Mining Weekly

Aim-listed Sylvania Platinum has reported a strong performance for the third quarter ended March 31, especially at the Sylvania Dump Operations (SDO), with production of 22 853 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E) platinum group metals (PGM). CEO Jaco Prinsloo points out that, owing to the usual Christmas break which extends into January, this was a slight decrease from the record production in the previous two quarters of the company’s 2026 financial year; however, it was in line with expectations for the period.

ASX-listed West Wits Mining has entered into an agreement to sell its Mt Cecelia project, in Western Australia, to emerging gold/copper exploration company Aventine Resources. In a statement to shareholders, West Wits CEO Rudi Deysel says the divestment represents a strategically compelling outcome for West Wits shareholders.

Mining and metals advocacy group ICMM has published its newly updated ‘Critical Control Management: Good Practice Guide’ to better support the mining industry’s implementation of controls that keep people safe at work. The update brings together two of ICMM’s most widely used resources, namely the ‘Control Management Good Practice Guide’ and ‘Implementation Guidance’, which were both developed more than ten years ago.

London-listed Neo Energy Metals says the mining right application by its South African subsidiary Desert Star Uranium for the Henkries uranium project, or Henkries Node, in the Northern Cape, has been accepted by South Africa’s Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources for processing and evaluation. In a statement to shareholders, Neo explains that the application is in respect of antimony, cobalt, copper, kieselguhr, lead, molybdenum, nickel, tin, uranium and zinc, consistent with the known polymetallic character of Henkries. Uranium is, however, the primary target mineral.

Gold demand, including over-the-counter (OTC) demand, increased by 2% year-on-year to 1 231 t for the quarter ended March 31, mainly as a result of higher bar and coin demand, the World Gold Council (WGC) reports in its latest ‘Gold Demand Trends’ report. The council points out that the price of gold hit a record high of $5 400/oz in January, before undergoing a correction and decreasing by 6% by the end of the quarter.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks green hydrogen’s revival in the global energy crisis; Sibanye-Stillwater’s far-reaching suite of reports on its 2025 activities; and government’s silence on its exploration systems.  

Australia-listed Vanadium Resources (VR8) has announced two new developments towards the company’s VR8 Steelpoortdrift vanadium project in South Africa becoming a long-term vanadium supplier. Firstly, VR8 has entered into a nonbinding offtake term sheet with US Vanadium Holding Company (USV), a majority-owned portfolio company of TechMet.