Mining Weekly

New York- and Toronto-listed mining company Barrick has replaced more than 140% of its gold reserves in the last five years and more importantly at the same grade, Barrick CEO Dr Mark Bristow pointed out in reporting full-year 2023 gold production of 4.05-million ounces and copper output of 420-million pounds. Recording a 50% increase in free cash flow to $646-million for 2023, Bristow again placed emphasis on replacing reserves organically rather than acquisitively and highlighted Barrick’s position of not being forced to buy its growth.

The board of South32 has given the green light for the development of the Taylor polymetallic deposit – the first development at its regional-scale Hermosa project in the US state of Arizona. The development of Taylor, which is aligned with the group’s strategy to reshape its portfolio, will require direct and indirect capital expenditure of $2.16-billion, South32 CEO Graham Kerr reported on Thursday.

old is forecasting higher gold production in 2024, setting a target of 3.9-million to 4.3-million ounces for the year. This compares with gold production of 4.05-million ounces this year, which slightly missed the 2023 group guidance. “Despite picking up the pace in the latter half of the year, Barrick couldn’t quite make up for the challenges it faced in the first half,” CEO Mark Bristow said on Wednesday.

For the first time, luxury vehicle manufacturer BMW has a fleet of hydrogen-fuelled cars on South Africa’s roads, supported by a green hydrogen refuelling infrastructure set up at its Midrand campus in Johannesburg. The outcome of BMW, Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) and Sasol finding common ground was the launch on Valentine’s Day of the heavenly BMW iX5 Hydrogen passenger car, which Mining Weekly can confirm infinitely outstrips the ‘sheer driving pleasure’ slogan of the already top-rated BMW mobility brand. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Despite its gold production for the six months to December 31, 2023, having decreased by 7%, owing to a 13% drop in throughput, DRDGOLD managed to return an operating profit of R909.3-million, with cash operating costs of about R2-billion. CEO Niël Pretorius, during the company’s interim financial presentation on February 14, stated that the lower throughput resulted from delays in commissioning two high-volume sites owing to community issues and regulatory approval delays. Consequently, the company had to compensate tonnages from several legacy and clean-up sites.

JSE-listed DRDGOLD has reported that only 0.6% out of 632 dust monitoring sites registered an exceedance in terms of the stipulated regulatory thresholds across its operations. “Because our operations are by and large in the city, the amount of dust that comes with various reclamation and deposition sites is important. We measure those very, very closely. DRDGOLD is now putting very little dust into its surrounding communities. 

Gold miner Pan African Resources delivered an “excellent” safety, production and financial performance for the six months ended December 31, 2023, which positions the group well to deliver on its production and cost guidance for the full financial year, CEO Cobus Loots says. Its full-year 2024 production guidance is between 180 000 oz and 190 000 oz of gold, and increased guidance may be considered in due course.

JSE- and NYSE-listed Sibanye-Stillwater has attained an A- rating for its water security and climate change disclosures by Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for the 2023 assessment period. CDP is a global nonprofit organisation that manages the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies and regions. It works with many companies to disclose their environmental impacts, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests.

National mineral research council Mintek has acquired a laser powder bed fusion three-dimensional (3D) printer, which positions the organisation as a unique player in the mineral processing and manufacturing industry. The machine, called the GE Additive Concept Laster Mlab Cusing R, enables Mintek to efficiently process a diverse range of materials into metal powder.

Mining contractor Murray & Roberts (M&R) Cementation has unveiled its new mechanised mining mock-up facility, which serves to provide equipment operators and supervisors with a more realistic learning experience. The facility simulates the conditions of a working underground mine and comprises a fully immersive learning experience across the underground mining value chain.

Diversified mining major Anglo American has selected hydrogen energy solutions company Bambili Energy to deploy a 2 MW hydrogen fuel cell power system lighthouse project to provide electricity at its headquarters in Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa. Bambili Energy CEO Zanele Mavuso Mbatha said on February 12 in Johannesburg that the company would deliver a bespoke 2 MW hydrogen fuel cell power system by beneficiating platinum produced by its Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) subsidiary.

Many energy projects selling to one buyer, who in turn sells to many mines – this procurement model is seen as a key financial tool to accelerate the energy transition of South Africa’s mining industry. “We think the aggregator model can really accelerate the requirements of the mines to get their energy from green electrons,” Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) energy finance co-head Amith Singh emphasised to Mining Weekly in a Teams interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

In this article, policy advisor and Associate Fellow of Chatham House Sheila Khama writes that the Investing in African Mining Indaba is progressively repositioning itself internally but also being shaped by external forces. Just 15 years ago, being a miner felt like pushing water uphill. The industry was viewed by Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), donors, civil society and fund managers as the environment’s enemy number one. Not anymore and instead, thanks to demand for metals driven by ...

Leading heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu provided insights into the company's pioneering development in the mining sector during an exclusive interview at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, earlier this month. Komatsu GM for mining operations Hermann Hollhumer said the company’s major strides towards sustainability include the assembly of the world's largest rope shovel at multinational mining company Anglo American’s Mogalakwena mine in Mokopane, in Limpopo.

Mining production increased by 0.6% year-on-year in December, driven by platinum group metals (PGMs) and coal, Statistics South Africa principal survey statistician Juan-Pierre Terblanche outlines. PGMs production increased by 9.4% and contributed 2.8 percentage points, while coal production increased by 5.8%, contributing 1.3 percentage points.

Following meetings with senior representatives of stakeholders for aim-listed Kefi Gold and Copper’s Tulu Kapi Gold project, in Ethiopia, at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, all parties in the funding syndicate for the project will go to their respective committees this month to approve the $320-million transaction for the project. The Ethiopian federal government also reaffirmed that its equity capital investment has been fully documented, committed and already partly invested.

The Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) this week hosted key South African private and public sector delegates and a high-profile Japanese business delegation at a green hydrogen seminar, in Johannesburg, on February 12. This follows the signing of a memorandum of cooperation (MoC) between Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and South Africa’s Department of Higher Education, Science and Innovation in October last year,

Uranium project developers see a stronger outlook for prices and supply pacts after the world’s top producer of the nuclear fuel jolted the market with output cuts. Recent talks with prospective buyers have signaled there’s additional interest in new off-take agreements and that’s likely to increase after Kazakhstan’s State-run miner Kazatomprom lowered its production guidance earlier this month, according to Bannerman Energy.

Adelaide Ruiters has been slogging away for ten years to get the world’s first woman-owned phosphate mine up and running. Now, 2024 looks like the year she'll likely do it. Ribbon-cutting for Adelaide Ruiters Mining and Exploration (ARME) is now expected around June, July ­– and being considered, possibly before year-end, is an initial public offering (IPO). (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

US-based mineral exploration and development company High Power Exploration (HPX), which is backed by Ivanhoe Mines co-chairperson Robert Friedland, has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Liberian government and pan-African diversified investment and operations group Guma Africa Group to enter into negotiations to own, design, finance, develop and operate the Liberty Corridor – a new multi-user infrastructure corridor connecting Guinea and Liberia. The $3-billion to $5-billion project will connect Nimba, Guinea’s richest mining region, with a new railroad to a new deepwater port in Liberia, an extension of the existing hydropower network from Côte d’Ivoire into the Nimba districts of Liberia and Guinea.