Financialization and the extractive industries:The case of South African platinum mining

This paper examines the impacts of financialization on corporate strategy in the extractive industries with a case study of South African platinum mining during the first two decades after apartheid. Drawing on insights from literature on financialization of the firm, the paper examines how intensified shareholder value pressures shaped strategy at major platinum mining companies during the long commodities boom of the 2000s and subsequent slump from 2009. The paper argues that financialization exacerbates the already intense cyclical volatility of the extractive industries. Efforts to fulfil narratives of shareholder value delivery during the boom manifested in large dividend distribution, gearing of balance sheets and aggressive outlays on capacity expansion and mergers and acquisition activity to demonstrate to the market an ambitious pipeline of growth projects. The result was financial fragility and excess capacity which has exacerbated the impact of the slump in subsequent years with severe social consequences. Distributional contest between management and organized labour has intensified as management has sought to restore internationally competitive rates of return on capital. The paper argues financialization of the firm in mining creates particularly acute distributional contestation and instability, due to the contradictions between the powerful abstractive tendencies of financialized capitalism and the social embeddedness of mining as a landed industry. The analysis has broader implications for the study of the extractive industries and development, and the political economy of post-apartheid South Africa

L-2-hydroxyglutarate production arises from non-canonical enzyme function at acidic pH

The metabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) can be produced as either a D(R)- or L(S)- enantiomer, each of which inhibits alpha-ketoglutarate (αKG)-dependent enzymes involved in diverse biologic processes. Oncogenic mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase produce D-2HG, which causes a pathologic blockade in cell differentiation. On the other hand, oxygen limitation leads to accumulation of L-2HG, which can facilitate physiologic adaptation to hypoxic stress in both normal and malignant cells. Here we demonstrate that purified lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) catalyze stereospecific production of L-2HG via ‘promiscuous’ reduction of the alternative substrate αKG. Acidic pH enhances production of L-2HG by promoting a protonated form of αKG that binds to a key residue in the substrate-binding pocket of LDHA. Acid-enhanced production of L-2HG leads to stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) in normoxia. These findings offer insights into mechanisms whereby microenvironmental factors influence production of metabolites that alter cell fate and function

The concurrent validity of the ERGOS Work Simulator and the Ergo-Kit with respect to maximum lifting capacity

The aim of this study was to investigate the concurrent validity--as regarding maximum lifting capacity--between the Functional Capacity Evaluation (FCE) methods, ERGOS Work Simulator and Ergo-Kit. Twenty-five healthy, male firefighters participated. Dynamic lower and upper lifting capacities were determined using both FCE methods. Paired t tests showed the mean maximum lifting capacities to be significantly higher statistically when determined by the Ergo-Kit for lower, as well as, upper lifting. Spearman rank correlation coefficients varied between 0.49 and 0.66. It was concluded that the concurrent validity for lifting between both FCE methods was poo

Spare parts management at the Royal Netherlands Navy: vari-metric and beyond. BETA working papers 30

Abstract This paper explores the applicability of sophisticated models and techniques for spare parts inventory management within a highly technology driven environment, viz. the Royal Netherlands Navy. In particular, we discuss the structure of the VARI-METRlC models as a tool that aims at a high availability rate of complete systems, and compare it with more classical inventory management approaches, aiming at a high availability of individual items. Unfortunately, the VARI-METRIC models suffer from a series of limiting assumptions that are not fulfilled within the Navy. We identify these shortcomings and suggest a number of extensions, to provide a firm basis for both the initial supply and the spare parts management during the exploitation period of systems