Mining Weekly

Fortescue Energy, part of Australian iron-ore major Fortescue, on Tuesday unveiled a joint venture with Morocco-headquartered plant nutrition and phosphate-based fertiliser supplier OCP Group. The equal partnership aims to supply green hydrogen, ammonia and fertilisers to Morocco, Europe and international markets. It also includes the potential development of manufacturing facilities and a research and development hub to advance the renewable energy industry in Morocco.

Gold’s scorching run to an all-time high may seem easy to explain from a distance, given the fractious geopolitical climate and murky outlook for the global economy. The precious metal is famously seen as a “safe haven,” and the general view is that bullion prices should rise when interest rates fall — which many investors expect will happen later this year. And yet. Take a closer look, and it’s far from clear: why is gold suddenly rising right now?

South Africa’s many underground mines can be used as batteries that store the clean electricity that the water descending for cooling can provide. At the same time, the local community could end up with a utility that supplies them clean water along with a store of cheap and reliable green energy.

Potash developer Emmerson has entered into a subscription agreement with Global Sustainable Minerals (GSM) which will see the company gaining a 20.3% shareholding in Emmerson. GSM will have the right to appoint a representative to the Emmerson board of directors.

West African gold producer Tietto Minerals has produced a quarterly record of 37 111 oz of gold at its Abujar gold project, in Côte d’Ivoire, for the quarter ended March 31. Milling rates increased to 410 000 t of ore a month in the quarter under review, compared with a monthly average of 381 000 t over the prior six months from July to December 2023.

After entering into a sales process for the Koffiefontein diamond mine, in South Africa’s Free State province, London-listed Petra Diamonds is on track to deliver $75-million of cash savings in the 2024 financial year. The company has also increased its cash savings target for the 2025 financial year to more than $30-million as a result of other cost-saving initiatives, including possible retrenchments.

ASX- and TSX-listed Perseus Mining has declared that its off-market takeover bid offer for all the current and to be issued ordinary shares in ASX-listed OreCorp is now unconditional, and best and final in the absence of a competing proposal. As of April 5, Perseus has a relevant interest in 239.5-million OreCorp shares representing 51.03% of OreCorp shares in issue.

Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has granted Sasol South Africa permission to employ a load-based limit to regulate the sulphur dioxide (SO2) of its Secunda boilers in a decision upholding the JSE-listed group’s appeal of an earlier National Air Quality Officer (NAQO) determination stipulating the use of a concentration-based limit. Sasol lodged an appeal on July 31, 2023, after NAQO published a determination on July 11, 2023, stating that it was not empowered to grant permission to Sasol to apply an alternative limit for SO2 after a once-off postponement had already been granted to the Secunda operations.

South Africa’s mining industry is investing R46-million in an action plan to eliminate fall-of-ground (FoG) fatalities. The FoG action plan is being implemented through Minerals Council South Africa with the assistance of its Rock Engineering Technical Committee, and supported by the South African National Institute of Rock Engineering, the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, and the South Africa Colliery Managers’ Association.

Nonprofit initiative Bokamoso Ba Rona has published a request for expression of interest, in seeking to partner with established commercial farmers and/or agribusinesses to spearhead Bokamoso’s catalytic projects. Bokamoso Ba Rona, which is Sesotho for ‘Our Future’, was founded by multinational mining and metals processing group Sibanye-Stillwater together with the Gauteng Infrastructure Finance Agency, the Far West Rand Dolomitic Water Association and the West Rand district municipality.

ASX-listed unhedged gold mining company West African Resources  produced 56 595 oz of gold at its Sanbrado gold operations in the first quarter. The gold, produced from 844 000 t of ore milled at a head grade of 2.2 g/t and recovery of 93.9%, was in line with output in the quarter ended December 2023.

JSE-, ASX- and Aim-listed MC Mining has advised that the offer period for a takeover offer made by Goldway Capital Investment has been extended to April 19. The offer would have initially lapsed on April 5; however, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has granted relief to Goldway for a two-week extension of the offer period.

Zambia's copper output could rise to about one-million tons by 2026, boosted by investment in expanding production at mines including those owned by First Quantum Minerals, Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said on Friday. Production of copper, key to Zambia's economic growth, has been gradually declining in Africa's second-largest producer of the metal even as the government targets lifting output to about 3 million tons within the decade.

Mining and energy company Seriti Resources’ subsidiary Seriti Green has signed a long-term project financing agreement with Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) as co-mandated lead arranger to enable the delivery of a 155 MW wind farm, in Mpumalanga. The project has a total cost of R4-billion and represents the first phase of a portfolio that will amount to about 1 GW of renewable energy. The wind farm will be the first renewable energy project to be developed in Mpumalanga, which is traditionally prominent for coal mining and coal-fired power generation.

Gold miner Shanta Gold has confirmed that the requisite majority of voting scheme shareholders have voted in favour of a takeover by Tanzania-based Saturn Resources, or Bidco, which is a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary of global conglomerate ETC Holdings. Shareholder approval, as well as approval from the Competition Authority of Kenya, were two of the outstanding conditions to the scheme.

Port logistics company the Newlyn Group on April 4 unveiled the Newlyn PX Bayhead rail terminal, strategically located next to the Port of Durban, aimed at opening intra-Africa and local trade and investment opportunities. “This is a major milestone for South Africa and showcases what can be achieved when the private sector and government work together for the future of our country and her people,” Newlyn CEO Raj Balmakhun said.

Rio Tinto faced demands from shareholders at its annual meeting on Thursday to come clean on environmental issues, including water and biodiversity, as the company said it was committed to achieving an "impeccable ESG" performance. Mining, responsible for 4% to 7% of greenhouse-gas global emissions in 2020, is under the spotlight as a provider of critical raw materials needed for the energy transition, including electric vehicles and renewable energy infrastructure.

Gold miner Harmony Gold has concluded a landmark five-year wage agreement in respect of increases to wages and other conditions of service with its five labour unions, being the coalition, which comprises the National Union of Mineworkers, the UASA and Solidarity; the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union; and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa. The agreement is effective from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029.

A far-reaching new drive is under way to ease iridium scarcity still further and, especially in the short term, demand for platinum group metals (PGMs) from electrochemical processes is on the way. That is the news from clean chemistry company Mattiq, which aims to decarbonise chemicals production.

Potash development company Kore Potash has announced the appointment of JM André Baya as CEO, effective from April 15. The position is a non-board role. The company owns a 97% stake in the Kola and DX potash projects in the Sintoukola Basin in Congo-Brazzaville.