are exploring offshore gas fields along South Africa's west coast.

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - BHP Billiton said on Friday power shortages in South Africa had caused a decline of 8.2 percent total production at its three aluminium smelters.

The three smelters, two in South Africa and one in Mozambique have a combined capacity of some 1.43 million tonnes, or about 3.7 percent of world output.

Power shortages in Africa's strongest economy have this year hit key mining, smelter and manufacturing sectors.

However, Vincent Maphai, chairman of BHP's southern Africa region, told Reuters it would be "very difficult" to agree to a proposal from state-owned power utility Eskom to buy back power from energy-intensive users such as smelters as Eskom sought to shore up an underpressure national power grid.

"There hasn't been any agreement and this is something we would find very difficult to accede to," Maphai said in an interview.

BHP is the the world's largest diversified mining company, and besides being a major power consumer, also provided 15 million tonnes of coal a year to Eskom as part of long-term contracts ending in 2012-2015.

Maphai said Eskom coal supplies had no impact on the group's coal exports, as dwindling global supplies boosted prices for the scarce commodity.

He said BHP invested $1.25 billion to upgrade and develop its coal pits in South Africa, one of the world's top coal exporters, and recent political turmoil was no reason to reassess new investments, which included exploring offshore gas fields along South Africa's west coast.

"There is nothing in the country politically that is forcing us to reassess what we are doing," he said, amid investors fears South Africa would take a left-leaning economic approach following the ouster of business-friendly President Thabo Mbeki.

POLITICAL STABILITY CRITICAL FOR AFRICA

Maphai said political stability in resource-rich, but under-explored Africa, was critical for future investment as the continent sought to take advantage of a commodities boom driven by consumption in China, India and Brazil, despite a global economic downturn.

"(Political) stability in Zimbabwe is critical, stability in the DRC is very critical for us, Angola is very critical and Guinea," he said, adding that BHP did not have investments in Zimbabwe but was monitoring the situation in the mineral-rich country closely.

Maphai said BHP, which did not have much exposure to gold and platinum deep-mining projects, was cagey about entering this market because of safety concerns despite record-high prices.

"We are very very cagey with deep-mining, whether it's platinum or gold, simply because we are very serious about our zero-harm policy," he said.

Maphai said BHP tended to shy away from projects associated with fatalities, but did not rule out future investment in platinum mines, as South Africa miners battled mine deaths and government closure of pits as a result.

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Iron grip closes on Langebaan lagoon

BirdLife South Africa (BirdLife in South Africa) says time is running out for the Langebaan Lagoon - one of it's most precious Ramsar sites, and part of the West Coast National Park and Saldanha Bay islands Important Bird Area (IBA).

Langebaan Lagoon is the most important wetland for waders in South Africa, regularly accounting for around 10% of South Africa's coastal wader numbers. The lagoon can support more than 37,500 non-passerine waterbirds in summer, of which 34,500 are waders, 93% of which are Palearctic migrants.

Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola, Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea, Sanderling C. alba, Red Knot C. canutus and Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres are the major components of the summer wader assemblage. The coastal strandveld supports several restricted-range and biome-restricted species, including the recently described Long-billed Lark Certhilauda curvirostris.

In winter, the lagoon regularly supports more than 10,500 birds, of which 4,500 are Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus and 4,000 are waders.

Carolyn Ah Shene – BirdLife South Africa Langebaan Lagoon, one of South Africa's most precious Ramsar sites, and part of the West Coast National Park and Saldanha Bay islands IBA. Zoom In

“The beaches have practically disappeared…” —Carolyn Ah Shene, BirdLife South Africa's Policy & Advocacy Division

BirdLife South Africa reports that this important Western Cape wetland is now plagued by port expansion, sewerage pollution, urban development and tourism infrastructure development, and may lose its conservation status as a important site for South Africa's breeding coastal birds.

The existing iron ore terminal is set to double its capacity for iron ore exports. This planned expansion has been seriously criticized by conservation organisations due to the expected impact on the hydrology, lagoon sediments, birdlife and shoreline of the lagoon. Evidence of the long-term negative impacts of the original port development in the early 1970s is visible on the eastern shores of the lagoon at the Langebaan village.

"The beaches have practically disappeared due to the scouring tidal action that was created by the causeway and jetty when the iron ore terminal was constructed," said Carolyn Ah Shene of BirdLife South Africa's Policy & Advocacy Division. "Tidal water that used to take four days to return to the Atlantic Ocean is now believed to take up to seventeen days to return. The extra dredging that will be required for the double capacity terminal will have devastating impacts on the lagoon sediments and its biota. We believe this will have a serious knock-on effect on bird diversity and numbers at the lagoon."

Credits: BirdLife South Africa

Business Premises to let on the west coast

Pictures from the storm in Langebaan Lagoon

Storm pictures from the weekend in Langebaan Lagoon, Club Mykonos Marina on the West Coast of South Africa

Waves of 9.5metres, caused havoc on the West Coast over the weekend, a rubber duck was smashed against the rocks at the mouth to Club Mykonos marina, 3 people were on board, one person is still in critical condition in the hospital, the boat was completely destroyed. Pictures from the storm. Short video of the storm below.

Business Premises available on the West Coast in Vredenburg

Langebaan Lagoon big waves at the marina

Office space to rent in Vredenburg on the West Coast

Office space to rent in Vredenburg on the West Coast Click Here

Failing to train your staff will sabotage your business

What should you spend your money on when you open a business? If you are a retailer you might think that the more stock you have the better.

But what if you haven’t trained your staff to deal with, and specifically, sell to your customers? Your stock range is likely to stay just as wide as it was when you opened the store!

I live very near the Lakeside Mica and have always found that the staff give excellent service. When not loading shelves, etc, the staff wait near the front of the aisles. They talk among themselves but they also greet all customers as they walk into the store. So you can be sure that if you need assistance you will get it.

They are always helpful and seem to avoid the trap of talking down to customers, as you find at many DIY stores. (I’m no DIY expert, so it’s easy to talk down to me in this area.)

The last few years must have been a worrying time for the franchise holder at the Lakeside Mica. First a large Builders Warehouse store was built about two kilometres away, and then a large Mica Superstore was built a further two kilometres away.

I noticed this week that the Mica Superstore has closed after only a year of operation.

It was a purpose-built building, fully stocked with a wide range of DIY and hardware appliances and materials. There was plenty of free parking and the shop was clearly visible from the main road — so what went wrong?

I don’t have any insight into the financials of the business, but I do know about the customer service, or lack of it. The skills portal office was close to this store, so I visited it on a number of occasions, simply because it was convenient.

It soon became clear that I wasn’t going to get the level of customer service I had come to expect from my neighbourhood Mica.

It was always hard to find assistance and I had to ask, no one approached me. On one occasion I walked a full circuit of the store, slowly, trying to look like I needed assistance. I left the store without anyone asking me if they could assist me.

I’m not surprised that the store has closed down — and my local Mica is still going strong.

You can spend all the money you like on building a great shop, stock it with all the right products, but this does not guarantee success.

What was clearly missing was staff training. Product-specific training is necessary and maybe they had that. But what is crucially important is customer service and sales training.

There is a way to handle customers and encourage them to make a purchase. While this might come naturally to some, most people need to be taught. The message also needs to be constantly re-enforced. Management of a retail business needs to happen on the shop floor, leading from the front.

There are a limited number of people who are enthusiastic about everything they do and thrive on interacting with others — but that isn’t most of us. Most of us need to be encouraged and reminded to sell to customers.

To many managers and business owners customer service training for staff might seem like a “nice to have” that you get round to when you have time. It might also not be fully budgeted for.

Well, I know one Mica superstore which would have done better to spend less on stock and more on staff training.

If you are looking for sales or customer service training for your staff you’ll find many training companies listed on the Skills Portal Training Directory.

Unions campaign against Walmartisation

The Wal-Mart chain of discount stores has become a US, and international, business success story. But the flip side is demonstrated by the term ‘Walmatisation’ which has become a rallying call to those opposed to the use of casual labour, on low wages and without any social benefits.

Local union Saccawu is accusing leading SA retailers of following this trend and they are campaigning strongly against it.

As consumers we would always welcome low prices, but should we be paying more attention to the business practices of retailers? If employers don’t provide their employees pension and medical benefits who will end up supporting them? The State - which means us taxpayers!

Should South Africans be calling on retailers to continue to provide stable incomes and benefits to their workers – for the good of the country as a whole? Or do local retailers have to work with the same rules as their global competitors – for fear of the international players opening stores in SA? We are in the period of globalisation after all!

What are your opinions on this topic? We welcome your contributions via email to db@pencil.co.za for our Letters to the Editor section

BIG BOX ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDIES

These studies are from the USA but the same thing is happening in South Africa

Below are summaries and links to key studies that examine the impact of Wal-Mart and other large retail chains and, in some cases, the benefits of locally owned businesses. For ease of use, we've organized these studies into the following categories, although they do not all fit neatly into one category. (Also see the Research section of the News Archive for more detailed stories on some of these studies).

* Economic Impact of Local Businesses vs. Chains
Studies have found that locally owned stores generate much greater benefits for the local economy than national chains.
* Retail Employment
These studies examine whether the arrival of a superstore increases or decreases the number of retail jobs in the region.
* Wages & Benefits
Studies have found that big-box retailers, particularly Wal-Mart, are depressing wages and benefits for retail employees.
* Existing Businesses
These studies look at how the arrival of a big-box retailer displaces sales at existing businesses, which must then downsize or close. This results in job losses and declining tax revenue, which some of these studies quantify.
* Poverty Rates
Counties that have gained Wal-Mart stores have fared worse in terms of family poverty rates, according to this study.
* Social and Civic Well-Being
This study found that Wal-Mart reduces a community's level of social capital, as measured by voter turnout and the number of active community organizations.
* City Costs
These studies compare the municipal tax benefits of big-box development with the cost of providing these stores with city services, such as road maintenance, police and fire—finding that cities do not always come out ahead.
* State Costs
Because many of their employees do not earn enough to make ends meet, states are reporting high costs associated with providing healthcare (Medicaid) and other public assistance to big-box employees.
* Subsidies
This study documents more than $1 billion in local and state development subsidies that have flowed to Wal-Mart.
* Consumers & Prices
Are chains better for consumers?
* Traffic
How do vehicle miles traveled and trips increase as a result of big box developments?

Read the whole story here
http://www.newrules.org/retail/econimpact.html#1