Company news in brief
Boost for Forsys’ NamibplaasThe ministry of mines and energy has renewed Forsys Metals Corp’s Namibplaas exclusive prospecting license (EPL), part of the Canadian company’s Norasa Uranium Project.
The licence for Namibplaas (EPL 3638) has been renewed for a further two years until February 2026, Forsys said in a statement.
In September 2022, Forsys also made an application to the ministry to convert the Namibplaas EPL to a full 25-year mining licence.
This submission is pending, Forsys said. The Namibplaas EPL remains in good standing while the ministry processes Forsys’ mining licence submission, the company said.
“EPL-3638 covers a strategic land position with significant exploration upside,” commented Pine Van Wyk, Forsys’ in-country director. “We greatly appreciate the ministry’s continued support as we accelerate development of the Norasa project and continue to work closely with the ministry in obtaining the mining licence.”
Mondi to create packaging giant
Mondi agreed to buy UK packaging group DS Smith Plc for £5.1 billion (R122 billion) in a deal that would create one of the world’s largest makers of packaging.
The agreement in principle has an implied value of 373 pence a share, according to a statement.
That’s a 33% premium compared with DS Smith’s price on 7 February, the day before the company said it had received an initial approach from Mondi.
The companies said the combination would generate cost savings as well as benefits from greater scale as the packaging industry consolidates. – Fin24/Bloomberg
Broadcom sees US$10bn in chip sales
Broadcom said it expects US$10 billion in revenue from chips related to artificial intelligence this year.
Smaller rival Marvell Technology's forecast revenue below market expectations.
Both companies are being closely watched by investors who believe they will capture a piece of the boom in AI technologies such as OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini.
Broadcom and Marvell both sell networking chips that help move around the large amounts of data demanded by AI computing, and both also help clients design custom AI chips.
During an earnings call with analysts, Broadcom chief Hock Tan said that about US$7 billion of the firm's AI chip revenue in 2024 would come from helping just two major clients design custom AI chips. Tan did not name the customers, but analysts widely believe that they are Alphabet's Google and Facebook owner Meta Platforms. - Reuters