January 2018

Index
Foreword3
Rationale for a Style Guide 4
Writing for Creamer Media 4
Structuring your interview and writing 5
Production Guidelines 8
Guidance from A to Z 9
Areas of common difficulty 18

Annexures
1. Hyphenation30
2. Abbreviations of units of measurement 33
3. Commonly used scientific elements and their abbreviations 36
The Periodic Table List 36
4. Commonly used abbreviations 37
Abbreviating the names of government departments in headlines 39
Commonly used plastics 39
5. Glossary of standards authorities 40
6. Glossary of Mining Terms 41
7. The currencies guide 52
8. Research Reports 56
9. What’s On listings 57

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Foreword
When it comes to style
When it comes to the style in which one should write for Engineering News and Mining Weekly, one can do worse than to take a cue from Radio
702 presenter John Robbie.

Those who have listened to Robbie will know that he instructs contributors to his talk shows: “Keep it short,” he pleads from the outset. If there
is the slightest waffle, Robbie adds: “Get to the point.” The moment there is adulation, he bellows: “Cut the slush.”

Staff of Engineering News and Mining Weekly may benefit from applying Robbie’s three main lines when they are putting their reports into
readable form.

Probably the briefest message of all time was from a British officer whose regiment had conquered Sinde in India; he cabled a one-liner,
“Pecavi”, the Latin for “I have sinned”.

I recall this to stress the need for brevity.

Most of all, reports in Engineering News and Mining Weekly must be easy reads: they must inform, they must stimulate, they must expose and,
where appropriate, yes, also entertain.

Clarity of writing usually follows clarity of thought. Should you not be certain, phone around until you are, then complete your work. Your reports
must always have meat, but avoid constantly pouring over them the same gravy.

Writer George Orwell is credited with having said that a scrupulous writer will ask himself four questions in relation to every sentence written:
“What am I trying to say? Which words will express it best? Which image could make it clearer? Could I reduce it to fewer words?”

Test what you have written by handing it to a nonjournalist colleague and then finding out what it has communicated. If communication proves
moggy, try again.

I have, however, regularly used this route with a semblance of success: write it, sub it, rewrite it, resub it, submit it.

A stylebook ensures consistent quality; it’s a newsroom’s bureau of standards, a verbal constitution, an arbiter in times of dispute and doubt.
Thus, we are indebted and very grateful to all those who undertook the laborious task of producing this stylebook, and this electronic version.

Martin Creamer
Publishing editor 

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Rationale for a Style Guide
Even those born to the English language will freely admit that this is not an easy language to speak, let alone write. If you listen to the language
spoken in parts of the UK you would not believe that this, too, is English.

In South Africa, English is seldom a first language – it may only be a fourth or fifth language. It is, however, the language of business – and that’s
where we come in. Poor language usage can mislead and confuse the reader. We want clarity. A style guide is just that – a guide. It does not
contain all the answers, but it does have some.

How to use this guide

This is a living document as it constantly evolves as style tips surface. Its purpose is best served as an electronic document, which is easily
updated and, most importantly, searchable! To ensure that the master copy remains an authoritative document, please send all additions/
queries/updates to Chanel de Bruyn (chanel@engineeringnews.co.za). Regular updates of the document will be posted on the site.

Writing for Creamer Media

Get both sides of the story
When you write a controversial article (anything that could/will discredit a company) it is imperative that comment is obtained from the company
you are writing about. 

As a journalist, you are accountable – you need to be sure of your efforts and ensure you are contacting the right people. The words substantiation
and verification should be high up on your list when attempting anything of a controversial/ investigative nature.

Do not, under any circumstances, simply use random information you got off the Internet for the basis of your argument. Use only relevant,
secure sources and always include the other side of the story.

Your job as a journalist is to be objective and you should do everything in your power to get both sides of the story. All sources should have
equal opportunity to state their case and it is your job to ensure that they do. However, in the event that it is a news-breaking or extremely
important issue that you feel you need to probe and you are struggling to get comment from a particular source, please speak to your editor
for guidance.

If you have any questions, please speak to your editor.

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Editorial style
Think like a reader

Given Engineering News and Mining Weekly’s readership profile, we strive to produce a riveting read for the MD and an intelligible, clear,
educational medium for shopfloor workers and artisans. 

Structuring your interview and writing

PART ONE
News story structure

GOLDEN RULE: News first, scene setting second, context third, comment last (pack article with news, limit commentary).
GUIDELINE 1: If you don’t understand your sentence/article, no one else will (rewrite it until it is clear – don’t forget punctuation).
GUIDELINE 2: Exhaust your angle before moving on to a new theme.
GUIDELINE 3: Have appropriate joiners to introduce a new theme (meanwhile, further, in addition, another priority . . .).
GUIDELINE 4: Multisource where appropriate, and always get the other side of the debate if one is raised.
GUIDELINE 5: Clear stories with source and accept reasonable changes, particularly if the article arose from an unsolicited approach by us.
Stories arising from public media events do not need to be cleared, unless you have gained additional information on the side of the event.
GUIDELINE 6: Limit the use of direct quotes and rather interpret for the reader in indirect speech.
GUIDELINE 7 (most important): Read your article through three times before submission to an editor or a source.

INTRO 1: News first, then who said it

1. Sourced, nonexclusive: State-owned power utility Powerkom approved four new megaprojects, involving a combined capital investment of
R42-billion, CEO Coal Stoffberg reported last week. (past tense)
2. Sourced, exclusive: State-owned power utility Powerkom has approved four new megaprojects, involving a combined capital investment of
R42-billion, CEO Coal Stoffberg tells Engineering News. (present tense)
3. Nonsourced, exclusive: State-owned power utility Powerkom has approved four new megaprojects, involving a combined capital investment
of R42-billion, Engineering News can today report. (present tense)
4. Nonsourced, nonexclusive: State-owned power utility Powerkom has approved four new megaprojects, involving a combined capital
investment of R42-billion, industry sources reveal. (present tense)

INTRO 2: Describe company generically, then say where it is from

1. Generic description: State-owned power utility . . .
2. Where: Bomber Engineering of Boksburg, on the East Rand, . . . 

INTRO 3: Once you have chosen your tense, you have to stick with it throughout the article.

INTRO 4: Try not to start your story with a direct quote.

PARAGRAPH TWO: Scene setting

1. Sourced, nonexclusive: Speaking at a results presentation in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Stoffberg said the projects were part of a bigger
R97-billion, five-year capital investment programme, which had been scaled up from R84-billion to cater for faster-than-expected demand
growth. (past tense)
2. Sourced, exclusive: Speaking exclusively to Engineering News, Stoffberg reveals that the projects are part of a bigger R97-billion, five-year
capital investment programme, which has been scaled up from R84-billion to cater for faster-than-expected demand growth. (present tense)

PARAGRAPH THREE: Direct quote

“We were asked by our shareholder, the government, to review our planning in light of the accelerated and shared growth initiative for South
Africa, or Asgisa, and this review made us realise that we needed to accelerate our capital programme, particularly with regard to new baseload
capacity,” Stoffberg explains.

PARAGRAPH FOUR: Provide context

The South African utility has been mandated to lead the power-expansion programme, following a decision by Cabinet in 2003, not to break
Powerkom into its various components of generation, transmission and distribution, so that it could lead the increasingly urgent security-of-
supply initiative.

PARAGRAPH FIVE: More context, if needed

For nearly three decades, Powerkom has not needed to make major investments, given that South Africa had surplus generation capacity
and had even mothballed several stations. It was also uncertain whether it would be allowed to move ahead with new investments, given that
government was considering a new competitive framework for electricity supply.

PARAGRAPH SIX: More context, if needed

However, demand has been rising steadily, given higher-than-anticipated economic growth rates and South Africa is now expected to run short
of generation capacity, particularly peaking capacity, in the not-too-distant future.

PARAGRAPH SEVEN: more news

The review concluded that there would also be a shortage of baseload capacity ahead of the initial projected date of 2012. For that reason,
Powerkom has brought forward the development of a new R26-billion baseload coal-fired station, which will be built in the north of the country.

PARAGRAPH EIGHT: more news

The four other projects approved relate to a peaking power plant to be built in the Drakensberg, and two major transmission lines from the
Mpumalanga region in the north of the country through to the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces, in the south.

PARAGRAPH NINE: this additional news may also need context

The transmission projects are deemed necessary to strengthen the network supplying the Western Cape, which was shown up as fragile in
December, when the Koeberg nuclear reactor was forced to shut down, owing to a damaged stator . . .

PARAGRAPH TEN: more news 

Pack the article with facts and figures about the investment programme, the projects, the contractors, the technologies chosen, etc.
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PARAGRAPH 11: a balanced article may want to raise concerns
Many observers believe the capex programme is too little, too late. Western Cape DA spokesperson Joe Moan says . . .
PARAGRAPH 12: direct quote for concerned party
“There is little doubt that the power-supply shortage currently being faced comes down to poor policymaking from the national government and
bad planning on the part of Powerkom,” Moan argues.

PARAGRAPH 13: get a response

Powerkom, though, is sanguine about its ability to deal with the challenge . . .

PARAGRAPH 14: another direct quote, possibly to conclude

“We believe we have the structures and systems in place to deliver on this ambitious capex programme,” Stoffberg concludes.

PARAGRAPH 15: may want to end with summing up, or a fact

All eyes will be on Eskom and the executive team to see whether they will be able to translate the paper plans into reality.
Tenders are out for the coal-fired power station and construction is expected to start next week.

TYPES OF STORIES
PROJECT STORY
• Name of the project and location
• Project description (brownfield or greenfield)
• Mine project 1: (expansion or replacement)
• Mine project 2: (output, when commissioned, when at full production)
• Value
• Duration
• Breakdown of main contracts
• Client
• Latest developments
• Companies awarded contracts
• Any challenges
• Any unique features or technology
• Will the project require the use of structural steel and, if so, how much?
• On budget and on time?

FINANCIAL PRESENTATION
Always look for an angle beyond the results (new projects, new strategic direction, views on the business environment)
But also include:
• Earnings (net profit/loss after tax in R-million rather than earnings a share)
• Can also include operating profit/loss as nonoperational issues often affect the bottom line.
• If the company is looking to raise finance there are three issues to look at:
1. If it is debt finance: Is it project finance or will it involve the issue of a bond?
2. What is the company’s current gearing (debt:equity ratio) Do observers believe it has the capacity to raise more debt?
3. If it is equity finance: What is the dilution factor on other shareholders and is there any attempt to limit dilution?

BEE DEALS
• Give a context of why the BEE deal is necessary (the company needs a licence to operate or the company wants to secure its position as a
supplier to a company that has a BEE procurement policy).
• Give details of the nature of the consortium. Who leads it? Is it broad based and how is it structured?
• How will the deal be funded? Will banks fund it, will shareholders fund it (through dilution), or will the company act as a funder through
vendor finance?
• Is the deal expansionary? In other words, will the proceeds go into expanding the operation in some way?

COMPANY PROFILES
Get a good generic description of the company. How does it describe itself?
• Try to understand what the company actually does (we favour manufacturers over traders, but both have their place).
• Does the company do any R&D? Does it have any of its own commercial innovations on the market?
• Is it simply a conduit for imports? If so, what value does it add to the economy and its client base?
• How is it being affected by macrofinancial (interest rate, rand), economic (growth rate, importation), and social trends (BEE, social
development)?
• What new projects does it have on its book? Then use project questions.
• What new products and services is it pursuing?
• How many people does it employ?
• What raw materials does it use in its business process?
• Who is the leader?

NOTE 1: When you write up these types of interviews, look for hard news in the form of projects, innovation or business development first. If
there is nothing there, then move to issues confronting the industry as a whole.

NOTE 2: If it was an exclusive interview, don’t hold the person to his exact quotes. If the language was a little rough, try to interpret it through
indirect speech or finesse them into direct quotes that are more readable.

NEW PRODUCTS/NEW TECHNOLOGY

• Be circumspect about the use of words such as ‘revolutionary’, ‘world-first’, unless you can verify that.
• Try to write using as few adjectives as possible.
• Be careful in making big changes to releases other than simplifying the language.
• Make sure you know what the product does and for which sector it is appropriate purely by reading your text.
• If it is a locally developed innovation, you can go a bit bigger.
• Get chapter and verse on what has been spent, who the researchers were, who verified the product’s efficacy, where it has been sold,
whether it has export potential.
• You could even do a sidebar on the innovator him/herself.
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WRITING A RESULTS STORY IN 30 MINUTES
There are times when a Creamer Media journalist needs to deliver an authoritative results-related story in a short space of time, either as a
prelude to a larger story to come from a results presentation, or as a story of record for the daily newsletter.

How should one approach such a story?

1. Read the SENS/RNS highlights.
2. Go through all the subheadings to see if an obvious angle emerges, including: an acquisition or disposal, a big swing in production, a legal
dispute, or a change in leadership.
3. If there is no obvious nonfinancial/operational angle to pursue, read the outlook statement for a possible introduction. For example: the
company expects things to improve after a poor year, or the company warns of deteriorating market conditions, or production could be
impacted by an unplanned or planned event, etc.
4. If there is still no nonfinancial/operational news angle, return to the highlights and look for the hardest financial angle, such as: net profit or
loss for the period or headline earnings a share for the period.
5. Once you have selected your financial angle you need to immediately find the reason to back up your intro. For example: XYZ’s net profit rose
40% to R1-billion in the six months to June 30, on the back of increased production from its newly completed smelter in Benoni, Gauteng.
6. The next couple of sentences should then talk about the other highlights during the period, reflecting: revenue, Ebit or Ebitda and/or
production highlights.
7. Then you should introduce a strong quote from the commentary, which you can link to the CEO.
8. Finally, if you have not led your story with the outlook, it is best to offer the reader insight into the future direction of the company by quoting
the outlook for the upcoming period.

REFERENCING BLACK OWNERSHIP

• Refer to the racial composition of a company only when it is germane to the story. It is entirely appropriate to refer to a company’s black-
owned status when writing about corporate transformation. It may also add context and credibility to the opinion being offered by a
particular source. 
• For instance, it could make sense to refer to the black-ownership status of Exxaro when the company is making comment on mining policy
matters, or on the wider business environment.
• As a rule, however, our generic descriptions of companies should not include reference to the racial composition of the firm’s owners, unless
the issue is germane to the article and/or unless the company specifically requests such reference.

HANDLING OPINION-HEAVY COPY

1. Journalists often engage with sources who are interested in sharing their untested thoughts and opinions with a view to airing these in public
through an article in one of our publications.
2. As a general rule, try direct interviewees and stories towards what a company, department or agency is actually doing, rather than what
the executive is saying.
3. If there is unhappiness, for instance, with the workings of a government department, another company or a policy, direct the source/story to
what the company is doing about the issue (e.g. taking legal action, seeking meetings to address the matter, or withdrawing from a market).
4. However, if the story is going to be opinion-heavy:
a) Assess whether the source has, by virtue of his or her position, reputation or qualification, the authority to offer thought leadership, or
criticism.
b) If he or she does, then ensure the source remains within the bounds of his or her expertise.
c) Ensure the opinions expressed can be backed by sound argument and are not merely the source’s prejudiced or unbalanced view on
a subject.
d) Be aware of the reputational impact on yourself as a journalist (people tend to attack the messenger as much as the source), on the
publication and, lastly, even on the source.
5. On the whole, Creamer Media will always favour fact-rich articles that are light on commentary.
6. However, where commentary is justified, we should provide a platform to enable the source to make her or his case.
7. In many instances, you will also need to seek comment from the subject of the criticism to ensure the article is properly balanced.

UNSOLICITED NEWS LEADS

The South African business environment has become prone to the emergence of individuals who attempt to create a profile for themselves in
the media despite the absence of sound underlying business structures and/or experience. 

These individuals use that profile to tap into deal flow that would otherwise be out of their reach. Therefore, it has become necessary for Creamer
Media to tighten procedures regarding its handling of unsolicited news leads. These procedures are:
1. Should a journalist receive an unsolicited news lead, she or he should immediately approach her or his editor to assess whether the story
should be pursued at all.
2. In instances where the source is unknown to the editor, the journalist will be asked to do a preliminary Web-based investigation of the
company and report back. During that preliminary probe, the journalist must assess what other reportage there has been on the company
and individual, whether the company has a Web presence, and he or she should also phone the company switchboard to assess whether
there is in fact more than a Web presence.
3. Once that has been done, the responsible editor will either approve that the story be followed up, or will suggest that we politely decline the
interview.
4. If the editor remains uncertain, there should be a meeting with other editors before the journalist is given permission to follows up.
5. Following the interview, the story should again be given to an editor before it is sent for clearance. If there are assets (such as a mine or a
factory) or partners (such as a financier or a technology provider), the editor will ask the journalist to do another Web search to ascertain their
existence. He or she will also ask the journalist to make a few calls to those companies to enquire about the company and its relationship
with the source.
6. If satisfactory answers are not forthcoming, the story will be put on hold. If the answers are satisfactory, we will proceed.
7. The journalist is also encouraged to write the piece in a manner that avoids editorialisation and/or commentary. The article should merely
state the position of the source and, if possible, should include comment from business partners and third-party analysts. In other words,
adjectives should be limited to generic descriptions rather than to offering any value assessments.
8. The same applies for the way we write about new products and services. Unless you are 100% certain that the products is truly a
breakthrough, do not use words such as ‘breakthrough’, ‘world first’, ‘revolutionary’, etc.
9. Should you have any further questions in this regard, please approach your editors.
10. Golden Rule: Research and Check the Facts Before you Write!
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Production Guidelines
Below are a few production-related guidelines that features editors and proofreaders should take note of.
1. When we reproduce a map in the magazine, we must delete the scale as it would be wrong after we resize the map.
2. We may not have a ‘widow’ (a single word in a line) at the top of a column.
3. It’s preferable not to have two abbreviations in a headline, eg SA’s GDP seen contracting.
4. In those headlines where we attribute a statement to someone, we use a dash if the name comes last and a colon if it comes first, eg:
‘Double-digit growth rate a pipe dream – Gordhan’, but ‘Gordhan: Double-digit growth rate a pipe dream’.
5. There must always be a strong link between a story and the photograph accompanying it. An example of where this is not the case would be
a story about Zimbabwe used with a photograph of President Robert Mugabe where he is not mentioned in the story. One way of dealing
with this would be to insert a short line mentioning Mugabe, eg “Zimbawe, whose President, Robert Mugabe, was re-elected for a seventh
five-year term in July . . . .”

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Guidance from A to Z
Abbreviations
Always write the full form on first appearance; for example, extensions are under way at the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS); the
bracketed abbreviation follows immediately. Try not to use the abbreviation too frequently by substituting a generic, for example, the bureau
instead of SABS. Remember there is no need to abbreviate if the organisation is only mentioned once.

Do abbreviate:
• Chief executive officer, managing director, general manager, chief financial officer and financial director in body text as CEO, MD, GM, CFO
and FD respectively. It is not necessary to write out in full at the first time of mention.
• It is also not necessary to write out Member of Parliament at first mention. Use only the abbreviation MP.
• Director-general and deputy director-general are not abbreviated to DG and DDG respectively.

Exceptions:
• Use only the abbreviation CIO when referring to chief information officer. However, when this abbreviation refers to chief investment
officer, we spell it out at first mention and abbreviate it as CIO thereafter. If used in a title of an event, for example, the Africa CIO Summit, the
acronym is to be used as is, as it is the name of the event.
• Chief technical officer must also be written out at first mention and abbreviated as CTO thereafter.

Avoid using Prof, Gen and Col, but Dr is acceptable.

Do not abbreviate in body copy (although it is acceptable in headlines):

South Africa (SA in heads).
Million and billion in body copy for example, $46-million ($46m in heads).

Familiar abbreviations, such as GDP or Scada, must be written out on first mention, but may be used in headlines.

For information on abbreviations used in units of measurement, see Annexure Four.

When abbreviating year-on-year in headlines, use y/y and not y-o-y.

When abbreviating South Africa in headlines, use SA. However, when writing for an international audience (such as Mining Weekly Online or
Engineering News Online), please rather spell out South Africa/South African or abbreviate it to S Africa/S African, as readers may confuse
SA with the abbreviation for South Australia.

Acronyms
If an abbreviation can be and is pronounced, for example, Numsa, Nato, Seifsa and Gatt, then it is written in upper and lower case and further
reference takes the following forms: . . . it was reported that Numsa . . . the Numsa delegates . . ..

In cases where it cannot be or is not pronounced, capitals are used, for example, SABC and GDP and further preceded by the, for example,
the SABC will operate . . .

Note that the NUM and DIN are written in capitals because this is the way in which they are commonly referred to, African Rainbow Minerals
is shortened to ARM, Kumba Iron Ore is referred to as Kumba when mentioned a second time and ArcelorMittal South Africa as AMSA.

SAPVIA, SAWEA and LANXESS must also be written in capital letters.

Also, the Department of Trade and Industry is referred to as the DTI and not the dti.

Agreement between subject and verb

Engineering News and Mining Weekly always refer to companies in the singular: De Beers Consolidated Mines has completed its feasibility
study.
The building contractor, Buildright Engineering, refuses to comment on the allegations.
In general, two ordinary nouns joined by the word ‘and’ take the plural form of the verb:
• Time and tide wait for no man.

When the subject refers to one concept, notion or idea, it takes the singular form of the verb. It is important to establish the way in which the
subject is perceived:
• The wages of sin is death
• Fish and chips makes the perfect meal

There are some words that refer to a group, and can take either the singular or plural form, depending on the context of the sentence. When the noun
refers to separate members or individuals, the plural form is used, but when the entity is meant, the verb takes the singular:
• Our team has lost every game
• The board has reached a conclusion

Words that refer to pairs take the plural form, but not when the word pair is actually used:
• Pliers were needed to lift the lid
• Where is my new pair of scissors?

Anybody refers to one person; therefore it always takes the singular form of the verb.

Each always takes the singular, for example, Each of the men is going to succeed. But when each follows a plural word, use a plural verb: the
workers are each expected to . . .

None usually takes the singular form of the verb, for example, none of us understands his motivation. However, in some cases, the plural may be
possible, for example, none of the tools are in good condition. Many is plural and uses the plural verb.
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Apostrophe
The apostrophe is usually used to indicate possession, for example, the gold mine’s profits.

Names that end in ‘s’, for example, James and Jones become James’s and Jones’s when denoting possession. 

Euphony may decide the addition or omission of ‘s, although it is often omitted when the last syllable of the name is pronounced ‘iz’, and in Bridges’
and Moses’. Plural-sounding company names that end in ‘s’, take an apostrophe after the ‘s’ when denoting possession: De Beers’ exploration
tenements. 

Plural possessives ending in –s are written as bosses’, dogs’, directors’, countries’.

Apostrophes are not used in the plurals of abbreviations such as PCs and PLCs.

There is no apostrophe in 1980s, the 20s.

The towns Jeffreys Bay and Richards Bay do not take apostrophes, but Simon’s Town and King William’s Town do, however.

Apostrophes also indicate the place where a letter is missing from a word:
• It’s wrong to judge = it is wrong to judge

Compare this to the possessive its:

• Its profits have increased

The apostrophe when used to mark the omission of a letter or numeral:

• Don’t (do not)
• That’s (that is)
• Rock ‘n’ roll (rock and roll) 
• It’s (it is)
• In ’94 or ’95 (1994 or 1995)

Articles
Used in every sentence, articles are an integral part of the English language. Often misapplied, ‘a’ and ‘an’ are usually referred to as the indefinite
articles. In general, an is used before a vowel while a appears before a consonant. An is also used before a silent ‘h’ (but not before the words hotel
and hospital since the h is pronounced). In addition, words which begin with ‘u’ but are pronounced as though the begin with a ‘y’ are preceded
by ‘a’, for example, a utensil, a useful idea; but an ugly gesture, an upstart. 

The definite article ‘the’ generally points to some particular subject, thereby distinguishing it from others named in the sentence. The effect of ‘the’
is stronger on a singular noun than with a plural:
• The engineer will notice a difference in engine performance
• Engineers notice slight differences in engine performance

Note that the definite articles should be used only when the purpose is to draw attention to a noun and it cannot be used interchangeably with
a or an.
When adjectives that denote quantities belonging to different things are connected, the article should be repeated:
• A black and a blue vehicle passed the test. (This means two vehicles.)

When connected adjectives relate to the same thing, the article must not be repeated:
• A black and blue vehicle passed the test. (This means one vehicle.)

Bold
The full names of people are written in bold on first appearance in an article. Thereafter, use only the surname in medium font. Headings,
crossheads and questions are also in bold.

Brackets and parentheses

Phrases can be inserted into a sentence in parentheses – ( ) – as an explanation or qualification. A phrase inserted in parentheses must make
complete grammatical sense on its own and must not have any grammatical connection with the main sentence. Phrases used in parentheses
must be kept short. Where possible, insert commas in place of these punctuation marks.

Square brackets – [ ] – are used to enclose an explanation by the writer in clarification of a quoted source.

Capitals
General rule – if in doubt, use lower case.

We do not uppercase government, but Parliament is always capped, as are certain political positions such as President and Minister.

Legislation (Act, Bill, White Paper and Green Paper) are also capped.

All private appointments are written in lower case, for example, marketing manager and operations director. But CEO, MD, GM, CFO and
FD are never written out in full. Ranks and titles are written with a capital letter, but only when written in conjunction with a name, for example,
President Jacob Zuma. 

Also note the capitalisation of military titles – Colonel, Vice-Admiral; academic titles – Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Vice-Chancellor,
Professor; plus, Pope Benedict XVI, Queen Elizabeth and God. Also capitalise: Councillor. However, US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice
says . . . . 

Write: undersecretary-general

Also note the capitals in State (as in government, but not in state of the economy), Internet, Web (but website) and Ethernet. 
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The names of race groups are not written with a capital letter but Asians, Europeans, Africans and other group names, which are derived from
the names of continents, are.

Definite geographical places, regions areas or countries take initial capitals. These include Western Cape, South-East Asia, Middle East,
South Atlantic, the West. Use lower case with east, west, north or south when it is used as an adjective, for example southern Free State
and northern Canada, but South Africa’s West Coast.

Use lower case for province, city or state when it is not strictly part of a name, for example, Kuwait city, New York city, Washington state,
Eastern Cape province.

The same applies to streets, rivers, dams and project names, for example, Smith street, Van Riebeeck avenue, Fish river, Katse dam,
Alusaf Hillside smelter project, Kendal power station, but the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.

The names of programmes or developments, which are not proper nouns, take lower case, for example, mine extension programme. 

Don’t be too liberal with caps.

When referring to projects under government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, ‘wind farm’ and
‘solar PV’ should be capped if it is part of the name of the project. For example: Mulilo Renewable Energy Solar PV Prieska and not Mulilo
Renewable Energy solar PV.

The ‘m’ in Millennials should be capped.

Colliery does not have to be capped, even if ‘colliery’ is a part of the name of the coal mining and processing facility.

When referring to the Investing in African Mining Indaba, we upper-case -Indaba at subsequent mentions. However, when referring to an indaba
in general, it is lower case.

Names of seagoing vessels should be in italics, for example, MSC Catania or MV Peace in Africa.

Common errors
• Pacific Ocean, not Pacific ocean
• Lower case website
• Lower case doctoral, as in ‘doctoral research’

We lower case ‘departments’ when we refer to more than one government department. For example: The departments of Home Affairs, Science
and Technology and Tourism.

Clichés
Clichés become clichés because they are useful in the first instance; but although they can find a new life from the very fact that they are familiar
expressions, they should be avoided. However, use a familiar phrase if it expresses meaning correctly, not just because it is easily recognised.

Collective nouns
Words that refer to a group or collection of elements, for example:
• Team, staff and joint venture, take the singular form
• The board has reached a conclusion

However, in some cases, the sense may not lend itself to the singular:
• The staff have collected money for the Christmas party

A safe rule when using the word number:

• The number is . . . A number are . . . (when number means many)

A pair and a couple are plural.

Think carefully before using the plural form.

Colons
If a colon does not add to the clarity of the wording, then it should be omitted. For example: 
• The manufacturing facility has the following features: a tool shop, a spray booth and a training centre for artisans. If the colon is removed, the
sentence is still perfectly understandable. 
• Writers are often tempted to add a colon after “including”, and the same rule applies.
• Before a whole quoted sentence, but not before part of a quoted sentence, for example, She said: “I need to hone my gardening skills”.
However, “I need to hone my gardening skills,” she says – is preferred by Engineering News and Mining Weekly.
• The colon is used to precede an explanation or to expand on what has gone before, for example, the cause of the fire was obvious: the wiring
of the entire building had long been a reason for concern.

Commas
Use commas sparingly. Short sentences are easier to read than long ones interspersed with many commas. Engineering News and Mining
Weekly style is that if a sentence may be understood without using commas, they should be omitted:

Use:
• Engineering Anonymous contract manager Piet Smith says the plant is operational.
Rather than
Piet Smith, contract manager for Engineering Anonymous, says the plant is operational.

Commas are used to separate phrases or clauses. When a sentence begins with a subordinate clause, a comma must appear after the clause,
that is, before the main clause:
• While the four sets at Morupule were being phased in, the supply from Gaborone was phased out.
11
Two commas must be used when a phrase is inserted into a sentence parenthetically:
Large power stations, we have come to realise, require a lot of maintenance.
Not: Large power stations, we have come to realise require a lot of attention.

The use of commas is required when several items are listed in a sentence:
The local agency stocks valves, bolts and nuts. Don’t use commas before ‘and’ at the end of a list.
The use of a decimal point is mandatory, for example 2.6 and not 2,6. Also note that a space (and not a comma) is used to separate
thousands from hundreds, for example, 3 400.

A comma does not have to precede ‘such as’. This should be determined by the rule governing the use of commas in restrictive/nonrestrictive
clauses, namely:
1. Commas are not needed when in restrictive clauses. For example: Skills such as welding are much sought after (it is not all skills, but welding
skills, that are much sought after).
2. Commas are needed when what follows is a nonrestrictive clause. For example: You can enroll for a whole lot of courses at that college, such
as mechanics, boilermaking, plumbing, etc (the choice is restricted to particular courses).

Companies
Call companies by the names they call themselves, but omit (Pty) Ltd, Limited and cc unless the name is used in an Engineering News plant
profile when we specify Pty or Limited, but never (Pty) Ltd on the basis that if it is Pty it must be Ltd and if it is Limited it is a public company
as opposed to private one. Other abbreviations omitted after a company name are AG, SA or Gmbh. However, in Coal of Africa Limited and
South African National Roads Agency Limited, the word ‘Limited’ remains because this is part of the name.

The names of companies may be abbreviated after first appearance, for example, Atomic Energy Corporation (AEC).

Compound modifiers
Two words functioning as a single adjective should be hyphenated to ensure clarity, for example, long-term growth and twentieth-century
technology.

Generally, no hyphen is needed between an adverb and an adjective:

• A carefully researched article

Neither is a hyphen required when single adjectives follow a noun:

• The proposal was ill considered (but: an ill-considered proposal)

Currencies
The commonly used currencies of rand, dollar, pound, yen do not take initial capitals. When before a figure, currency abbreviations are used
without a space, for example, €40 and $400. Other examples of usage:
• The European benchmark ferrochrome price has increased by 16%, to $1,03/lb, which is $0.14 higher for the fourth quarter
• rand:dollar exchange rate

Countries
In most cases the names of countries should be written out in full. Exceptions are the UK for the United Kingdom and the US for the United
States of America.

United Arab Emirates must be written out at first mention, but can be abbreviated as UAE thereafter.

Note that Russia, often used interchangeably with the ex-Soviet Union, is only one of the republics that make up the Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS). 

Remember the use of capitalisation in country names, such as Far East, South America and sub-Saharan Africa.

In cases where a country is known by more than one name, we use the United Nations list of member States as a reference for official names.
For example, we refer to Côte d’Ivoire rather than Ivory Coast.

Use http://www.un.org/en/members/index.shtml to check the accuracy of country names.

We use the noun form (Mozambique government) and not the adjectival form (Mozambican government) when referring to the government
of a country. However, there may be instances where the adjectival form reads better than the noun form (French government not France
government).  In such cases, use the adjectival form.

Note that it is the Democratic Republic of Congo and not the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dash
The dash (–) must not be confused with the hyphen (-). The hyphen links words whereas the dash separates groups of words. The presence of a
dash indicates a slight pause.

Dates
The acceptable style for dates is October 27, 2009. Dates are always written out in full. Note that when a date is written out in midsentence, a
comma follows the year, for example, on September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. 
• Use twentieth century rather than 20th century
• Wherever possible, use exact dates rather than the mid-1920s
• Likewise, avoid the use of hyphens between two dates, for example, 1995-96. Use a slash instead, for example, 1995/6
• 2008/9, not 2008/2009
• August 2009, not August, 2009
• On June 2 and 3, Nersa held hearings
12
Defamation
We need to be very careful to avoid a situation where we find ourselves in hot water for defaming any individuals or companies, or making ourselves
vulnerable to any claims that we have defamed anyone. It was not long ago that another mining publication from South Africa suffered a heavy blow
when it was taken to court in London for the alleged defamation of a Russian mine owner. The settlement cost them millions of rands.

If you are ever in doubt as to whether an article is defamatory, get it checked before we publish it on our website or in our magazines. We really
cannot afford to make any mistakes in this regard. As Martin Creamer always says, “If in doubt, find out or leave it out.”

Webber Wentzel defines defamation law as a branch of the law of delict (or tort), which protects a person’s reputation. The law of defamation seeks
to find a workable balance between two conflicting rights:
• the right to an unimpaired reputation (the right to dignity); and 
• the right to freedom of expression.

The law of defamation protects the reputation of a person; reputation is defined as ‘the estimation or good opinion, which an individual has in the
eyes of society’. All natural persons are entitled to sue for defamation, as are trading and nontrading juristic persons.

The law allows a plaintiff to claim against a defendant if the plaintiff is able to prove three elements: that the defendant (a) published, (b) defamatory
matter, (c) referring to the plaintiff. In respect of defamatory material published on the Internet, the High Court has held that publication takes place
where the material is accessed (i.e. where the content of the website is downloaded). On proof of the above three elements, the defendant is
presumed to have published the matter wrongfully and with the intention of defaming the plaintiff.

It is then for the defendant to rebut either of these presumptions by relying on a defense. There are three traditional defenses:
• Truth in the public interest. Here, the defendant argues that the material allegations contained in the defamatory statement are substantially
true and were made in the public interest;
• The defamatory statement amounted to fair comment on a matter of public interest (e.g. an editorial or a satirical cartoon); or
• Qualified privilege. The defendant will escape liability in the absence of malice if he or she is under a legal, moral or social duty to publish
defamatory matter, and the recipient has a similar interest or duty in receiving it (e.g. an employment reference). This defence also extends to
the fair and accurate reporting of the proceedings of Parliament, courts and certain other public bodies.

It is also possible to be sued for defamation for comments made on the social web, such as Twitter or Facebook – or on blogs, forum discussions
or in messages sent by email. So think before you vent.

Ellipses
The ellipsis ( . . . ) should be used only to mark the omission of a word or phrase from a quoted source. There must be a space before and after the
ellipses, as well as in between the points.

Ethnic groups
Avoid distinguishing different races. Since South Africa’s move to democracy and the announcement of the Reconstruction and Development
Programme, many companies have invested in small business, rural and human resource development. This has sparked the use of racist
classifications for projects, such as the black managers’ programme or underprivileged housing subsidies (note the use of lower case). Avoid
mentioning race if it does not detract from the story.

Foreign words
Try not to use foreign (anything not English) words and phrases. Avoid Latin phrases in particular. Use:
• on site rather than in situ, if you mean the machine was assembled on site, but use in situ if you mean the in situ ore reserves – the ore reserves
in the ground, prior to mining
• a year rather than per year – the rule with the use of ‘per’ is that it can be used if substituting ‘a’ or ‘for each’ does not read well, for example,
‘ . . . about £441 a year per person’ is better than ‘ . . . about £441 a year a person.’
• year rather than annum
• through or by rather than via 

However, in South Africa:

• Lekgotla, which translates as ‘meeting place’, in Tswana is italicised, but indaba, which is Zulu and means ‘a conference, a council or a
matter for discussion’, is not. Judging by the number of search engine hits, indaba is, by far, the more commonly used of the two, and is widely
adopted – at least in South Africa.
• Names of languages. Use Zulu, not isiZulu

Forward slash is the name of the “/” character on the computer keyboard.
Examples of common usage:
• quartz/magnetite/chalcopyrite veins.
• copper/gold project

Gender
Avoid differentiating between the sexes. Use:
• chairperson not chairman
• businessperson not businessman
• draughtsperson not draughtsman; draughtsmen becomes draughtspeople
• work hours not man hours
• work years not man years
• labour not manpower
• worker’s compensation not workman’s compensation
• spokesperson not spokesman or spokeswoman
• firefighters, not firemen or firepeople
• service personnel, not servicemen
• women-owned, not female owned
13
Where this rule doesn’t work that well is when using middleman or middlemen, which would, if this rule is followed, be changed to middleperson
or middlepersons, ie, the iron-ore is sold at low prices and the middlepersons make a big profit selling on at inflated prices. Middlepersons just
doesn’t work. For the same reason, foundrymen remains foundrymen.

Hanging clauses
Watch out for hanging clauses when beginning a sentence with an adjectival or adverbial phrase. Ensure that the phrase qualifies the subject of the
sentence. 
Avoid at all costs: 
A specialist of extensive experience, the board entrusted him with the project.

Hyphenation
See Annexure One

Initials
The initials of people’s names are never used in body copy. Always write first names and surnames and not initials, for example, William Jones not
WH Jones. The initials of directors are, however, used in company profiles, for example, marketing director WH Jones, not W.H. Jones.

The acronyms of companies or initials in company names are also used without points or spaces, for example, AEC not A.E.C. Remember to spell
out the company’s name at first mention in an article.

Inverted commas
Double inverted commas are used in direct speech:
“The state of the industry is more positive since the elections,” says Engineering Anon MD Burt Smith.
If certain words are quoted as they appear, double inverted commas are necessary: MacGregor remarked that the Minister had “fervently
promised some sort of remuneration”.
Single inverted titles are used to enclose the titles of articles or reports, for example, ‘Wheels within Wheels’.

Single inverted commas are used to indicate a quotation within a quotation:

“The president of the association has agreed to ‘challenge imports head-on’ and will be announcing a plan early next year,” reports SAACE member
John Brett.
Single inverted commas are also used to indicate an unusual word or phrase:
The advent of ‘chronobiology’ could change the world.
They are also used to indicate a quote in a headline or in a pullout quote.

Jargon
Avoid at all costs. Technical terms work well in proper context and should be defined or briefly explained early in the article. In many instances
a simpler synonym is the harder-working word. Remember, you don’t sacrifice precision when omitting jargon.

Legal aspects
There are three legal pitfalls into which journalists can fall: defamation, contempt of court and interfering with sub judice matters.

Defamation is the publication of any injurious statement in respect of another person or class of persons with the intent of causing disrepute to his
or her name, company credit or reputation.

Contempt of court includes irresponsible reporting to the extent that the judge or magistrate has reason to consider the report an interference with
the process of the law. Matters under consideration by a court are sub judice until evidence is heard. Any report written on the case must not impute
blame to any party. Report – don’t judge.

Lists
No colons in front of lists, unless the list is bulleted.

Lower case
Refer to the section on capitals. If in doubt as to whether to use capitals or lower case, opt for lower case.

Metaphors
Although a skilfully used metaphor can evoke a visual image, adding this new dimension to a story can be tricky. To use this figure of speech
without loss of vividness steer clear of dipping into the well of worn-out metaphors, which will only tire the reader and force him or her to move
on to another story. Use all metaphors sparingly. Strive for accuracy, not ambiguity.

Names
The names of people are written out in full and appear in bold on first appearance. Thereafter, only the surnames are used when using direct or
reported speech. When citing people in articles, our style is to write Mineral Resources Minister or Department of Mineral Resources director-
general Thibedi Ramotja, not Minister of Mineral Resources or director-general of the Department of Mineral Resources Thibedi Ramotja.

Numbers 
Never start a sentence with a figure; write out the number in words.
• Numbers one to ten are written out in full, unless the number is a decimal, for example, 4.6 and 5.9 or precedes a unit of measure, for example,
4%.
• Use two-billion and ten-million, but R10-million, not ten-million rands.
• When using an estimated figure, rather say ‘about’ or ‘an estimated’ R500-million. DO NOT use ‘some’ or ‘around’ R500-million.
• Numbers should be rounded off to the second decimal place, for example, R5.68-million not R5.683-million.
• Fractions should be hyphenated when spelled out in full, for example, two-thirds, even when the number is higher than ten. The same applies
to figures used as adjectives: He gave a tenth (not 10th) of his salary to the poor.
• When ‘to’ is being used as a ratio it is best to spell it out rather than use a colon: They voted nine votes to two, to abandon the project.
However, ratios expressed as percentages can be referred to in figures, for example, the shareholding was 50:50.
14
• It is acceptable to have 22 000 but million and billion must be written out in full and with a hyphen, for example, R22-million.
• Do not use a hyphen in place of ‘to’ when using two figures: the project will take 12 to 18 months (not 12-18 months) to complete.
• When million is used, for example one-million tons, it has to be written out in full if the number is below 11. Do not use 1-million tons. However,
3.2-million tons and 1 t is acceptable, as is 4 c/t.
• If there is a sequence of numbers, use figures as in ‘9 of the 11 units’, or ’by 10-million to 13-million tons’.

Use:
• fiftieth not 50th anniversary; however, if the number is too long, for example, thirty-thousandth, rather use 30 000th.
• 20 m a minute, not 20 m/m
• 20° angle, but 30 °C 
• twelve 200 mm pinch valves
• one metre to ten metres is written in words, thereafter 11 m is used
• five-thousandths of a millimetre (.005 mm)
• the project is expected to take 24 to 30 months, not take between 24 months to 30 months.
• It is 4 × 4 and not 4x4. Note that the multiplication symbol should be used rather than an x.

Ongoing
One word

Omitted words
Passages omitted from a quotation must be indicated by three dots (. . .) or four dots (. . . .) to indicate a full stop. Please note the space between
the dots. 

Percentage
Use the sign % instead of per cent wherever possible. Write 5%, 30% but five per cent and thirty per cent when starting a sentence with a percentage.

When hyphenating, use:

• 26%-owned by . . .

Per cent/percentage point

Interest rates best illustrate the difference between per cent and percentage point. If the interest rate was 5% and government increased it to 6%,
we would say it was increased by one percentage point. Saying that it was increased by 1% would mean that it was increased by 1% of the original
amount (that is, 1/100 of 5%, or 0.05%).

The ‘Four Ps’

Engineering News and Mining Weekly have their own unique hierarchy of subject importance. These are, in order of preference:
• Projects (major developments, their values and the companies involved)
• Products (introduction of innovative technology in products and its features)
• People (who’s making the news)
• Policy (government regulations in industry)

These can be extended to include:

• Polemic (debate the issues, present both sides of the story)
• Probing (this is what investigative journalism is all about!)
• Prodding (encourage formal institutions to take action)
• Praise (acknowledge creditworthy performance)
• Please (give the reader what he or she wants)

And there’s another ‘P’ – Priority. Journalism has evolved with the advent of online reporting, which needs to be brief and to the point. The ‘inverted
pyramid’ is a metaphor used to illustrate how information should be arranged or presented in a report; the most important facts first and less
important detail tapering to the inverted point of the pyramid. This historic form of news writing is ideally suited to the web and also suits many of the
articles written for Creamer Media publications as it makes editing easier when text needs to be cut for layout purposes.

Pyramid format writing is more suited to academic papers, where a foundation is supported by research findings, data and extensive summaries.
It is unsuited to journalism. 

Feature writing results in several pages of articles, supported by photos and advertising, providing an overview of an engineering or mining aspect.
It is vital to ensure that writing is informative, interesting and relevant in support of the Engineering News and Mining Weekly status as an essential
source of information for those involved in the engineering and mining sectors. To this end, the inverted pyramid format is often best suited to
feature writing, but the flow of information may dictate the use of other formats.

The question and answer format is also used to bring variety and interest to the publications. It is also suited to online journalism and is popular
in personality profiles.

Cover stories for Engineering News and Mining Weekly typically begin with a scene-setting opening PARAGRAPH and then present various points
of view on the topic – setting out the challenges, successes, dilemmas and other aspects, and ending with a thought-provoking concluding
PARAGRAPH.

The more interpretive narrative form of writing is not a style associated with Creamer Media but is often used in magazines, where the article
opens with a human-interest story designed to catch the reader’s attention. The writer presents the facts or views by crafting these around this
story and other illustrative stories. The key message or messages unfold throughout the piece and may or may not wrap in a punchy conclusion. 

Most published columns follow a format of writing and columnists are featured in Engineering News and Mining Weekly. There are many fine
examples of this format in a myriad of publications and many talented writers who have become esteemed columnists, some who have become
powerful opinion formers in arenas from politics and sport to entertainment and food. 

Quotations
Quotations are not something written but rather something that is spoken. Hence, make a quote less formal and more friendly. Strive to reflect
the speaker’s character. Quote only when imperative.
15
Quotation marks
Quotation marks are used in direct speech:
• “Tourism will benefit from the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” says Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
They are also used when quoting phrases within a sentence:
• We are warned that “the legislation will force industry to evaluate its production processes”.

Note the relative placing of quotation marks and punctuation: if a complete sentence is quoted, the final stop should be placed inside the
quotation marks and, if the quotation forms part of a sentence, the quotation marks should precede any punctuation marks.

Relative pronouns
In short, ‘who’, or ‘whom’ is used for people while ‘which’ or ‘that’ is used for animals and inanimate objects. Note that a company is not human
and therefore it does not take ‘who’:
The company that survived . . .

not
The company who survived . . .

Note also: 
The company, the premises of which are situated in . . .

rather than
The company, whose premises are situated in . . .

Reported speech
Engineering News and Mining Weekly style is to report before attributing the speech:
“The product has enjoyed unprecedented success,” reports Engineering Anon sales manager Joe Myburg.

rather than
Engineering Anon sales manager Joe Myburg says: “The product has enjoyed unprecedented success.”

Note that the attributive verb is always in the present unless reporting on a speech or presentation. Use says not said, explains not explained,
reports not reported.

Semicolons and colons

Semicolons mark a pause longer than a comma but shorter than a full stop. They can be used to distinguish phrases listed after a colon if
commas will not do the job clearly. Don’t overdo.
• The colour patterns are red, white and blue; silver, green and purple; gold, black and yellow; and grey, brown and orange.
• They agreed on only three points: that the ceasefire should be immediate; it should be internationally supervised, preferably by the AU; and a
peace conference should be held, either in Geneva or Ouagadougou.

Slang
Slang, like metaphors, should be used only occasionally if it is to have any effect. Even then, slang should be used with caution.

Examples of South African slang include bakkie (pick-up), dorp (town), dwaal (lost), fundi (from the Nguni umfundisi, meaning teacher or
preacher), gogga (insect), howzit, just now (shortly), muti (medicine) platteland (countryside), takkies (as in wheels or running shoes) and vrot
(rotten or smelly).

Avoid using expressions such as thumbs up or thumbs down, guesstimate, massive. As an alternative, always opt for the simpler, clearer word.

Spacing
A space must be left between a figure and its unit of measurement: 26 m, 32 km, 12  and 30 ºC (temperature) is the correct style, but 24% and
16º (angles).

Split infinitives
Splitting of infinitives is justified only when avoiding ambiguity. Compare: Our object is to further cement trade relations (split infinitive), and Our
object is to cement further trade relations.
He wanted to desperately expand his business. (wrong)
He desperately wanted to expand his business. (right)

Style
Golden rule: News first, scene-setting second, context third, comment last. (Pack article with news, limit commentary.)

Guidelines:
1. If you don’t understand your sentence or article, no-one else will. Rewrite it until it is clear. Don’t forget punctuation.
2. Exhaust your angle before moving into a new theme.
3. Have appropriate joiners to introduce a new theme (meanwhile, in addition, another key priority . . .)
4. Multisource where appropriate and always get the other side of the debate if one is raised.
5. Limit the use of direct quotes and rather interpret for the reader in indirect speech.
6. (Most important) read your article through three times before submission to an editor.

Tenses
The present tense is the norm when writing an article:
• Johansen says that building will start in two months’ time.

The past tense is used only when reporting on a speech which has already occurred:
• MacKenzie said in his inaugural speech that he was looking forward to his term of office. 
16
Note that was and not is is used after the word said. The past tense will follow throughout the rest of the reported speech.
For the sake of immediacy it is better to say:

Retecon has been commissioned as main contractor rather than Retecon was commissioned.

Time
Time should always be given in figures according to the 24-hour clock without specifying am or pm or using an ‘h’:
• A decision is expected by 14:00 on Monday.
• Don’t use three years to five years. Use three to five years.
• When referring to time zones, it is acceptable to use only the abbreviation. For example: CAT not Central African Time.

Titles
Although the overriding principle is to treat people with respect, do not indulge people’s self-importance unless it is insulting not to use the titles
they themselves adopt.

Titles are used only to indicate positions of importance, for example, Professor Jan Goldblatt; Dr Jack Mulder, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer.
Mr, Mrs and Miss are not used in Engineering News and Mining Weekly. First names and surnames are used on first mention: Nols Oliver not
Mr Nols Oliver. After having used a person’s first name and surname once, just his surname is necessary thereafter: Oliver not Mr Oliver,
Mulder not Dr Mulder and Goldblatt not Professor Goldblatt.

The only time Mr is used is for the names of judges, for example Mr Justice J McArthur.

People’s designations in a company are rarely written with capitals.

Note: For the sake of brevity and ease of reading, use Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies rather than Minister of Trade and
Industry, Dr Rob Davies.

Book titles
Newspaper and magazine titles are not written in italics, with the exception of our own publications, Engineering News, Mining Weekly, Polity and
Research Channel Africa. Titles of articles appearing in a book, newspaper or magazine, and titles of reports, are enclosed in single inverted
commas, for example, ‘Wheels within wheels’, ‘Gold hits new high’ and ‘World Competitiveness Report’.

The names of journals are not italicised.

Song and movie titles are Italicised – no quotes – for example Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika and District Nine.

Italics are used for the titles of books or poems, for example, Oliver Twist; the titles of films, for example, White Wedding; names of ships and
aircraft, for example, Destiny and Challenger and words from another language, for example, lekgotla.

Units of measure
See Annexure Two

Unnecessary words
Some words, while adding length to an article, do nothing for journalistic style. Adjectives can be used to make your meaning more precise but
you should guard against those that serve only as decorations. Prime examples are very and wide.

Deleting these from a phrase rarely detracts from their intended meaning:
• The chances of inflation increasing in the next two years are (very) good.
• The company offers a (wide) range of petrochemical products.

Other examples include strike instead of strike action; cuts instead of cutbacks; record instead of track record; sold instead of sold off.

Watch points
(Engineering News and Mining Weekly no-nos)
There are several words and phrases that Engineering News prefers not to use.
• According to – Tom Ansley says is preferred
• Address – Do not use address or addressed as a verb. Substitute with words like confront, consider, promote.
• Almost all – Most is more concise, although an exact figure would be even better
• Annually and per annum – use yearly or a year instead of Latin words.
• Anticipates – rather use expects
• Approximately – About or almost is preferred.
• At the same time – Simultaneously is preferred.
• Company location – do not write Edenvale-based Acme Props but Acme Props, of Edenvale.
• In situ – On site is preferred.
• Intros – Do not start introductions with company names unless the alternative is grammatically incorrect or very cumbersome.
• Now – Avoid using unless its omission changes the meaning of a sentence.
• The use of a number of and several are acceptable.
• Per – Use of this word should be avoided. For example, eight hours per day can be replaced by eight hours a day.
• Percentage – When writing percentages use per cent rather than percent.
• Presently – means soon, not at present. Avoid.
• Quantity – Please distinguish between amount, number and quantity (and fewer and less).
• Recently – Avoid using as the word is vague and, in some cases, redundant. Rather use the exact date or nothing at all.
• On his visit to South Africa . . . not . . . On his recent visit to Africa.
• The building has been finished . . . not . . . The building was recently finished.
• ‘S’ vs ‘Z’ – The letter ‘s’ is preferred to the letter ‘z’ as a verbal ending: emphasise rather than emphasize; specialise rather than specialize.
Use horizon, not horison.
• Today – do not use, except in cases such as . . . “Engineering News can today report’.
17
Areas of common difficulty
A
Ability, Capacity
Ability is physical and mental power, particularly the power to plan and execute, while capacity is the power to receive:
• The MD has the ability to carry out the company’s rationalisation plans.
• The MD has a great capacity for technical equations and mathematical calculations. 
• The plant has a production capacity of 500 t/y.

Academic qualifications should be mentioned in chronological order, for example, BA, MA.

Act and Bill – as in legislation, are capped

According to, is preferred

Advertisement, is preferred to advert

Address/ed – do not use address or addressed as a verb. Substitute with words like confront, consider, promote

Addressing issues – rather use tackling or dealing with

Adviser, not advisor

Affect/effect
Affect and effect as verbs are frequently confused. Effect is ‘to bring about’, ‘to accomplish’, affect is to ‘produce an effect on’, ‘to
attack, ‘move or touch’. The majority of the time you use affect with an a as a verb and effect with an e as a noun.

Examples from the CM style guide:

• The struggling economy had a disastrous effect on the gold price
• The struggling economy affected the gold price terribly
• The Chinese and South African markets had been impacted on to a lesser extent. Replace ‘impacted on’ with affected.

Agroprocessing, not agro-processing

Aims, Objectives
Aims are the goals set and objectives are the measurements we undertake to achieve the aims.

Almost all – most is more concise, although an exact figure would be even better.

Allow, enable and afford

allow means to:
• give permission for something to happen or somebody to do something, or take no action or make no rule to prevent it
• let somebody or something enter or be present in a place
• let somebody or yourself have something, often a benefit or pleasure of some kind
• give or credit somebody with an amount of money as a discount or in exchange for something
• set aside or make available something such as a period of time or amount of material for a particular purpose
• take something into consideration or make provision for it when making a plan or decision
• admit something or accept it to be true or valid (formal)
• present something as possible or reasonable (formal)
• US usage means to state or suppose

Enable means to:

• provide somebody with the resources, authority or opportunity to do something
• make something possible or feasible (note: this definition is not given for ‘allow’.)

Afford means to:

• be able to meet the cost of something without unacceptable difficulty
• be able to do or provide something without unacceptable or disadvantageous consequences. Do not use ‘allow’ when you mean afford as in
to ‘to do’ or ‘to provide’.
• be able to spare something without unacceptable or disadvantageous consequences
• supply or provide something

Allusion, illusion, delusion

The first two especially are frequently confused. An allusion is an indirect or covert reference to something. An illusion is a false or mistaken
conception. A delusion is a view of belief so utterly false that it suggests insanity:
• In the first stanza, the poet makes several allusions to the works of earlier poets. The author alludes to Hamlet but nowhere names the play.
• Though he had never managed to publish anything, he was under the illusion that he was a poet. 
• In his famous speech in the fourth act of the Tempest, Prospero presents the world as a vase illusion.
• The belief that he and his soldiers could not be harmed by the enemy’s bullets was only one of the delusions he suffered.

Allusive, elusive, elusory, illusory

Allusive is the adjectival form of allusion. When poets make frequent allusions, we speak of their style as allusive. If we call something elusive
or elusory, we mean that it is perplexing, difficult to grasp (it eludes us). Illusory is the adjectival form of illusion. To call something illusory is
to say that it is deceptive, that it has the character of an illusion.

Alternate(ly), alternative(ly)
Alternate(ly) implies ‘first one, then the other’. Alternative(ly) traditionally referred to ‘a choice between two’, but its use in referring to ‘a
choice among several possibilities’ is now firmly established:
• They marched and rested on alternate days
• They worked and played alternately and never became bored
• They could surrender; alternatively, they could retreat and wait for another opportunity to attack
• The generals had several alternatives to choose from in deciding on a course of action.
18
Annually, use yearly or a year instead of Latin words

Anticipate, expect – use expect instead where appropriate

Anticipate means to:

1. imagine or consider something before it happens and make any necessary preparations or changes.
2. think or be fairly sure that a certain thing will happen or come.
3. feel excited, hopeful, or eager about something that is going to happen.
4. imagine or consider something that might happen and take action to prevent it.
5. say or do something before it becomes fashionable or comes into widespread use (formal).
6. make use of something before it has actually been received (formal).

Expect means to:

1. believe with confidence, or think it likely, that an event will happen in the future.
2. wait for, or look forward to, something that you believe is going to happen or arrive.
3. demand or anticipate receiving something because of a perceived right to it or because it is somebody’s duty to give it.

Amend, emend
Amend means ‘to alter’, usually in the sense of improving something. Emend means ‘to remove errors from’:
• The legislature met to amend the country’s constitution
• Several amendments to the motion were passed
• The writer emended two passages in the typescript
• The manuscript shows that the writer made several emendations before submitting the article for publication

American spelling
The only time this is not changed to UK spelling is when it is the name of an American organisation, for example: The Center for Disease Control.

Among (not amongst), between

Traditionally between and among were carefully distinguished in both speech and writing. Something could be divided between two people
or among more than two. Among continues to imply ‘more than two’, while between has come to be permitted when more than two are
indicated. Even in formal writing, between can be used with more than two when it is used spatially or geographically:
• Their house was situated between the railway, the road and the shopping centre
• Apart from this exception, unless your phrasing lands you in difficulties, you should observe the distinction in formal writing. The correct
expression is between you and me (between us) and not between you and I

Ante, Anti – ante means before and anti means against:

• An antecedent is a preceding thing or circumstance
• An antidote is a remedy against poison

Approximately – about or almost is preferred

Archaisms Archaic är-ká-ik, adj. ancient; savouring of the past; not absolutely obsolete but not longer in general use; old-fashioned

Examples:
• Coolth = coolness
• Proven = proved
• Thereafter = after that
• Therein
• Thereof = of that
• Whilst = while
• Amid = among
• Amongst = among
• Not archaic but a nonword: Telephonic

At the same time – simultaneously is preferred

Artisanal mining, not artisinal mining

Autocatalyst, not auto catalyst

Aside and Apart. Aside means to or toward the side, for example, he stepped aside; away from others or into privacy, for example, she pulled
him aside; out of the way especially for future use, for example, they are putting aside savings. Apart means at a little distance, for example,
he tried to keep apart from the family squabbles; or away from one another, as in space or time, for example, they lived in towns 20 km apart.

B
Backup, not back-up

Bail-out, as in following a bail-out by JSE-listed company Zambia Copper Investments

Balance of plant, not balance of the plant

Baseload, not base load. Use baseload expansion, baseload generation capacity

Basin is lower case (like reef) – for example, the Witwatersrand basin or the Eastern, Western and Central basins. Geologically, a basin is a broad
tract of land in which the rock strata are tilted toward a common centre, or a large, bowl-shaped depression in the surface of the land or ocean
floor. It is also the catchment area of a particular river and its tributaries or of a lake or sea.

Benefiting/Benefited is spelled with only one t, but modelling and signalling are spelled with a double l
19
Beside, besides
Beside is a preposition while besides is a conjunction or an adverb meaning ‘as well as’:
• He sat down beside the toolbox
• Besides gaining a head start in the local market, the company found success in the export market

Biannually – twice a year, one word

Biennially – occurring every two years, one word

Bloc: a bloc is a group of countries or people with a shared aim 

Born, borne
A child is born but the burden of birth is borne by the mother. If what you wish to express is not related to birth, the word you should use is
borne. Borne refers to burdens, insults and responsibilities.

Breakthrough, not break through

Build-up, not buildup

By-product, not by product

C
Called/known as – be careful about using either. You may have called someone an expert, but the person may not be known as one. A current
trend is to write: “the R5-million machine, called ‘Mighty Mouse’, has . . .” , when “the R5-million, machine, ‘Mighty Mouse’, has . . .” would be
acceptable!

Both cannot and can not are acceptable spellings, but the first is much more usual. You would use can not when the ‘not’ forms part of
another construction such as ‘not only’.

Capex, is an abbreviation for capital expenditure; however, use ‘was spent on capital projects’ instead of ‘was spent on capex’.

Cause, reason – the cause of an event is the power or agency that brings about its circumstance, while its reason is an explanation formulated
in the human mind.

Cautionary. We do not need to write ‘cautionary announcement or notice’ when the phrase ‘the company issued a cautionary yesterday
morning, prior to the announcement of its quarterly results’ is understandable.

Cash flow, not cashflow

Century
• twenty-first century
• twenty-first-century skills

Channel, as in Maputo channel, is lower case

City, we uppercase ‘City of Johannesburg’, but city on its own, is lower case

Coalfield, one word – but coal bed is two words, for example ‘the coal bed is to be mined’

Co – the use of the prefix co is confusing.  Here are some examples of when to use a hyphen:
• Co-chairperson, not cochairperson
• Co-opt
• Co-owner
• Cooperation
• Coordination
• Co-suppliers
• Co-modality
• Co-investors
• Co-author
• Cofiring boilers, not co-firing

Colour, lower case blue, green, yellow etc

Commonwealth, not Common Wealth

Compare to, compare with

‘Compared to’ is used when the subjects are of different orders, for example:
• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) compared to US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP).
• Recent climate observations compared to projections.
• But developments in diesel technology have to be compared to continuing advancements in gasoline-powered vehicles.
‘Compared with’ is used when the subjects are of the same order, for example:
• Cash generated from operations increased by 134% to R147.3-million compared with R62.9-million the year before.
• Refracting telescopes compared with reflecting telescopes.
• When discussing climate Japan is often compared with California because of its north-south placement.

An easy way to remember is that you can compare one type of apple with another type of apple, but you would compare an apple to an orange.

Competence – The state or quality of being adequately or well qualified; ability. The plural is competences, as in “Aurecon will be exhibiting its
mining competences”.
20
Compliment, -ary (flattering), is often confused with complement, -ary (in completion of) or form a complement to as in ‘her scarf complements
her dress’.
Complex, as in Bushveld Complex, is capped

Complete/Completed – the project is 80% complete, but the shaft fitting has been completed

Compound modifiers Two words functioning as a single adjective should be hyphenated to ensure clarity, for example, long-term growth and
twentieth-century technology. Generally, no hyphen is needed between an adverb and an adjective, for example, a carefully researched article.
Neither is a hyphen required when single adjectives follow a noun, for example, the proposal was ill considered (but, an ill-considered proposal).

Concentrated solar power not concentrating solar power

Contemporary (noun and adjective) means both ‘belonging to the same period of time’ and ‘current, of our own time’. This can lead to
confusion. If contemporary is used in a sentence that refers to an earlier period or a particular person, it means ‘of that period or that person’s
period’. It is therefore incorrect to write: Shakespeare’s plays are relevant to contemporary problems, if what you mean is that his plays are
relevant to problems of our own time. As a rule, if you refer to an earlier period or a particular person who lived in an earlier period, and you want
to relate that period or person to our own time, avoid using contemporary in your sentences. 

Find an acceptable substitute to express what you want to say. The following show some of the correct uses of contemporary:
• Shakespeare’s plays surpass even the best works of his contemporaries
• Blake’s poetry is significantly different from the work of contemporary poets
• Ben Jonson was a contemporary of Shakespeare
• Emily Dickinson’s poetry was largely ignored by contemporary writers and critics

Continual, continuous Continual implies a recurrence at frequent intervals; continuous means extending uninterruptedly, unbroken and
connected. The best way to remember the difference between these words is to make up a saying along the lines of the following: You can learn
to play a musical instrument by continual practice; but your effort cannot be continuous.

Contracts are awarded, not rewarded

Copperbelt, one word and capped

Crosscuts, not cross cuts

Currency – when speaking it is acceptable to say ‘ten rand’ or a ‘million rand’ – we all do it; but when writing – especially for publication – we
must write ‘ten rands’ or ‘a million rands’. However, if rand is used adjectivally, then it remains rand and may need to be hyphenated, for example,
a multibillion-rand initiative.

Cutoff, not cut-off

Cyber, a combining form and should never be used independently. Use, cyberattack and cybersecurity.

D
Data
In Latin, data is the plural of datum, meaning, ‘one piece of information’. Datum is infrequently used. When it is used, it typically means ‘thing
known or granted, unquestionable fact’.

The word data is often used with a plural verb; however, increasingly it is used as a collective noun denoting a single body of facts or information.
In such constructions it takes a singular verb. It is correct to use the singular construction unless it seems awkward in the particular sentence
you are writing:
• The available data are insufficient to draw any conclusions
• The data on the subject is rather meagre

Database, not data base

Dependant, dependent
• Dependant is the noun, while dependent is the adjective
• Dependence is a state of being dependent on somebody
• Dependency – a territory subject to nonadjacent country, or overreliance on a drug

Digitalisation is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities.
Digitisation is the process of changing from analog to digital form.

Die-casting is hyphenated, for example ‘die-casting technology’

Differ with, differ from

Normally a distinction is drawn between differ with and differ from. We differ with people when we do not agree with them. Differ from is
used in the sense of ‘be different’. The confusion arises because although I may differ with you (or disagree with you) my ideas would be said
to differ from yours.

Differ with is the more frequently used expression. In present usage, differ from is often replaced by phrases using different:
He differs with those historians who think of history as the actions of famous people.
His description differs from the accounts of other anthropologists.

Different from/to/than
Although different has been used variously with from, to and than since at least the seventeenth century, expressions using different can
trigger off heated disagreement among grammarians. Many writers continue to insist that different from is the only permissible construction,
though more recently some have been prepared to tolerate different to in speech and even in writing.
21
Directions:
north-west Johannesburg
north-western bypass route
north-northeast of Sishen

Unless a town is very small, it is not necessary to write ‘the mine is situated 25 km west of the town of Musina’, when 25 km west of Musina’
would suffice.

Diversified, as in ‘a diversified mining company’. To be classed as a diversified mining company, the company needs to mine at least three
different minerals, for example, gold, coal and iron. An example is BHP Billiton.

Downtime, not down time

Draft, an air current, the order to join the armed services, a preliminary sketch or plan, a preliminary report or speech, a written order to pay
money, a drink, a dose of medicine, the depth required for a ship to float.

Draughting, not drafting services. Draughtsperson or draughting technician

Due diligence, not due diligence study

Due to, owing to – see ‘O’

E
Electricity. We use electricity, not electrical power

Electromechanical, not electro-mechanical

En dash – 
The en dash is used instead of a hyphen to indicate a break in a sentence followed by information, which adds to or clarifies the first part of the
sentence, sometimes as an alternative to using brackets. It is also used in lists to avoid using too many commas. Other uses include:
• A public–private partnership, where the use of a hyphen may be deemed adjectival when, instead, the two entities have equal weight
• Lloyd-Jones (one person), but a Lennon–McCartney composition (two people)
• Paris–Dakar Rally
• Johannesburg–London–Cairo trip
• Waterval-Boven–Waterval-Onder railway line

End
Does ‘in the end’ and ‘at the end’ mean the same thing? ‘In the end’ is most commonly used to mean finally or after a long while. ‘At the end’ is
generally used to mean the point where something stops.

End-user is hyphenated. Collins does not hyphenate this, but we do

Enormity means extreme evil or moral offensiveness or a very evil or morally offensive deed. An enormity can mean sheer size, terrible nature
or atrocity, so be careful in its usage, for example:
• The enormity of war crimes
• The bombing of the defenceless population was an enormity beyond belief 

When referring to size, cope, extent, influence or immensity, examples include:

• The enormity of the task
• The enormity of such an act of generosity is staggering

eresearch, not e-research

F
Farther, further – farther has reference to distance; further to continuance:
• He rode farther 
• Further to our conversation

Both ‘a feasibility study into’ and ‘a feasibility study on’ are correct

Fast-tracking is hyphenated

Fibre-optic cable, not fibre-optics cable

Flowsheet, not flow sheet

Follow-up is the noun, follow up is the verb

Forklift, one word

The distinction between fresh water and freshwater/salt water and saltwater – Freshwater modifies a noun, eg a freshwater fish. It is two
words – fresh water – when it functions as a noun. So, a freshwater fish lives in fresh water. Similarly, saltwater means relating to or living in salt
water.

Fundraising, one word

Further, not furthermore

22
G
Gasfields, not gas fields

Going forward is one of those phrases people like to use; however, if dropped from a sentence and the meaning is unchanged, it is best
deleted.

Government, it is not necessary to use “the” in front of government – use “ . . . commitment to government’s economic agenda”, rather than
“. . . commitment to the government’s economic agenda”. Similarly, do not use “the” in front of Cabinet.

It is greenstone belt, not Greenstone belt

Groundwater, not ground water

Groundwork, not ground work

H
Happen, occur, take place
Happen and occur usually refer to circumstances beyond control whereas take place refers to things that are done intentionally:
• The accident occurred in the plant
• The meeting will take place tomorrow
• What happened to Europe’s winter? 
• Something really pivotal has happened to South Africa’s public finances; they have collapsed – and the fault does not lie entirely with the
global recession

Hard wearing (two words), as in hard wearing and corrosion resistant

Healthcare, not health care

Hematite, not haematite

However, is usually followed by a comma when used as the first word of a sentence, and preceded and followed by a comma when used later in a
sentence. For instance: In any case, however, the siphon may be filled.

When it means ‘to whatever extent’ ‘however’ needs no following comma, for example, “Bring the drum, however full it is.”

However can come at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence, but it is best positioned immediately after the item that is held up for
contrast: ‘ In the morning, however, nothing was done’ (in contrast to the preceding afternoon). It should be surrounded by commas unless it means
‘no matter how’, as in ‘however hard I work’.

The use of a comma or semicolon before ‘however: ‘However’ is preceded by a semicolon only when the semicolon can be replaced with a
full stop and the resultant two sentences still make sense.
For example:
• My child has always been a hard-working learner; however, she has never passed any exam with flying colours
• My child has always been a hard worker. However, she has never passed any exam with flying colours

The following is incorrect because the two clauses are complete sentences in their own right. A punctuation mark that is ‘stronger’ than a comma
should be used after ‘learner’:
• My child has always been a hard-working learner, however, she has never passed any exam with flying colours

Hyphenation. See Annexure One

I
Impact or impacted is followed by ‘on’, as in ‘China and South Africa have been impacted on to a lesser extent’. However, ‘the meteriorite impact
was felt . . .” is not followed by ‘on’ as, in this case, impact implies force.

Indicate/suggest – sometimes used incorrectly.  You can indicate your approval with a nod; indicate the right road or have the first rains indicate
the start of summer. You can put forward a suggestion, see a cloud that suggests a mushroom, endure a silence that suggests disapproval or feel
that such a crime suggests apt punishment.

Independently, not independantly

Information technology sectors, not information-technology sectors

Independencies and independences, the former is the plural from of independency, an independent territory or State, while the latter is the plural
form of independence

Input, not in put.

Inquiry, correct when used to indicate an investigation, for example, a Court of Inquiry. Enquiry would be used in the sense that is it a request for
information.

Internet is always capped

23
J
Junior miner
What is a junior miner anyway?
Juniorminers.com set out to find what the definition of a Junior Miner was. So it contacted the folks at the PDAC (Prospectors and Developers
Association of Canada) and asked them for their definition of a junior mining company. Their response was this:
• Mining companies are defined largely by the way in which they derive their revenues. A senior producer or operator generates its revenues
from the production and sale of the commodity it is mining. A junior mining company has no mining operations and is essentially a venture
capital company. It must rely almost entirely on the capital markets to finance its exploration activities [I say “almost entirely” because some
juniors derive their financing from private sources]. There is another category: midtier producers. These are generally junior companies that have
decided to go into production on properties that they have discovered.
• It then asked the folks at the TSX and their response was:
• Everyone has their interpretation of the definition of a junior mining company. We see most of them as being listed on TSX Venture Exchange
instead of on the TSX.

Use Judgment, not judgement.

K
Keeps up, rather use maintains ie ‘He maintains morale’

Kick-off, not kickoff – as in 100 days to kick-off

L
Landfill, not land fill

Landmark, not land mark

Largest, rather use biggest

Lend, loan, borrow

Lend is the verb while loan is the noun:
The company lent the entrepreneur R50 000 and he was grateful for the loan. The entrepreneur borrowed R50 000 from the company.

Learn, learned, learnt

Learn – acquire knowledge or skill
Learned is the past tense and past participle of learn (also learnt, which is a variant of learned)
Learned – having great knowledge or characterised by scholarship (not learnt)
The difference between learned and learnt is the tenses:
I learned something yesterday (Past tense)
I have learnt my lesson (Past participle)
There is a lesson to be learned/learnt in the smallest and simplest things in life each day. (Both forms are correct)

Learning difficulties, use instead of mental handicap or retarded to avoid giving offence, as in people with learning difficulties, her son has
learning difficulties (also learning disabilities)

Less, fewer, less refers to degree or quantity; fewer to number.

Licence, license
The letter ‘c’ refers to a noun, while the letter ‘s’ refers to a verb. Hence, licence is a noun and license is a verb: 
• The company manufactured the produce under licence to its overseas principal. (noun). If you use ‘card’, ‘contract’ or ‘papers’ instead of
licence and the sentence still makes sense, then ‘licence’ is correct.
• The company had the product licensed. (verb) In this case, if you can use the verb ‘to allow’, which is a verb, in its various forms (allowing,
allowed, allows) instead of ‘license’, then license, is correct. If you use ‘allowance’ and the sentence makes sense, then you should be using
‘licence’. 
• Hana Botswana holds 11 prospecting licences.

Licences are revoked, not taken away

Life-of-mine is hyphenated unless used as ‘the life of the mine’

Life span, not lifespan

Lifestyle, not life style

Life cycle, two words, but life-cycle costing

Lightweight, not light weight

Line-up is hyphenated, as in “part of the line-up for the day”

Load-shedding, is hyphenated when used as an adjective, noun or verb

Location – If, for example, you are referring to a company that is based in France, it is France-based – the geographical location. To use French-
based means that it may have originated in that country, for example, French is widely spoken in Africa. Write:
• Australia-based
• England-based
• However, we would refer to South African-produced motor vehicles
24
London Metal Exchange written as LME

Looking at, rather use considering

Lossmaking assets, not loss-making assets

M
Manhours, rather use work hours, for example‘ . . . including engineering work hours . . .’

Manmade, rather use artificial or synthetic, if appropriate

Majority, on its own, is singular but a majority of employees, use the plural form, are

Many, much
Many refers to number, much to quantities:
There must have been as many as a hundred at the conference.
The company was willing to spend as much as R2-billion on the project.

Measurements
The use of centimetres is, for some peculiar reason, restricted to textiles and garments. In all other instances, please use millimetres.

All imperial measurements must be converted to the metric equivalent. Use hectares instead of acres, kilometres instead of miles, metres
instead of yards, litres instead of gallons, kilograms instead of pounds. The exception is nautical miles, which remain the same.

However, when used with numerals, the use of symbols, such as " (inches) is acceptable. For example: 5', 5" or 47 lb. When these units of
measurement are used at the beginning of a sentence, they must be written out.

Mega, is a prefix that should be combined with the word it precedes. For example, megaproject, megachurch and megastar. However, it is
mega human settlement, not megahuman settlement.

Metaphors 
Although a skilfully used metaphor can evoke a visual image, adding this new dimension to a story can be tricky. To use this figure of speech
without loss of vividness steer clear of dipping into the well of worn-out metaphors, which will only tire the reader or force him or her to move on
to another story. Use all metaphors sparingly. Strive for accuracy, not ambiguity.

Metallurgical coal. It is acceptable to shorten metallurgical coal to met coal after writing it out in full at first mention. For example: The
metallurgical (met) coal market could potentially look forward to the start of a recovery phase in about six months time. A weak macroeconomic
environment has hurt steel output, resulting in weaker met coal demand.

Marketplace, not market place

Mount Moreland, not Mt Morland

Multi-element, not multielement

Multi-user, not multiuser

N
None is or are? Not one is = none. So, none is. When used with a plural noun, however, opinions begin to differ, for example, ‘none of my
colleagues is’ does not read as well as ‘none of my colleagues are’. In this case the most natural usage would be acceptable.

Now, avoid using unless its omission changes the meaning of a sentence

Nuclear-1, not Nuclear One

The use of a number of and several are acceptable.

O
Obligate is an ugly and unnecessary word, use ‘oblige’

Off the shore of Côte d’Ivoire, not offshore of Côte d’Ivoire, but ‘maintenance of the oil rigs (two words) offshore of Angola’

Offtake, one word, offtake agreement

OK, not okay, but rather use acceptable.

On line, but online when referring to the Web or an online account

On site, two words

One-off costs, not once-off costs 

On to, two words

Ongoing, one word

25
Openpit, not open pit

Opencast, not open cast

Orebody, not ore body

Orepass, not ore pass

Output, one word

Overperformed, overcommitted, overstressed and oversold, one word, not two words

Owing to, due to

‘Due to’ functions adjectivally. For example: His death was due to malaria.
‘Owing to’ functions as a ‘preposition’ relating directly to the noun or now equivalent following it and forming with it an adverbial phrase of cause.
For example: Owing to the weak rand, foreign tourists should be flooding into South Africa.
To test whether you have got it right, substitute ‘caused by’ for ‘due to’. 
His death was caused by malaria. IT SOUNDS CORRECT.
If one had used ‘due to’ in the second example, the new sentence would be:
Caused by the weak rand, foreign tourists should be flooding into South Africa. IT DOES NOT SOUND RIGHT, SO ‘OWING TO’ SHOULD BE USED.

Other examples of where ‘due to’ can be used are:

• The furnace was due to be shut down in April
• The employee wants payment of money due to him
• The plane is due to arrive at noon

P
Pan-African, a Pan-African project, not a pan-African project

Paper, use Green Paper or White Paper, not green paper or white paper

Past, last
These words are often confused. For the sake of clarity, use past when referring to a historic event and last when you mean lately:
The company manufactured carbon steel in the past.
He has been away the last three days.
‘Last’ can mean the final (as in ‘He ate the last remaining sweet’) or, in this context, the most recent, as in ‘Last week we went to the beach’ or ‘Last
time I saw him, we went to the cinema.’
‘Past’ is more vague and can be used to refer to a nonspecific period millions of years ago or a couple of years back, although it tends largely not to
be used for more recent events, ie. “In the past, dinosaurs roamed the earth’ or ‘In the past, we used to go to the fair together.’
It is fine to use ‘past’ to say, for example, ‘The company has invested millions of rands in new equipment in the past three years’.
‘Last’ should only be used where one refers to a final event. For example: ‘In the last six months before the company was bought out, it invested
millions of rands in new equipment’.

Per should be avoided, use ‘each’, for example ‘each year’. Per annum should also be replaced by ‘a year’. There are, however, acceptable uses
of ‘per’: 
• Per capita
• 100 carats per hundred tons (cpht)
• When used in a quote

Phase 2, not phase 2

Pilanesberg, not Pilansberg

Platinum-group metals (PGMs), not platinum group metals

Platework, not plate work

Policymaking, one word

Polokwane, not Pietersburg

Ponder, rather use consider

Port, lower case, for example, the Beira port but the Port of Beira

Post – usually attached without the hyphen when referring to the past, except when the next word begins with t or a capital letter. 

Postelection, not post-election

Post-tax, not posttax

Postwar, not post-war

Practice, practise
The letter ‘c’ is used in the noun while the letter ‘s’ is used in the verb. Hence practice is a noun and practise is a verb:
• He opened his own practice on the Rand (noun)
• He practised his putting daily (verb)

Presently, it means ‘before long’, ‘soon’ or ‘shortly’, ‘currently’ is preferred.

26
Preventive, not preventative

Principal, principle
Principal is the main, head or chief or an organisation, while principle refers to values or features. Principal may be a noun or adjective, principle
is always a noun.
• The principal shareholder has a major say in the day-to-day workings of the company 
• The principle behind the workings of the lathe is simple

Pumpstation, one word

Q
Qualifications
Write:
PhD, not PHD
BSc (Hon), not B. Sc. (Hons)

Quantity – distinguish between amount, number and quantity (and fewer and less). Use: A small quantity of ore or goods.
Pilbara blend comprises the different qualities of iron-ore blended in specific quantities.

Quick. There is some debate surrounding the degree of comparison (adjective or adverb [the positive], comparative and superlative) for
quick, quicker (or the preferred more quickly) and quickest. Quicker is used in informal English and has passed into common usage.
However, in writing, the better use of the comparative is more quickly. Another example is more succinct as opposed to succincter. The
former is easier to say than the latter, so it is doubtful that this will become used in common speech. Similarly with more beautiful and most
beautiful, more sincere and most sincere.

R
Raiseboring, one word, while raise-drilled is hyphenated

Rail track, two words

Rare-earth oxide and rare-earth element, but rare earths mine and rare earths plant

Recently – avoid using as the word is vague and, in some cases, redundant. Rather use the exact date or nothing at all:
• On his visit to South Africa . . . not . . . on his recent visit to South Africa
• The building has been finished . . . not . . . the building was recently finished

Reef, lower case, for example, Merensky reef, UG2 reef, Main reef

Reorder, not re order

Risk averse, not risk adverse

Roadshow, not road show

Rock drills, not rockdrills

Roll-out is hyphenated whether used as an adjective or noun, but the verb is roll out – two words. This applies to rolled out and rolling out.

Rollover, as in rollover doors, one word

Roofs, not rooves

Runoff, one word if referring to an election runoff but to run off a copy is two words

S
Semiskilled, not semi-skilled

Sewage, sewerage and sewer. Sewage is the waste matter carried off by sewer drains and pipes. Sewerage refers to the physical facilities
(for example, pipes, lift stations, and treatment and disposal facilities) through which sewage flows. 

Source – as in the origin of a story. Use: a source confirmed to Engineering News . . . or Engineering News confirmed with . . . .

Standalone, not stand-alone

Stock exchanges The JSE is listed as such and should not be written as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange
Use:
• Aim- and ASX-listed Sylvania Resources
• The New York and London stock exchanges
• TSX- or TSX-V-listed
• JSE-listed Anglo

Stormwater runoff, not storm water run off.

27
State with a capital ‘S’ refers to the government of a country. State with a lower case ‘s’ refers to:
• The condition that something or somebody is in at a particular time
• A nervous, upset, or excited frame of mind or manner of behaving (informal)
• A formal, dignified or grand way of doing something in which all the appropriate ceremonies are observed
• Any of the various forms such as solid or liquid or quantifiable conditions such as energy levels that a physical substance can be in depending
on its temperature and other circumstances
• A messy or disreputable condition (informal)
• To express something in spoken or written words, especially to announce something publicly in a deliberate formal way
• To declare something officially so that it has the force of a law or regulation

Use:
• State-owned power utility, but State power utility does not take a hyphen
• non-State, not nonState

Subconsultants, not sub-consultants

sub-Saharan, not Sub-Saharan

Standards authorities
Abbreviations for standards authorities need to be written out in full at the first time of mention if used without reference to the particular standard
– ISO 90001:2000
IAF – International Accreditation Forum.
ILAC – International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
ISO – International Organisation for Standardisation
SANAS – South African National Accreditation System
A full list of standard’s authorities names and abbreviations is available in Annexure five.

Surnames, in articles where people have the same surnames, use both name and surname at the second time of mention

Sustainability includes the economic, social and environmental spheres of corporate involvement and influence – so don’t write ‘environmental
and sustainability challenges’.

T
Telecommunications and telecoms – Both are acceptable but be consistent.

Tender and Award stage of projects. 

That part of the project life cycle during which construction contractors are invited to prepare and submit bids, a selection is made and contracts
are awarded. A call for bids or call for tenders or invitation to tender (ITT) (often called tender for short) is a special procedure for generating
competing offers from different bidders looking to obtain an award of business activity in works, supply or service contracts. They are usually
preceded by a prequalification questionnaire (PQQ).

Testwork, not test work

Third World countries, not third world countries

Real-time monitoring, not real time monitoring

Today – do not use except in cases such as . . .  Engineering News can today report

Tool, die and mouldmaking, not tool-, die- and mould-making

TSX-V, use in full at the first time of mention – Toronto Stock Exchange’s Venture Exchange (TSX-V)

Trading as should not be abbreviated to t/a

Trillion is abbreviated as tn in headlines. For example: R3.2tn.

Two, too, to
Two means twice one: too has the meaning of also; to is an indication of direction. The two men went to the factory. He went there too.

U
Underallocation, not under allocation

Under way, two words

Underused, not under underutilised, one word

Until, to use until rather than till.

Upon, on
Upon should be used when there is a superposition, actual or figurative, according to the rules of grammar:
• The copy was laid upon the desk
• She heaped her adjectives one upon the other
• However, the choice between upon and on usually depends on euphony. Base your choice on the sound of the words with which the
preposition is used, for example, upon my word, depend upon it, but it depends on him, on hearing
28
Uranic contamination, as in contaminated by uranium

Used, not utilised

V
Very. To write that a company is ‘very systems based’ is unnecessary. It is ‘systems based’.

Vice Versa, rather use the other way around

W
Web is capped. Web-based is hyphenated, but website is lower case.

Wellbeing, not well being

Wellhead, as in wellhead generators for power production – not well head or well-head

Wellfield, not well field

WiFi not Wi-Fi

Within – in is preferred, unless used as ‘he was within his rights’.

Workforce, not work force

World War Two, not World War II or World War 2. Use the first DRC War, not the first Congo War.

Whilst, use while, not whilst

29
Annexures
Annexure One
Hyphenation
The hyphen should be used only when its presence assists in the understanding of a word or phrase. If you’re not sure whether to use one
or not, consult the dictionary!

Use of the hyphen indicates that two or more words should be read as one word. This compound then acquires a meaning of its own, entirely
different from that of the individual words, for example:
High-tech
Know-how
Devil-may-care
Out-of-date
State-of-the-art

Hyphens are used when forming composite adjectives. If they are omitted, confusion could arise:
A ‘little-known area’ does not mean the same as ’a little known area’.
Some words beginning with prefixes need to be hyphenated, for example:
If the prefix is with a capital, as in neo-Darwinism.
If the prefix is used with a vowel, as in pre-empt, semi-illiterate, re-enter or anti-aircraft. 
Do not hyphenate override, withhold and underrate.

Hyphens are not used in:

• Non, as in nongovernmental
• Nouns formed from prepositional verbs are hyphenated, for example roll-out and build-up.
• Some titles also take hyphens, for example, vice-president, director-general and attorney-general, but not deputy director and district
attorney.
• All numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine (except for the single words) need to be hyphenated, as do other compounds formed from
numbers, if there is any possibility of ambiguity, for example three-tiered; four-lane; three-legged. Note that it is not necessary to hyphenate
numbers above one hundred, for example, four hundred and ninety-six. Fractions are also hyphenated, for example, two-thirds, four-
fifths.
• The quarters of the compass when used as a compound are hyphenated, for example, north-west and south-east.
• A compound modifier (also called a compound adjective or a phrasal adjective) is an adjectival or adverbial phrase of two or more words.
According to modern writing guides, compound modifiers before a noun generally require a hyphen between each word (see exceptions below).
Hyphens help prevent confusion; otherwise, a reader might interpret the words separately, rather than as a phrase. One or more hyphens join
the words into a single idea.
• Hard-won victory
• Better-educated learners
• “Science-fiction writers write science fiction”
• Military-history experts
• A man-eating shark (not “a man eating shark”, the exact opposite meaning)
• The one-way street is very narrow
• A wild-goose chase (not “wild goose chase”, a goose chase that was wild)
• New-car sales not new car sales

Exceptions
• Do not use a hyphen following adverbs that end in -ly, but use one following adverbs that do not end in -ly: “a well-known actress”.
• Most phrases that need hyphens as compound modifiers should not be hyphenated if they come after the noun they describe: “a contract for
a long term.”
• Creamer Media style may differ from other house styles and this is often most evident in hyphenation. Generally, hyphenation rules and
exceptions are subject to a writer’s judgment and may be applied differently, but the overarching aim is to avoid confusion.
• The Times Online Style Guide suggests using the hyphen “when the phrase would otherwise be ambiguous”.
• The Chicago Manual of Style now takes the position that “the hyphen may be omitted in all cases [of adjectival compounds] where there is little
or no risk of ambiguity or hesitation”.

Examples of noncompound modifiers

A new looking glass (not to confuse with a new-looking glass, looking glass being a rather old-fashioned term for a mirror).

Oxygen free radicals (in chemistry, free radicals that contain oxygen, not to confuse with oxygen-free radicals, radicals which are free of oxygen,
or oxygen-consuming radicals, nonconformist chemists given to expounding their views at length).

Hyphenation examples:
• black economic-empowerment group and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2003
• broad-based black economic-empowerment initiative
• black-empowered company
• bord-and-pillar; cut-and-fill; truck-and-shovel
• challenge imports head-on
• coal-fired power station
• community-owned and -operated factory
• Consul-General
• cost-effective solution
• deep-water discovery, not deepwater discovery
• demagnitising, not de-magnitising
• demand-side management
• director-general (Botswana Democratic Party secretary-general Daniel Kwelagobe)
• South-East Asia, not South East Asia
• eco-trails
• electricity-intensive mines
30
• environmental-impact assessment
• environmental-impact assessment report
• environmental- and social-impact assessment study
• exchange-traded funds (lower case)
• end-users, not end users
• ex-Soviet Union
• fibre-optic cables but fibre optics (no hyphen)
• first-quarter new-vehicle sales
• fit-for-purpose
• gas-to-energy; waste-to-energy; LNG-to-energy
• greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions
• hand-held drilling
• heavy-metal-free materials
• high-cost, uneconomic mines
• life-of-mine
• low-cost affordability
• ill-considered proposal
• in-house design
• iron-ore, both noun and adjectival
• long-term growth
• lost-time-injury frequency rate
• lower-grade ore
• low- and medium-carbon commercial grades
• low-, medium- and high-alloy steels
• mid-1920s
• nine-million-ton-a-year mine, but a nine-million ton a year greenfield openpit mine
• one-liner
• on-reef and off-reef
• open-cycle gas-turbine project
• pebble-bed nuclear reactor, but the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Company
• per-kilowatt-hour payment
• platinum-group metals but a platinum group metals producer
• polished-diamond sales
• project-managed, not project managed ie ‘ . . . plants DRA designed and project-managed’. 
• plural-sounding company names
• public- and private-sector entities
• ramp-up of production
• renewable-energy technology
• rigid-pillar system
• run-of-mine production
• state-of-the-art computer
• sub-Saharan Africa
• twentieth-century technology
• value-added tax or value-added service
• Vice-Admiral
• well-thought-out structure
• year-on-year in June

Hyphenation in Numbers:
• Fractions should be hyphenated when spelled out in full, for example, two-thirds, even when the number is higher than ten. The same applies
to figures used as adjectives: He gave a tenth (not 10th) of his salary to the poor.
• It is acceptable to have 22 000 but million and billion must be written out in full and with a hyphen, for example, R22-million. Also note:
2 000 t/y but 20-million tons a year.
• Do not use a hyphen in place of ‘to’ when using two figures: the project will take 12 to 18 months (not 12-18 months) to complete.
• When million is used, for example one-million tons, the number has to be written out in full if the number is below 11. Do not use 1-million tons.
However, 3.2-million tons and 1 t is acceptable, as is 4 c/t.

Use:
• The 555 km 24 inch trunk-line from Durban
• 20-million-ton-a-year processing plant
• 150-m-wide × 500-m-long north-west-trending corridor
• 180 mm × 80 mm × 40 mm unit
• 26%-owned by . . .
• ISO 9002-, 14001- and 18001-listed plant
• multimillion-rand turnkey project
• twenty-fifth year of service; not 25th 
• Ten-million-tons-a-year iron export project, but a ten-million-ton a year iron export project. The plural or singular ‘tons’ or ‘ton’ is governed by
the use, or not, of either ‘a’ or ‘an’ before the figure.
• 100-t-capacity wagon
• 300-t/h Laixin plant
• 2.7-m-diameter Koepe winder
• 12-million-ton-a-year dense-medium separation (DMS) plant
• three 54-hole golf courses
• 25-m-high crusher tips
• 144-m-long tunnel section
• fiftieth not 50th anniversary; however, if the number is too long, for example thirty-thousandth, rather use 30 000th.
• two-and-a-half years
• 24/7 services, not twenty-four-seven services
• 24 hours a day (no hyphens), but 24-hour-a-day facility
31
Hyphenation exceptions
• 20- to 30-million tons per annum (a quote)
• care and maintenance, unless used adjectivally
• co-chairperson
• coordinate
• cooperate
• email
• energy efficient system, do not hyphenate the adjectival use of ‘energy efficient’.
• mideighties
• midsized
• midtier
• preadjusted
• preassembly
• preapproval capital expenditure
• reoptimised
• short to medium term, unless used adjectivally
• joint venture should never be hyphenated

32
Annexure Two 
Abbreviations of units of measurement
Units of measurement are written in lower case (for example, kg, km, m), unless they are derived from the name of a person (for example, W, kJ,
kW, Hz). When used with figures, these abbreviations should follow with a space (for example, 11 kg, 15 km, 35 mm) and when used adjectivally,
a hyphen is necessary: a 15-km journey. However, two abbreviations together must be separated with a space.

When beginning a sentence, figures and units of measurement should be written out in full (for example, eight kilograms, seventy-seven
hectares).

Abbreviation Unit of Measurement

A Ampere
ac alternating current (in full unless with numbers)
Ah Ampere hour
B byte
bar (unit) The bar (symbol bar), decibar (symbol dbar), centibar (symbol cbar), and millibar (symbol mbar or mb) are units of pressure.
The bar is widely used in descriptions of pressure because it is only about 1% smaller than atmospheric pressure, and is
legally recognised in countries of the European Union. Except for the power of ten, the definition of bar fits in the sequence
of SI pressure units (Pa, kPa, MPa), namely, 1 bar = 100 000 Pa = 100 kPa = 0.1 MPa. This is in contrast to the well-known
unit of pressure, atmosphere, which now is defined to be 1.01325 bar exactly. As a rule of thumb, a bar is almost equal to an
atmosphere.
bcm billion cubic metres
bcf billion cubic feet
bl barrel
bbl barrels
Bq symbol for the becquerel, an SI unit of radioactivity
Cad computer-aided design
Cam computer-aided manufacture
cc3 cubic centimetre
cm centimetre. Use for clothing and textiles, otherwise use millimetres (mm).
cmg/t raw gold (cm) grams a ton
ct carat/s
cpht carats per hundred ton
CO2-e carbon dioxide equivalent
cSt kinematic viscosity is sometimes expressed in terms of centistokes (cSt or ctsk), named after George Gabriel Stokes.
˚C degrees Celsius
dc direct current (in full unless with numbers)
dB decibel
dm decimetre
DWT deadweight ton
fl oz fluid ounces
g gram
Gb gigabits (network or internal circuits)
Gb/s gigabits a second
GB gigabyte (high transmission)
GHz gigahertz
GJ gigajoule
Gt gigatons
gr grain
gro gross
GWd/t gigawatt days a ton
GWh/y gigawatt hours a year
ha hectare
hl hectolitre
Hz Hertz
hp horsepower
J joule
K Kelvin
KB kilobyte
kgf/mm2 kilogram force a square millimetre
kg kilogram
kHz kilohertz
kl kilolitre
km kilometre
kN kilonewton

33
Abbreviation Unit of Measurement
kNm kilonewton metres
kV kilovolt
kVA kilovolt-ampere
kW kilowatt
kWh kilowatt-hour
 litre (“” symbol in mathematical font)
m metre
mA milliampere
Mb/s megabit a second
MB megabyte, which is the amount of data transferred, as opposed to megabits, which is the speed of transfer
mcm million cubic metres, a unit of volume, but write out 36-million cubic metres of water a day
MN meganewton
µg microgram
µm microns, micrometre
mg milligram
MHz megahertz
MJ megajoule
ml millilitre
M megalitre
mm millimetre
ms milliseconds
mt metric ton
Mtep million ton equivalent of petroleum
MPa MPa is a metric (SI) unit for pressure, or force per unit area. Pa is the Pascal, which is one Newton of force applied to one square
meter of area (1 N/m2). MPa is a mega-Pascal, or one-million Pascals. Since atmospheric pressure is 101 000 Pa, or 101 kPa
(about 14.7 psi), this is about 9 atmospheres (around 150 psi).
MVA megavolt-ampere
MVAr megavolt-ampere reactive
MW megawatt
MWdc megawatt direct current
MWe megawatt electrical
MWt megawatt thermal
Nano billionth
nm nautical miles
Nm Newton metre (Unit of Torque) 1 Nm = 0.737 lb-ft
ns nanosecond
Ω ohm, the derived SI unit of electrical resistance; the resistance between two points on a conductor when a constant potential
difference of 1 V between them produces a current of 1 A.
oz ounce
Troy ounces The troy ounce is the only measure of the troy weighting system that is still used in modern times. It is used in the pricing of
metals such as gold, platinum and silver. When the price of gold is said to be $653/oz, the ounce being referred to is a troy
ounce, not a standard ounce. 
oz3 cubic ounces
pH A measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution
picovolt a unit of potential equal to one trillionth of a volt
ppm parts per million
ppb parts per billion
psi pounds per square inch
rpm revolutions a minute
SI The international system of units of measurement. SI is used to reduce the number of zeros shown in numerical quantities. For
example, one-billionth of an ampere (a small electrical current) can be written as 0.000000001 ampere. In symbol form, this is
written as 0.000000001A. Using an SI prefix, this is equivalent to 1 nanoampere or 1 nA. 
t ton
TB terabyte
tcf trillion cubic feet
tcm trillion cubic metres
TCu total copper
TDS total dissolved solids
TJ  terajoule
TWh terawatt-hour
V volt
VAC Volts of alternating current

34
Abbreviation Unit of Measurement
W watt
Wp watt-peak, a measure of power output, most often used in relation to photovoltaic solar energy devices. Related units such as
kilowatt-peak or kilowatts-peak (kWp) and megawatts-peak are also used, and in the context of domestic installations kWp is
the most common unit encountered.
w/v An abbreviation for “weight by volume,” a slightly confusing phrase used in chemistry and pharmacology to describe the
concentration of a substance in a mixture or solution. The weight by volume is the mass (in grams) of the substance dissolved
in or mixed with 100 millilitres of solution or mixture. For example, the concentration of fluoride in toothpaste is usually about
0.15% w/v, meaning that there are 0.15 grams of fluoride for each 100 millilitres of toothpaste. Thus 1% w/v is equal to 1 gram
a decilitre (g/d) or 10 grams a litre (g/ℓ).
w/w An abbreviation for “by weight,” used in chemistry and pharmacology to describe the concentration of a substance in a mixture
or solution. Properly speaking, 2% w/w means that the mass of the substance is 2% of the total mass of the solution or mixture.
The metric symbol g/g has the same meaning as w/w.

35
Annexure Three
Commonly used scientific elements and their abbreviations
Scientific elements must be spelled out in full on first appearance and referred to thereafter by their periodic symbol for example, carbon
dioxide (CO 2).

Abbreviation Scientific Element 

4E pgm (platinum, palladium, gold and rhodium) platinum group metals
3 PGE+Au Three platinum group elements and gold
6 PGE+Au Six platinum group elements and gold
Å angstrom
CO carbon monoxide
CO2 carbon dioxide
CH4 methane
CFCs chlorofluorocarbons
CrC chromium carbide 
DUF6 depleted uranium hexafluoride
NOx oxides of nitrogen
Nm Newton metre (Nm or N·m), a unit of torque
Nm3 The similar symbol Nm3 stands for ‘normal cubic metres’, a unit of volume (Normal in this context means at standard temperature
and pressure), although it also stands for “newton cubic metres” in SI notation.
P-239  plutonium-239
U 3O 8 uranium oxide
U-238 uranium-238

The Periodic Table List

Elements Sorted by Element Name
Name Symbol Name Symbol Name Symbol
Actinium Ac Gold Au Potassium K
Aluminium Al Hafnium Hf Praseodymium Pr
Americium Am Hassium Hs Promethium Pm
Antimony Sb Helium He Protactinium Pa
Argon Ar Holmium Ho Radium Ra
Arsenic As Hydrogen H Radon Rn
Astatine At Indium In Rhenium Re
Barium Ba Iodine I Rhodium Rh
Berkelium Bk Iridium Ir Rubidium Rb
Beryllium Be Iron Fe Ruthenium Ru
Bismuth Bi Krypton Kr Rutherfordium Rf
Bohrium Bh Lanthanum La Samarium Sm
Boron B Lawrencium Lr Scandium Sc
Bromine Br Lead Pb Seaborgium Sg
Cadmium Cd Lithium Li Selenium Se
Calcium Ca Lutetium Lu Silicon Si
Californium Cf Magnesium Mg Silver Ag
Carbon C Manganese Mn Sodium Na
Cerium Ce Meitnerium Mt Strontium Sr
Cesium Cs Mendelevium Md Sulphur S
Chlorine Cl Mercury Hg Tantalum Ta
Chromium Cr Molybdenum Mo Technetium Tc
Cobalt Co Neodymium Nd Tellurium Te
Copper Cu Neon Ne Terbium Tb
Curium Cm Neptunium Np Thallium Tl
Dubnium Db Nickel Ni Thorium Th
Dysprosium Dy Niobium Nb Thulium Tm
Einsteinium Es Nitrogen N Tin Sn
Erbium Er Nobelium No Titanium Ti
Europium Eu Osmium Os Tungsten W
Fermium Fm Oxygen O Uranium U
Fluorine F Palladium Pd Vanadium V
Francium Fr Phosphorus P Xenon Xe
Gadolinium Gd Platinum Pt Ytterbium Yb
Gallium Ga Plutonium Pu Zinc Zn
Germanium Ge Polonium Po Zirconium Zr 

36
Annexure Four
Commonly used abbreviations
Abbreviations should be written out in full at the first time of mention, followed immediately by the abbreviation in brackets.
However, there are a few exceptions. Abbreviations followed by a * indicate that it is not necessary to use in full at the first time of mention.

A
African National Congress ANC
African National Congress Youth League ANCYL 
African Rainbow Minerals ARM
Airports Company South Africa ACSA
Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union AMCU
analogue to digital converter ADC
alternating current ac
Asymmetrical digital subscriber line ADSL
Aktiengesellschaft (German or Swiss public limited company). AG
In common with Pty and Ltd, this abbreviation is not used when mentioning company names in text for Creamer Media
purposes, for example, do not use Glass Company Ltd, Glass Company will suffice.
alternative investment market Aim
Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa Asgisa
application app
automatic teller machine ATM
B
black economic empowerment BEE
broad-based black economic empowerment BBBEE
C
carats per hundred tons cpht
central processing unit CPU
Coal of Africa Limited (include ‘Limited’ as it is used in the acronym) CoAL
computer-aided design Cad
computer-aided manufacture Cam
computer numeric control or computer numerically controlled CNC
Congress of the People Cope
Congress of South African Trade Unions Cosatu
D
dense-medium separation DMS
director-general DG
digital versatile disc DVD
Deutsches Institut für Normung  DIN
E
earnings per share EPS
earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation Ebitda 
Engineering Council of South Africa ECSA
engineering, procurement and construction EPC
engineering, procurement and construction management EPCM
environmental-impact assessment EIA
European Commission EC
European Union EU
enhanced video connector EVC
F
Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA*
front-end engineering and design FEED
G
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Gatt
General Export Incentive Scheme Geis
geographical information system GIS
global systems mobile GSM
gross domestic product GDP
Group of Eight G8
Group of Twenty G20
growth, employment and redistribution Gear
Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (German or Swiss limited private company) GMBH
H
headline earnings a share HEPS

37
I
Independent Power Southern Africa Ipsa
information and communication technology ICT
intelligent network IN
input-output I/O
J
Joint Ore Reserves Committee Jorc
L
large-coal dense-medium separator larcodem
separator
lost-time injury frequency rate (per million hours worked)  LTIFR
light-emitting diode LED
London Metal Exchange LME
M
Medium-Term Expenditure Framework MTEF
Member of Parliament MP*
Member of the Executive Council MEC
memorandum of understanding MoU
Minerals Resource Rent Tax MRRT
Movement for Democratic Change MDC
Multiyear price determination MYPD
N
National Occupational Safety Association NOSA*
nondistributive reserves NDR
O
original-equipment manufacturer OEM
P
platinum-group metals PGMs
portable document format PDF*
preliminary economic assessment PEA
printed circuit board PCB
programmable logic controller PLC
proportional integral derivative Pid
R
random access memory Ram
rare-earth element REE
read only memory Rom
real estate investment trust Reit
renewable-energy feed-in tariff Refit
Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme REIPPPP
request for information RfI
request for proposal RfP
research and development R&D
run-of-mine RoM
S
short message service SMS*
solvent extraction and electrowinning SX-EW
Stock Exchange News Service Sens
South African Code for the Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Samrec
Southern African Development Community SADC
South African National Roads Agency Limited (include ‘Limited” as it is used in the acronym Sanral
South African Photovoltaic Industry Association SAPVIA
South African Reserve Bank SARB
South African Wind Energy Association SAWEA
small-, medium-sized and microenterprises SMMEs
strategic integrated projects SIPs
subscriber identity module Sim*
supervisory control and data acquisition Scada
T
technical and vocational education and training TVET
three-dimensional system 3D system
U
United Association of South Africa Uasa*
underground coal gasification UCG
United Kingdom UK*

38
uninterruptible power supply UPS
United Nations UN
Universal Serial Bus USB*
upper group two UG2
V
very important person VIP
value-added tax VAT
W
World Wide Fund for Nature WWF
World Wide Web WWW
Z
Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front Zanu-PF*

Abbreviating the names of government departments in headlines

In headlines, it is acceptable to abbreviate the names of the following government departments:
Dirco – Department of International Relations and Cooperation
DMR – Department of Mineral Resource
DoE – Department of Energy
DoL – Department of Labour
DoT – Department of Transport
DPE – Department of Public Enterprises
DST – Department of Science and Technology
DTI – Department of Trade and Industry

For all other departments, rather use generic descriptions, for example:
Department of Home Affairs – Home Affairs
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries – agriculture department
Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services – telecoms department
Department of Small Business Development – small business department

Note that this is only for headlines. In the body copy of stories, use the full name of the department, followed by the abbreviation should you use
it again later on in the story.

It is acceptable to use ‘Treasury’ in a headline when referring to National Treasury.

In the body copy, refer to the National Treasury and not just National Treasury.

Commonly used plastics

Name Abbreviation
acrylonitrile butadienestyrene ABS
ethylene propylene dymonomer EPDM
ethylene propylene monomer EPT
fluorinated ethylene propylene FEP
high-density polyethylene HDPE
low-density polyethylene LDPE
polyamide LPA
polycrystalline silicon polysilicon
polyethylene terephthalate PET
polymethylmethacrylate PMMA
polypropylene PP
polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE (Teflon)
polyvinyl chloride PVC

39
Annexure Five
Glossary of standards authorities
While ISO is in common usage and does not have to be written out in full unless used without numbers, the rest are not well known to our readers
and would have to be written out in full.

APLAC Asian Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation

ARSO Africa Regional Standards Organisation
Beltest Belgisch Accreditatiesysteem; Testen en Keuring
BIPM Bureau International de Poids et Mesures, Paris
BKO/OBE Belgische Kalibratie Organisatie
BMwA Austria
CNACL China National Accreditation Committee for Laboratories
CNLA Chinese National Laboratory Accreditation
COFRAC Comité Français; Accréditation
DANAK Dansk Akkreditering
DAR Deutscher Akkreditierungsrat
DKD Deutsch Kalibrierdienst
DTI Department of Trade and Industry
EA European Cooperation for Accreditation
EMAS European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme
ENC Entidad Nacional de Acreditatión
EU European Union
FINAS Finnish Accreditation Service
FRIDGE Fund for Research into Industrial Development Economic Growth and Equity
HOKLAS Hong Kong Accreditation Service
IAAC Inter American Accreditation Cooperation
IAF International Accreditation Forum
IANZ International Accreditation New Zealand
IATCA International Audit and Training Certification Association
IEC International Electrotechnical Commission
ILAB Irish National Accreditation Board
ILAC International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
IPQ Instituto Português da Qualidade
ISO International Organisation for Standardisation
JAB Japan Accreditation Board for Conformity Assessment
JNLA Japan National Laboratory Accreditation System
KOLAS Korean Laboratory Accreditation Service
NA Norwegian Accreditation
NATA National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia
NEDLAC National Economic Development and Labour Advisory Council
NEPAD The New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NCS National Calibration Service, South Africa
NLA National Laboratory Accreditation Service, South Africa
NMISA National Metrology Institute of South Africa
OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
RAAF Representative Accreditation Advisory Forum
RvA Raad voor Accreditatie
SAATCA South African Auditor and Training Certification Association
SABS South African Bureau of Standards
SADC Southern African Development Community
SADCA Southern African Development Committee for Accreditation
SANAS South African National Accreditation System
SAQI South African Quality Institute
SANS South African National Standards
SAS Swiss Accreditation Service
SINCERT Accreditamento Organisi Certificazione Italy
SIT Servizio Italiano di Taratura
SWEDAC Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment
UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
UKAS United Kingdom Accreditation Service
Source: SANAS

40
Annexure Six
Glossary of Mining Terms
Acid treatment
Acid treatment is the process of soaking activated carbon granules in a diluted hydrochloric acid solution to dissolve calcium carbonate and
other impurities that have become absorbed in the carbon, and that, thereby, reduce the ability to adsorb gold.

Adit
An adit is a type of entrance to an underground mine and is horizontal or nearly  horizontal. Adits are usually built into the side of a hill or
mountain, and often occur when a measure of coal or an orebody is located inside the mountain but above the adjacent valley floor or coastal
plain. In cases where the mineral vein outcrops at the surface, the adit may follow the vein until it is worked out. The use of adits is generally
called drift mining.

Adjusted gross margin

Adjusted gross profit (loss) divided by gold sales including realised nonhedge derivatives.

Adjusted gross profit (loss)

Gross profit (loss) excluding unrealised nonhedge derivatives and other commodity contracts.

Adjusted headline earnings

Headline earnings excluding unrealised nonhedge derivatives, fair value adjustments on the option component of the convertible bond, fair value
gain (loss) on interest rate swap, adjustments to other commodity contracts and deferred tax thereon.

All-in sustaining cost

According to the World Gold Council, “all-in sustaining costs” are an extension to the “cash cost” metrics used by gold miners and it includes
costs related to sustaining production, such as capital expenditure and exploration costs to replenish mined reserves.

Assay
A chemical test performed on a rock sample to determine the amount – or grade – of valuable metal contained.

Artisanal and small-scale mining

Low-tech, labour intensive mineral processing and excavation activity, which is an economic mainstay in rural sub-Saharan Africa, providing
direct employment to over two-million people. 

Small-scale mining falls into two broad categories: the mining and quarrying of industrial minerals and construction materials on a small scale;
and the mining of relatively high-value minerals, notably gold and precious stones. 

The first is mostly for local markets and exists in every country. Regulations to control and tax these mines and quarries are often in place, and
the existence of informal or illegal operations at this level is generally attributable to a lack of inspection and the lax enforcement of regulations
rather than to the lack of a legal framework, much the same as for small manufacturing plants. 

The output from the second category of small-scale mines is generally exported. The size and character of small-scale mining of this type has
often made what laws there are impossible to apply or has highlighted their inadequacy. The vast majority of the diggers are very poor, exploiting
marginal deposits in harsh and sometimes dangerous conditions – and having considerable negative impact on the environment. 

Artisanal diamond mining

To a large extent, artisanal diamond mining is a livelihood strategy adopted primarily by rural and small village populations for whom it appears
to be the most promising income opportunity.

Almost all artisanal miners are unregistered, unregulated and unprotected. Most work for nothing except what they are lucky enough to find.
Their work is dirty, hard, sometimes dangerous, and it produces little more than a couple of hundred dollars a year for most diggers. In fact, the
competitive scramble in a largely informal economy only serves to drive prices down at the pit level, creating a lucrative business for middlemen.

Children are widely involved; residents of the mining areas complain of environmental degradation, water pollution, and the influx of a migrant
labour force with high rates of prostitution and HIV/Aids. Family and societal violence follow. And most alluvial diamond diggers lead hard,
insecure, dangerous and unhealthy lives. With average earnings of less than a dollar a day they fall squarely into the broad category of “absolute
poverty”.

Among initiatives aimed at tackling the issues surrounding artisanal diamond mining is the Diamond Development Initiative, which aims to gather
all interested parties into a process that will address, in a comprehensive way, the political, social and economic challenges facing the artisanal
diamond mining sector in order to optimise the beneficial development impact of artisanal diamond mining to miners and their communities
within the countries in which the diamonds are mined.

Backfill
Waste material used to fill the void created by mining an orebody to provide both regional and localised support.

Below collar
A distance below the surface elevation of a shaft. 

BIF
Banded ironstone formation – a chemically formed iron-rich sedimentary rock.

Blast furnace
A shaft furnace in which solid fuel (coke) is burned with an air blast to smelt ore in a continuous operation.
41
Block caving
An inexpensive method of mining in which large blocks of ore are undercut, causing the ore to break or cave under its own weight.

Bord-and-pillar mining (see room-and-pillar)

Breast stoping
A method of stoping employed on veins where the dip is not sufficient for the broken ore to be removed by gravity. The ore remains close to the
working face and must be loaded into cars at that point. 

Brownfield
The term brownfield is used in mining, construction and development to reference land that at some point was occupied by a permanent
structure. In a brownfield project the structure would need to be demolished or renovated or rebuilt from an existing one.

Bulk sample
A large sample of mineralised rock, frequently hundreds of tons, selected in such a manner as to be representative of the potential orebody being
sampled. Used to determine metallurgical characteristics on an industrial scale.

By-product
A secondary metal or mineral product recovered in the milling process or any products that emanate from the core process of producing gold,
including silver, uranium and sulphuric acid.

Calc-silicate rock
A metamorphic rock consisting mainly of calcium-bearing silicates such as diopside and wollastonite, and formed by metamorphism of impure
limestone or dolomite.

Capital employed
Equity plus minority interests, interest-bearing debt, less loans and cash. Where average capital employed is referred to, this is the average of
the figures at the beginning and the end of the financial year.

Capital expenditure
Total capital expenditure on tangible assets, which includes stay-in-business and project capital.

Captive mine
A mine that produces coal or mineral for use by the same company.

Carbon columns
Any vertical cylindrical vessels used to contain granules of activated carbon for processes such as the extraction of gold from solution, elution
or acid treatment.

Carbon-in-leach (CIL)
Gold is leached from a slurry of gold ore with cyanide in agitated tanks and adsorbed on carbon granules in the same circuit. The carbon
granules are separated from the slurry and treated in an elution circuit to remove the gold.

Carbon-in-pulp (CIP)
Gold is leached conventionally from a slurry of gold ore with cyanide in agitated tanks. The leached slurry then passes into the CIP circuit where
carbon granules are mixed with the slurry and gold is adsorbed on the carbon. The granules are separated from the slurry and treated in an
elution circuit to remove the gold.

Cash costs
Cash costs include site costs for all mining (excluding deferred development costs), processing and administration, but are exclusive of royalties,
production taxes, amortisation and rehabilitation, as well as corporate administration, capital and exploration costs. 

Cash gross margin

Cash gross profit (loss) divided by, for example, gold sales, including realised nonhedge derivatives.

Cash gross profit (loss)

Adjusted gross profit (loss) plus amortisation of tangible and intangible assets less noncash revenues.

Channel width
The total thickness of all reef bands, including internal waste mined as one unit.

Coke
Coke is a solid carbon fuel and carbon source used to melt and reduce iron-ore.

Cokemaking
The processes used to make coke. The process begins with pulverised, bituminous coal. The coal is fed into a coke oven, which is sealed and
heated to very high temperatures for 14 to 36 hours. After completion, the coke is moved to quenching towers and stored until it is needed.

Comminution
Comminution is a group of mineral processing techniques used in extractive metallurgy to reduce rock sizes through crushing or grinding.
Comminution processes are used to pulverise rocks for further processing. 

The machinery used for comminution is usually divided into classes based on the size of the fragments produced, crushers producing coarse
material and grinders producing finer particles. 

It would therefore be correct to refer to a company producing this machinery as a comminutions company. (See also ‘Milling’)
42
Competent person
A Competent Person’s Report (CPR) is a Techno-Economic Report. It represents the opinions on a deposit of a registered professional,
independent of the client and its subsidiaries. By reason of his/her education, professional associations and past relevant work experience, the
person is deemed as qualified to form an opinion of the deposit. A full CPR is required for listing on the JSE and will also be accepted for listing
on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM.

The technical equivalents of the CPR are the NI43-101 Technical Report and the Jorc Qualified Person’s Report.

Concentrate
A fine, powdery product separated in the milling process that contains a high percentage of valuable metal.

Concentrator
A process where iron-ore is upgraded to a higher iron content.

Contained gold
The total gold content of the orebody (tons multiplied by grade), irrespective of economic potential and without deduction for mining and
processing losses prior to recovery.

Crushing
The process of breaking up large rocks into smaller rocks, gravel or rock dust. Crushing is an essential part of mining, reducing run-of-mine ore
to a size that can be easily transported or processed.

Cupola furnace
Cupola furnaces are tall, cylindrical furnaces used to melt iron and ferroalloys in foundry operations. Alternating layers of metal and ferroalloys,
coke and limestone are fed into the furnace from the top.

Cut-and-fill
A method of stoping in which ore is removed in slices, or lifts, and then the excavation is filled with rock or other waste material (backfill), before
the subsequent slice is extracted.

Cutoff grade
The estimated lowest grade of ore that can be mined and treated profitably in a mining operation, for example, a cutoff grade of 20% iron (Fe)
implies that any material containing less than 20% Fe will be uneconomical to mine. If the average mine grade drops below the cutoff grade, the
mine will operate at a loss.

Debt
Borrowings including short-term portion, plus debentures.

Decline
A sloping, underground opening for machine access from level to level or from surface; also called a ramp.

Depletion
The decrease in quantity of ore in a deposit or property resulting from extraction or production.

Development
The process of accessing an orebody through shafts and/or tunnelling in underground mining operations.
• Development reef – all development on the reef horizon. 
• Development waste – all development in country rock. 

Dilution
Mixing of ore grade material with nonore grade waste material in the mining process. Dilution reduces the overall grade of the ore.

Direct-reduced iron (DRI)

Produced from the direct reduction of iron-ore (in form of lumps, pellets or fines) by a reducing gas produced from natural gas or coal. Direct-
reduced iron is richer in iron than pig iron, typically between 90% and 94% total iron, as opposed to about 93% for molten pig iron, and an
excellent feedstock for the electric furnaces used by minimills, allowing them to use lower grades of scrap for the rest of the charge.

Diorite
An igneous rock formed by the solidification of molten material.

Discontinued operation
A component of an entity that, pursuant to a single plan, has been disposed of or abandoned or is classified as held-for-sale until conditions
precedent to the sale have been fulfilled.

Dividend cover
Headline earnings before unrealised hedging activities for each ordinary share divided by dividends for each ordinary share.

Drill bit
Drill bits are cutting tools used to create cylindrical holes. Bits are held in a tool called a drill, which rotates them and provides torque and axial
force to create the hole. Specialised bits are also available for noncylindrical-shaped holes.

The other end of the drill bit is the shank. Drill bits come in standard sizes. The term drill can refer to a drilling machine, or can refer to a drill bit for
use in a drilling machine. For clarity, use drill bit or bit throughout to refer to a bit for use in a drilling machine, and drill to refer to a drilling machine.
43
Ebitda
Operating profit (loss) before amortisation of tangible and intangible assets, impairment of tangible and intangible assets, profit (loss) on disposal
of assets and investments and unrealised nonhedge derivatives, plus the share of associates’ Ebitda.

Effective tax rate

Current and deferred taxation as a percentage of net profit before taxation.

Electric arc furnaces (EAFs)

Electric arc furnaces are often used in large steel foundries and steel mills. The metal is charged into the furnace, with additives to make recovery
of slag easier, and heat to melt the metal is produced with an electric arc from three carbon or granite electrodes. Frequently mills producing
steel with EAF technology are called minimills.

Electrowinning
Recovery of metal from solution by electrolysis. A process of recovering gold from solution by means of electrolytic chemical reaction into a
form that can be smelted easily into gold bars.

Elution
Recovery of the gold from the activated carbon into solution before zinc precipitation or electrowinning.

Energy optimising furnace (EOF)

The EOF was developed to replace the electric arc and other steelmaking furnaces. The EOF is an oxygen steelmaking process. Carbon and
oxygen react to preheat scrap metal, hot metal and/or pig iron.

Environmental baseline studies

The environmental monitoring work completed before a production decision is taken on a mining project, examining the existing state of the
environment and the potential effects that proposed mining activities will have on the natural surroundings. The studies will include ground water
(lakes, streams, rivers etc), wildlife (plants and animals), potential noise levels from construction and mining operations, potential impacts from
ongoing mining operations such as dust and vibration levels etc.

Environmental-impact study
A written report, compiled prior to a production decision that examines the effects proposed mining activities will have on the natural surroundings.

Equity
Shareholders’ equity adjusted for other comprehensive income and deferred taxation. Where average equity is referred to, this is calculated by
averaging the figures at the beginning and the end of the financial year.

Exploration
Activities associated with ascertaining the existence, location, extent or quality of mineralised material, including economic and technical
evaluation of mineralised material.

Feasibility study (Bankable feasibility study)

A detailed engineering study which defines the technical, economic, social and legal viability of a mining project with a high degree of reliability,
identifying and quantifying any risks and providing sufficient information to determine whether or not the project should be advanced to the final
engineering and construction stage. A bankable feasibility study forms the basis on which banks and other lenders provide the capital necessary
to build the mine(s).

Fines
Material that passes through a standard screen on which coarser fragments are retained.

Flotation
A milling and concentration process in which valuable mineral particles are induced to become attached to bubbles and float away from the
waste particles in a solid/solution pulp. Specific chemicals are added to either float (foam off) particular minerals or to depress the flotation of
other minerals. Several stages of processing are generally involved with rough bulk flotation products being subjected to additional flotation
steps to increase product purity.

Free cash flow

Net cash inflow from operating activities less stay-in-business capital expenditure.

Gangue
The worthless minerals in an ore deposit.

Grade
The metal content of ore measured in grams a ton or per cent. For example:
• The company additionally reviewed grab samples of ore currently being exploited by local artisanal miners that returned between 4 g/t and 22
g/t gold, while veins sampled graded between 1 g/t and 3 g/t gold, with significant grades of silver also reported. One sample of lead-zinc-silver
ore returned 24% zinc and 105 g/t silver.
• Kagara noted that the ore produced so far was outside the indicated and inferred resource estimate of 1.15-million tons grading 4.6% nickel
• Note that grade is written as 0.18% tungsten and not 0.18% of tungsten.

Greenfield
The term greenfield is used in mining, construction and development to reference land that has never been used, where there is no need to
demolish or rebuild any existing structures. 

Greenschist
A schistose metamorphic rock whose green colour is due to the presence of chlorite, epidote or actinolite.
44
Gross margin percentage
Adjusted gross profit (loss) as a percentage of, for example, gold income including realised nonhedge derivatives.

Hanging wall
The rock on the upper side of a vein or ore deposit.

Head grade
A general term referring to the grade of ore delivered to the processing plant.

Heap leaching
A process whereby valuable metals (usually gold and silver) are leached from a heap, or pad, of crushed ore by leaching solutions percolating
down through the heap and are collected from a sloping, impermeable liner below the pad.

Hedging
The sale of a commodity at fixed future prices in order to guard against price uncertainty and guarantee revenue streams. Commonly practised
in the gold market.

An unhedged company is one that is not hedging its prices. A dehedging company is one that was previously hedged, but is reducing its
hedging.

Hematite
The mineral form of iron oxide (Fe 2O 3); one of several iron oxides.

Illustrative dividend rate

For illustrative purposes, a US dollar dividend value has been provided based on the rate of exchange ruling on the date of declaration.

Induction furnaces
Induction furnaces are the most widely used type of furnace for melting iron and are increasingly popular for melting nonferrous metals (USEPA,
1992). They are popular because they provide excellent metallurgical control and are relatively pollution free.

In situ deposit
The original natural state of the orebody before mining or processing of the ore takes place. The reserves are still in the ground.

Interest cover
Ebitda divided by finance costs and unwinding of obligations.

Internal waste
Any waste within the reef channel. 

Intrusive event
The intrusion of an igneous body into older rocks.

Ironmaking
During ironmaking, iron-ore, coke, heated air and limestone or other fluxes are fed into a blast furnace to produce molten iron that is free from
impurities.

Iron-ore
Rocks or deposits containing compounds from which iron can be made.

Leaching
Dissolution of gold from crushed or milled material, including reclaimed slime, prior to absorption on activated carbon.

Ledging
The phase of mining of ore before stoping operations

Level
The workings or tunnels of an underground mine which are on the same horizontal plane.

Life-of-mine (LoM)
Number of years that the operation is planning to mine and treat ore, and is taken from the current mine plan.

Longwall mining
An underground high-productivity mechanised mining system for extracting panels or blocks of mineral, usually coal.

Market capitalisation
Number of ordinary shares in issue at close of business on December 31 multiplied by the closing share price as quoted on the JSE.

Metallurgical plant
Processing plant used to treat ore and extract the contained metals.

Magnetic separation
A process in which a magnetically susceptible mineral is separated from waste or undesirable minerals by applying a strong magnetic field; ores
of iron are commonly treated in this way.
45
Magnetite
Fe 3 O4, iron oxide – a dense metallic grey ore mineral of iron.

Metallurgical plant
A processing plant erected to treat ore and extract gold or other metal.

Metallurgy
The study and practice of removing valuable metals from an ore and refining the extracted raw metals into a purer form.

Mill 
A processing plant which crushes and treats ore for the purpose of upgrading the mineral content into a higher-grade product called a
concentrate, or to produce metal.

Milling
The comminution of the ore, although the term has come to cover the broad range of machinery inside the treatment plant where the mineral is
separated from the ore. Essentially, milling reduces broken ore to a size at which concentrating can be undertaken. (See also ‘comminution’).

Mine call factor

The ratio, expressed as a percentage, of the total quantity of recovered and unrecovered mineral product after processing with the amount
estimated in the ore based on sampling. The ratio of contained gold delivered to the metallurgical plant divided by the estimated contained gold
of ore mined based on sampling.

Mineable
That portion of a mineralised deposit for which extraction is technically and economically feasible.

Mineralogy
The study of the chemistry and physical properties of ore and gangue minerals within mineral deposits.

Mineral deposit
A mineralised body, which has been delineated by appropriately spaced drilling and/or underground sampling to support a sufficient tonnage
and average grade of metal. This material or deposit does not qualify as a reserve until a comprehensive evaluation, based on costs, grade,
recoveries and other factors, demonstrates economic feasibility. Consequently, although the potential exists, there is no assurance that this
mineral deposit will ever become an ore reserve.

Mineral reserve
A mineral reserve is the economically mineable material derived from a measured and/or indicated mineral resource. It is inclusive of diluting
materials and allows for losses that may occur when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments, which may include feasibility studies,
have been carried out, including consideration of, and modification by, realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal,
environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction is reasonably justified.
Mineral reserves are subdivided in order of increasing confidence into probable mineral reserves and proven mineral reserves.

Mineral resource
A mineral resource is a concentration (or occurrence) of material of economic interest in or on the earth’s crust in such form, quality and quantity
that there are reasonable and realistic prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, continuity and other geological
characteristics of a mineral resource are known, estimated from specific geological evidence and knowledge, or interpreted from a well-constrained
and portrayed geological model. Mineral resources are subdivided, in order of increasing confidence in respect of geoscientific evidence, into
inferred, indicated and measured categories.

Mineral resource classification

There are several classification schemes worldwide, however the Canadian CIM classification (NI 43-101), the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves
Committee Code (Jorc Code), and the South African Code for the Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves (Samrec) are the general
standards.

An inferred mineral resource has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an indicated mineral resource. An indicated mineral resource has a
higher level of confidence than an inferred mineral resource but has a lower level of confidence than a measured mineral resource.
1. Inferred mineral resource – An inferred mineral resource is that part of a mineral resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can
be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and assumed but not verified in terms of geological and/or
grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings
and drill holes that may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability.
2. Indicated mineral resource – An indicated mineral resource is the part of a mineral resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical
characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration, sampling and
testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The
locations are too widely or inappropriately placed to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity
to be assumed.
3. Measured mineral resource – A measured mineral resource is that part of a mineral resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical
characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence. It is based on detailed and reliable exploration,
sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill
holes. The locations are spaced close enough to confirm geological continuity.

Further classification:
• Probable mineral reserve – A probable mineral reserve is the mineable material derived from a measured and/or indicated mineral resource. It
is estimated with a lower level of confidence than a proved mineral reserve. It is inclusive of diluting materials and allows for losses that may occur
when the material is mined. Appropriate assessments, which may include feasibility studies, have been carried out, including consideration of,
and modification by, realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors.
These assessments demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction is reasonably justified.
• Proven mineral reserve – A proven mineral reserve is the economically mineable material derived from a measured mineral reserve. It
is estimated with a high level of confidence. It is inclusive of diluting materials and allows for losses that may occur when the material is
46
 mined. Appropriate assessments, which may include feasibility studies, have been carried out, including consideration of and modification by,
realistically assumed mining, metallurgical, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors. These assessments
demonstrate at the time of reporting that extraction is reasonably justified.

Minimills
Steel production plants that rely on steel scrap as a base material rather than on ore. Products do not have the tight chemical composition of
integrated plants and have narrower product lines.

Mining rights (South Africa)

Mining companies that hold old-order mining rights have to convert those rights to new-order mining rights (which can be issued for up to
30 years) to continue mining in South Africa. 
The principal requirement of the Mining Charter is black ownership of 15% by 2009 and 26% by 2014.
• When writing about mining licence applications for projects, it is not necessary to use “the submission for the new-order mining rights
application”, when “the submission for the mining rights application” is better.

Monetary asset
An asset that will be settled in a fixed or easily determinable amount of money.

Net asset value per share

Total equity in the balance sheet divided by the shares in issue.

Net capital employed

Equity as defined above plus minority interests and interest-bearing borrowings, less cash and cash equivalents and other cash investments.
Where average net capital employed is referred to, this is the average of the figures at the beginning and the end of the financial year.

Net debt
Borrowings less cash and cash equivalents and other cash investments.

Net operating assets

Mining assets, inventories, trade and other receivables (excluding value-added taxation), less trade and other payables.

Net operating assets

Tangible assets, the current and noncurrent portion of inventories, current and noncurrent trade and other receivables (excluding recoverable
tax, rebates, levies and duties), less current and noncurrent trade and other payables and deferred income (excluding unearned premiums on
normal sale extended contracts).

Net smelter return (NSR)

A royalty payment made by a producer of metals based on gross metal production from the property, less deduction of certain limited costs
including smelting, refining, transportation and insurance costs.

Net tangible asset value per share

Total equity in balance sheet less intangible assets, divided by the number of ordinary shares in issue.

Nonhedge derivative and other commodity contract gain (loss)

Derivatives that are neither designated as meeting the normal sale exemption under IAS 39, nor designated as cash flow hedges and other
commodity contracts.

The company said loss on nonhedge derivatives and other commodity contracts was R11.22-billion or $1.42-billion compared with gain on
nonhedge derivatives and other commodity contracts of R148-million or $92-million last year.

Normal purchase normal sale exemption (NPSE)

Hedge contracts designated as meeting the exemption criteria under IAS 39.

NI 43-101 (National Instrument 43-101)

A set of reporting and disclosure standards imposed by regulators on Canadian-listed mining and exploration companies that govern how
issuers report scientific and technical information about their mineral projects to the public anywhere in the world. It covers oral statements as
well as written documents and websites, and it requires that all disclosure be based on advice by a “qualified person”.

Nonrefractory ore
Ore that is relatively easy to treat for recovery of the valuable substances.

Nugget
A small mass of precious metal, found free in nature.

Openpit
A mine that is entirely on surface. Also referred to as an opencast mine.

Operating margin %
Operating profit as a percentage of product (gold) income.

Ore
A mixture of valuable minerals and gangue minerals from which at least one of the minerals can be extracted at a profit.
47
Ounce (plural ounces) abbreviation oz.
1. An avoirdupois ounce, weighing 1/16 of an avoirdupois pound, or 28.3495 grams.
2. A troy ounce, weighing 1/12 of a troy pound, or 480 grains, or 31.1035 grams.
3. A US fluid ounce, with a volume of 1/16 of a US pint, 1.804 687 cubic inches or 29.573 531 millilitres.
4. A British imperial fluid ounce, with a volume of 1/20 of an imperial pint, 1.733871 cubic inches or 28.413063 millilitres.

Overburden
Soil, rock and other material that has to be removed to access the economic mineral in opencast mining.

Pay limit
The grade of a unit of ore at which the revenue from the recovered mineral content of the ore is equal to the total cash cost including ore reserve
development and stay-in-business capital. This grade is expressed as an in situ value in grams a ton or ounces a short ton (before dilution and
mineral losses).

Pellet
A small, round, marble-sized ball of iron-ore manufactured as feed for blast furnaces.

Pelletising
The process by which iron-ore is crushed, ground into a powder, rolled into balls and fired in a furnace to produce strong, marble-sized pellets
that contain 60% to 65% iron. Raw iron-ore pellets are generally manufactured within certain size categories and with mechanical properties
high enough to maintain usefulness during the stresses of transference, transport and use. Both mechanical force and thermal processes are
used to produce the correct pellet properties.

Pig iron
The intermediate product of smelting steel ore with coke and resin. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5% to 4.5%, which makes
it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications. Pig iron is typically poured directly out of the bottom of the blast
furnace through a trough into a ladle car for transfer to the steel plant in liquid form, referred to as hot metal.

Pillar mining
The mining of scattered blocks of reef of variable size usually associated with older shafts, which have been left behind and are now being mined
in the final clean-up stage of the mine’s orebody. 

Precipitate
The solid product of chemical reaction by fluids such as the zinc precipitation referred to below.

Prefeasibility study
A relatively comprehensive analysis that is qualified by the availability and accuracy of fundamental criteria and assumptions to the degree that
it cannot be the basis for final decisions. This is a preliminary assessment of the economic viability of a deposit and forms the basis for justifying
the completion of a more expensive feasibility study. A prefeasibility study summarises all geological, engineering, environmental, legal and
economic information accumulated to date on the project. The prefeasibility study should have error limits of about 25%.

Prestripping
Removal of overburden (waste rock) in advance of beginning operations to remove ore in an openpit operation.

Price received ($/oz and R/kg)

Attributable gold income including realised nonhedge derivatives divided by attributable ounces/kilograms sold.

Productivity
An expression of labour productivity based, for example, either on the ratio of grams of gold produced a month to the total number of employees
or area mined (in square metres) a month to the total number of employees in underground mining operations.

Project capital
Capital expenditure (capex) to either bring a new operation into production; to materially increase production capacity; or to materially extend
the productive life of an asset.

Pyrite flotation
This is the addition of a suite of chemicals to a mixture of ground ore and solution in such a way that a froth rich in pyrite, which also contains
gold, floats to the surface for collection.

Qualified person (also see competent person)

A qualified person (QP) is defined in NI43-101 (see above definition) as an individual who is an engineer or geoscientist with at least five years of
experience in mineral exploration, mine development or operation or mineral project assessment, or any combination of these; has experience
relevant to the subject matter of the mineral project and the technical report; and is a member of good standing of a professional association. 

The QP must warrant the accuracy and completeness of a company’s technical reports and public disclosures such as press releases or
presentations and retains professional responsibility for the contents of the report.

Realised nonhedge derivatives

Represents the current year income statement effect of nonhedge derivatives that were settled during the current year.

Reclamation
In the South African context, reclamation describes the process of reclaiming slimes (tailings) dumps using high-pressure water cannons to form
a slurry, which is pumped back to the metallurgical plants for processing.
48
Recovered/Recovery grade
The actual grade of ore realised after the mining and treatment process. The recovered mineral content for each unit of ore treated.

Reef
A gold-bearing sedimentary horizon, normally a conglomerate band that may contain economic levels of gold.

Refining
The final purification process of a metal or mineral.

Rehabilitation
The process of reclaiming land disturbed by mining to allow an appropriate post-mining use. Rehabilitation standards are defined by country-
specific laws including, but not limited to, the South African Department of Mineral Resources, the US Bureau of Land Management, the US
Forest Service, and the relevant Australian mining authorities, and tackle, among other issues, ground and surface water, topsoil, final slope
gradient, waste handling and revegetation issues. The impact on neighbouring communities is of vital importance.

Related party
Parties are considered related if one party has the ability to control the other party or exercise significant influence over the other party in making
financial and operating decisions.

Resource calculation
The mathematical or statistical process of calculating or estimating the amount of material in a mineral deposit, using drill hole information in
combination with a variety of geological data. Resources are generally quoted in terms of tons of rock present which contain a specified grade
of metal(s), for example 98-million tons at 43% iron.

Return on equity
Adjusted headline earnings expressed as a percentage of the average equity, adjusted for the timing of acquisitions and disposals.

Return on net capital

Adjusted headline earnings before finance costs and unwinding of decommissioning and restoration obligations expressed as a percentage of
average net capital employed, adjusted for the timing of acquisitions and disposals.

Rod and tube mills

These are types of circular grinding mills used to break the ore down into fine particles in preparation for dissolving out the gold by means of
cyanide.

Room-and-pillar (also called bord-and-pillar)

A mining system in which the mined material is extracted across a horizontal plane while leaving pillars of untouched material to support the
overburden leaving open areas or rooms underground. It is usually used for relatively flat-lying deposits, such as those that follow a particular
stratum.

Royalty
An amount of money paid at regular intervals by the lessee or operator of an exploration or mining property to the owner of the ground. Generally
based on a certain amount a ton or a percentage of the total production or profits. Also, the fee paid for the right to use a patented process.

Secondary gold recovery

Any scavenging process for gold following initial primary gold recovery.

Seismic event
A sudden inelastic deformation within a given volume of rock that radiates detectable seismic waves (energy).

Scoping study
The first level of engineering study that is performed on a mineral deposit to determine its economic viability. This is usually performed to
determine whether the expense of a full prefeasibility study and later a full feasibility study is warranted. Scoping studies may be completed
internally by the company or by independent engineers.

Sinter
Pieces or granules of fused iron-ore.

Sintering
Manufacturing process in which sinter is produced from fine raw iron-ore, small coke, sand-sized limestone and numerous other steel plant
waste materials that contain some iron. These fine materials are proportioned to obtain a desired product chemistry and then mixed together.
This raw material mix is then placed on a sintering strand, which is similar to a steel conveyor belt, where it is ignited by a gas fired-furnace and
fused by the heat from the coke fines into larger-size pieces of 0.5" to 2".

Significant influence
Finance: The ability, directly or indirectly, to participate in, but not exercise control over, the financial and operating policy decision of an entity so
as to obtain economic benefit from its activities.
Sustainability: Although a mining entity may feel that its activities do not impact the environment in which a nearby community operates, the use
of underground water resources by the mine may deplete community water reserves. The mining company would therefore be deemed to have a
significant influence on the community.

Skarn
A rock of complex mineralogical composition, formed by contact metamorphism and metasomatism of carbonate rocks.
49
Shaft
A shaft provides principal access to the underground workings for transporting personnel, equipment, supplies, ore and waste. A shaft is also
used for ventilation, and as an auxiliary exit. It is equipped with a hoist system that lowers and raises conveyances for men, material and ore in
the shaft.

Slag
The vitreous mass separated from the fused metals in the smelting process, for example impurities in the iron-ore that have been captured by
limestone or other fluxes.

Sliping
The widening of an existing excavation, either by mechanical or explosive means, to increase its overall dimensions.

Smelting
Thermal processing whereby molten metal is liberated from beneficiated ore or concentrate with impurities separating as lighter slag.

Stay-in-business capital
Capital expenditure to maintain existing production assets, including replacement of vehicles, plant and machinery, ore reserve development
and capex related to safety, health and the environment.

Steel
Steel is an alloy of iron usually containing less than 1% carbon which is used most frequently in the automotive and construction industries or is
cast into bars, strips, sheets, nails, spikes, wire, rods or pipes as needed by the intended user.

Strip ratio
The ratio of tons of overburden waste material to tons of ore in an openpit mine.

Stope/s
The underground excavation within the orebody where the main production takes place.

Stoping
The process of mining the orebody on the plane of the reef.

Stoping width
The sum of the channel width and external waste widths.

Strike
The direction in which a horizontal line can be drawn on a plane.

Syngenetic
Formed contemporaneously with the deposition of the sediment.

Tailings
The portion of the ore from which most of the valuable material has been removed by concentrating and that is, therefore, low in value and
rejected.

Tailings dam
Dams or dumps created from waste material from processed ore after the economically recoverable metal has been extracted.

Thermal processing
To give to iron-ore pellets high resistance metallurgic mechanics and appropriate characteristics, the pellets are subjected to thermal processing,
which involves stages of drying, daily pay burn, burn, after-burn and cooling (in a cooling tower). The duration of each stage and the temperature
that the pellets are subjected to have a strong influence on the final product quality.

Thermal regeneration
The process of heating activated carbon granules typically to 750 ºC to restore the properties of carbon for the next gold extraction cycle.

Thrusting event
A period of structural compression in geological time with the generation of low-angle thrust faults.

Total cash costs (total cash costs per ounce)

A measure of the average cost of producing an ounce of gold, calculated by dividing attributable total cash costs in a period by attributable
total gold production (in ounces) over the same period. Total cash costs include site costs for all mining, processing, administration, royalties
and production taxes, as well as contributions from by-products but are exclusive of depreciation, depletion and amortisation, rehabilitation,
employment severance costs, corporate administration costs, capital costs and exploration costs. 

Total production costs (total cash costs per ounce)

A measure of the average cost of producing an ounce of gold, calculated by dividing attributable total production costs in a period by attributable
total gold production (in ounces) over the same period. Total production costs represent total cash costs, plus depreciation, depletion and
amortisation, employee severance costs and rehabilitation and other noncash costs.
50
Ton
Wikipedia defines several similar units of mass or volume called the ton:

• Units of mass/weight
There are several similar units of mass or volume called the ton:

Full Common Quantity

Notes
name name Pounds Kilograms
Used in countries such as UK that use the imperial system, except Canada. 
long ton “ton” (UK) 2 240 1 016
Conveniently, the mass is less than 2% different from the metric ton.
short ton “ton” (US) 2 000 907.2 Used in the US and Canada.
“metric ton” (US,
tonne, metric The tonne is also known just as a ton in areas that use the metric measurement
UK), 2 204.6 1 000
ton system.
else “ton”
ton shortweight 2 240 1 016 Used in the iron industry in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Used in the iron industry in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The
ton longweight 2 400 1 088.6
hundredweight was 120 lb.

There is a difference between the metric ton in the US (which the British spell tonnes), which is equal to 1 000 kg, and the British ton, which is
equal to 1 016.047 kg. Use either ton or tonne, depending on how your source uses it. This is only necessary when you are writing out ton/tonne.
For any figures less than a million, use the t. For example: One-million tons/tonnes but 7 000 t. 

Tonnage
Quantities where the ton or tonne is an appropriate unit of measure. Typically used to measure resources and reserves of ore-bearing material
in situ or quantities of ore and waste material mined, transported or milled.

Tramming width
A dimension used to denote the effect of waste tons in the stoping operation, such as from gullies, on the reef tons produced. It is the sum of the
channel width plus the impact of waste tonnage in the stoping operations, for example from gullies and extraneous falls of ground, expressed
in centimetres. 

Tribute agreement
A legal agreement between two parties in which one party makes a portion of its mining rights available to the other party for exploitation in
consideration for a share in the revenue and costs derived from such mining rights.

Troy ounce (see ounce)

(Used in imperial statistics) Equal to 31.10348 g. 

Unrealised nonhedge derivatives and other commodity contracts

This represents the change in fair value, including translation differences, of all open nonhedge derivative positions and adjustments to other
commodity contracts from the previous reporting date to the current reporting date.

Vibroseis survey (3-D survey)

Geophysical technique used to generate seismic waves of controlled frequencies. These waves reflect from rock interfaces and are analysed
to produce three-dimensional images of the subsurface geological structure with a resolution of around 25. This process facilitates accurate
long-term mine planning.

Waste
Barren rock or mineralised material that is too low in grade to be economically processed.

Weighted average number of ordinary shares

The number of ordinary shares in issue at the beginning of the year, increased by shares issued during the year, weighted on a time basis for
the period during which they have participated in the income of the group, and increased by share options virtually certain to be exercised.

Yield
The amount of valuable mineral or metal recovered from each unit mass of ore expressed as ounces a short ton or grams a metric ton.

Zinc precipitation
Zinc is the element used to precipitate gold from solution.

51
Annexure Seven
The currencies guide
The correct spelling of currencies and use of their symbols has attracted considerable debate among members of the Creamer Media team. We
are, therefore, guided by The Economist usage. 

Country  Currency  Symbol

Afghanistan  afghani  Af
Albania  lek  Lk
Algeria  Algerian dinar  AD
Angola  kwanza  Kz
Argentina  peso  Ps
Armenia  dram  Dram
Aruba  Aruban florin  Afl
Australia  Australian dollar  A$
Austria  euro  €
Azerbaijan  manat  Manat
Bahamas  Bahamian dollar  B$
Bahrain  Bahraini dinar  BD
Bangladesh  taka  Tk
Barbados  Barbadian dollar  Bd$
Belarus  rubel  BRb
Belgium  euro  €
Belize  Belize dollar  Bz$
Benin  CFA franc  CFAfr
Bermuda  Bermuda dollar  Bda$
Bhutan  ngultrum  Nu
Bolivia  boliviano  Bs
Bosnia & Herzegovina  convertible marka  KM
Botswana  pula  P
Brazil  real (pl. reais)  R
Brunei  Brunei dollar/ringgit  Br$
Bulgaria  lev  Lv
Burkina Faso  CFA franc  CFAfr
Burundi  Burundi franc  Bufr
Cambodia  riel  CR
Cameroon  CFA franc CFAfr
Canada  Canadian dollar  C$
Cabo Verde  Cabo Verde escudo  CVEsc
Central African Republic  CFA franc  CFAfr
Chad  CFA franc  CFAfr
Chile  Chilean peso  Ps
China  yuan/renminbi  Rmb
Colombia  Colombian peso  Ps
Comoros  Comorian franc  Cfr
Congo (Brazzaville)  CFA franc  CFAfr
Congo (Dem. Rep. of)  Congolese franc  FCNZ
Costa Rica  Costa Rican colón  C
Côte d’Ivoire  CFA franc  CFAfr
Croatia  kuna  HRK
Cuba  Cuban peso  Ps
Cyprus  Cyprus pound/Turkish lira  C£/TL
Czech Republic  koruna  Kc
Denmark  Danish krone  DKr

52
Country  Currency  Symbol
Djibouti  Djibouti franc  Dfr
Dominican Republic  Dominican Republic peso  Ps
Dubai  UAE dirham  Dh
East Timor  US dollar  US$
Ecuador  US dollar  US$
Egypt  Egyptian pound  £E
El Salvador  El Salvador colón  C
Equatorial Guinea  CFA franc  CFAfr
Eritrea  nafka  Nfa
Estonia  kroon  EEK
Ethiopia  birr  Birr
Fiji  Fiji or Fijian dollar  F$
Finland  euro  €
France  euro  €
Gabon  CFA franc  CFAfr
The Gambia  dalasi  D
Georgia  lari  Lari
Germany  euro  €
Ghana  cedi  C
Greece  euro  €
Grenada  East Caribbean dollar  EC$
Guatemala  quetzal  Q
Guinea  Guinean franc  Gnf
Guinea-Bissau  CFA franc  CFAfr
Guyana  Guyanese dollar  G$
Haiti  gourde  G
Honduras  lempira  La
Hong Kong  Hong Kong dollar  HK$
Hungary  forint  Ft
Iceland  krona  Ikr
India  Indian rupee  Rs
Indonesia  rupiah  Rp
Iran  rial  IR
Iraq  New Iraqi dinar  NID
Ireland  euro  €
Israel  New Israeli shekel  NIS
Italy  euro  €
Jamaica  Jamaican dollar  J$
Japan  yen  ¥
Jordan  Jordanian dinar  JD
Kazakhstan  tenge  Tenge
Kenya  Kenya shilling  KSh
Kyrgyzstan  som  Som
North Korea  won or North Korean won  Won
South Korea  won or South Korean won  W
Kuwait  Kuwaiti dinar  KD
Laos  kip  K
Latvia  lat  LVL
Lebanon  Lebanese pound  L£
Lesotho  loti (pl. maloti)  M
Liberia  Liberian dollar  L$

53
Country  Currency  Symbol
Libya  Libyan dinar  LD
Lithuania  litas  LTL
Luxembourg  euro  €
Macau  pataca  MPtc
Macedonia  denar  Den
Malagasy  Malagasy franc  Mgfr
Malawi  kwacha  MK
Malaysia  ringgit Malaysia  RM
Mali  CFA franc  CFAfr
Malta  Maltese lira  Lm
Mauritania  ouguiya  UM
Mauritius  Mauritius rupee  MRs
Mexico  Mexican peso  Ps
Moldova  Moldavian leu (pl. lei)  Lei
Mongolia  togrog  Tg
Montenegro  euro  €
Morocco  dirham  Dh
Mozambique  metical  MT
Myanmar  kyat  Kt
Namibia  Namibia dollar  N$
Nepal  Nepalese rupee  NRs
Netherlands  euro  €
Netherlands Antilles  Netherlands Antilles florin  NAf
New Caledonia  French Pacific franc  CFPfr
New Zealand  New Zealand dollar  NZ$
Nicaragua  córdoba  C
Niger  CFA franc  CFAfr
Nigeria  naira  N
Norway Norwegian krone  NKr
Oman  Omani rial  OR
Pakistan  Pakistan or Pakistani rupee  PRs
Palestinian Territories  Jordanian dinar, New Israeli shekel  JD, NIS
Panama  balboa  B
Papua New Guinea  kina  Kina
Paraguay  guarani  G
Peru  nuevo sol  Ns
Philippines  Philippine peso  P
Poland  zloty  Z
Portugal  euro  €
Puerto Rico  US dollar  US$
Qatar  Qatari riyal  QR
Romania  leu (pl. lei)  Lei
Russia  rouble  Rb
Rwanda  Rwandan franc  Rwfr
Samoa  tala or Samoan dollar  Tala
São Tomé & Príncipe  dobra  Db
Saudi Arabia  Saudi riyal  SR
Senegal  CFA franc  CFAfr
Serbia and Montenegro  dinar  YuD
Seychelles  Seychelles rupee  SRs

54
Country  Currency  Symbol
Sierra Leone  leone  Le
Singapore  Singapore dollar  S$
Slovakia  koruna  Sk
Slovenia  tolar  SIT
Solomon Islands  Solomon Islands dollar  SI$
Somalia  Somali shilling  SoSh
South Africa  rand  R
Spain  euro  €
Sri Lanka  Sri Lanka or Sri Lankan rupee  SLRs
Sudan  Sudanese dinar  SD
Suriname  Suriname guilder  SG
Swaziland  lilangeni (pl. emalangeni)  E
Sweden  Swedish krona  SKr
Switzerland  Swiss franc  Swfr
Syria  Syrian pound  S£
Taiwan  New Taiwan dollar  NT$
Tajikistan  somoni  S
Tanzania  Tanzanian shilling  TSh
Thailand  baht  Bt
Togo  CFA franc  CFAfr
Tonga  pa’anga or tonga/tongan dollar  T$
Trinidad & Tobago  TT dollar  TT$
Tunisia  Tunisian dinar  TD
Turkey  Turkish lira  TL
Turkmenistan manat  Manat
Turks and Caicos Islands  dollar  $
Uganda  New Ugandan shilling  NUSh
Ukraine  hryvnya  HRN
United Arab Emirates  UAE dirham  Dh
United Kingdom  pound/sterling  £
United States  dollar  $
Uruguay  Uruguayan new peso  Ps
Uzbekistan  som  Som
Vanuatu  vatu  Vt
Venezuela  bolívar  Bs
Vietnam  dong  D
Western Samoa  tala  Tala
Windward & Leeward Islands East Caribbean dollar  EC$
Yemen  Yemeni rial  YR
Zambia  kwacha  ZK
Zimbabwe  Zimbabwe dollar  Z$

55
Annexure Eight
Research Reports
Conducting industry and mining research
In the research and writing process, distinguish between those sections of the report that relate to topical information relevant to the sector and
information that is specific to a particular company. 

This guide refers to the topical information as ‘chapter’ information – for example, the report may include ‘chapters’ on the nature of business,
labour, environmental considerations, logistics and outlook, among others. The previous report can serve as a guide on the ‘chapters’, but always
be alert to the possibility (and need) for change.

The company information relates to the major and other relevant companies in the sector. The previous report can serve as a guide on the
companies to include, but again, be aware that there are often new companies that are important, while certain others may no longer be relevant.

Initial searches
The best place to conduct initial searches on any sector is the Engineering News and Mining Weekly websites, as they give a good overview of
what is happening in any particular sector.

Formulate a list of search terms. Generally, these will include the topic of the report, as well as the full list of companies covered in the previous
report.

Search these terms, and gather up the articles. This will take several hours. Rather than printing the articles, first cut and paste them into a single
word document (as this enables easy reference at a later stage, if necessary). Typically, searches should go back to about a month before the
previous report was written. The collection of articles in a word document will be several hundred pages long.

Once all the searches have been done on the EN and MW sites, print the articles, and start skimming through them.

Articles relating to the sector in general will be grouped into the relevant chapters. Many of the articles will relate to several of the chapters, so make
a note on the article of all the chapters to which it relates. Several of the articles relating to specific companies will also be important for the chapters,
and must be grouped as such, and later re-used in the company sections. 

Articles relating to company-specific information (not necessarily relevant to the chapter information) can be grouped separately, with each company
having a collection of relevant articles.

Additional searches
Go through a similar process with other news websites (such as Business Day, Business Report and MiningMX). Also, do general google searches
on the topic (and the specific chapters being covered), so pick up any new reports. Again, skim read the articles and divide the information into the
relevant chapters and companies.

Working on the chapters

At this point, you should have a fairly substantial collection of information, and it is time to start working on the chapters. Work on one chapter at a
time, and read all the research you have collected relating to that chapter. Once you have done with this reading, devise a coherent structure for the
chapter. While the previous report’s chapter may serve as a guide, always be alert to changes in the sector that may necessitate that the previous
year’s chapter be completely restructured. Where necessary, you may need to conduct further searches, to clarify or supplement the information
you are using.

Once finished with a particular chapter, move onto the next. Remember that some of the articles you have used should be included in your reading
for subsequent chapters.

Preparing a chapter can take several days, depending on the state of the sector.

Writing about companies

Once all the chapters have been worked through, work on the company pieces. As you move from company to company, remember to also make
use of company websites and annual reports, which are extremely valuable sources of information. Decide on the basic information that you intend
to provide for each company, and try to be consistent across companies, so that a reader could make some sort of comparison. If you come across
company information that is relevant to a chapter, go back to that chapter and incorporate additional examples.

Be concise in writing about the companies. Generally, use annual rather than quarterly figures, although quarterly happenings can sometimes be
indicative of what is happening at a company. In such cases, use the figures to illustrate a particular point, rather than simply providing the figures.

Writing about the companies is generally simpler than the work on the chapters, and each company should take a few hours.

Finishing up
After the chapters and companies are covered, move onto the finishing touches of the report – table of contents, abbreviations, latest
developments, contact information and references. This should take a few hours.

56
Annexure Nine
What’s On listings
When capturing events for the What’s On page of Engineering News Online, please use the following template and guidelines.

Location: Always enter the city, followed by the country

Website: Ensure that ‘http://www’ is at the beginning of the address
Telephone: Country Code + Area Code + Number

Example:
SANEA Energy Awards
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
Telephone: +27 11 622 3744 or +27 83 123 4567 or +1 601 234 4563 
Email: saritac@mweb.co.za
Web: http://www.sanea.org.za

Furthermore, the months of the year should be abbreviated as follows:

January: Jan
February: Feb
March: Mar
April: Apr
May: May
June: Jun
July: Jul
August: Aug
September: Sep
October: Oct
November: Nov
December: Dec

Note: The print version may vary.

57