Mining Weekly

Platinum group metals (PGM) prices, where they are now, do not reflect the medium to long-term supply demand fundamentals. Instead, they are driven by short-term distortions, which imply that a correction from current levels could be seen.  

Mineral exploration and development company Koryx Copper has closed a nonbrokered private placement for $1.51-million. The proceeds of the private placement will be used for further exploration on the company’s projects in Namibia and Zambia and for general working capital.

Bill Trew has stepped down as chairperson of Aim-listed Goldstone Resources, effective April 1. Further, the company, which owns gold exploration assets in Ghana, continues to advance its capital raising plans to provide additional funds to support its operational development, for working capital and to settle various balances owing to the company's outstanding creditors in order to facilitate publication of the 2022 accounts and interim results on a going concern basis.

London-listed Unicorn Mineral Resources, a mineral exploration and development company based in Ireland and exploring for zinc, lead, copper and silver, announces that the board has unanimously supported a proposal by executive director Jason Brewer to expand the company's focus to include advanced and near-term zinc, lead, copper and silver projects in East and Southern Africa. At the time of Brewer's appointment in December 2023, it was noted that he brought considerable experience and contacts across the mining industry in general and in Africa in particular, thus providing the company with access to new opportunities to expand and enhance its portfolio of mineral rights and licences.

JSE- and NYSE-listed Gold Fields on Tuesday cautioned of lower first-quarter production, citing operational challenges at the South Deep mine, in South Africa, and weather-related events in Australia and Peru. The miner is forecasting first-quarter production of between 460 000 oz and 470 000 oz, but maintained its full-year guidance of between 2.33-million ounces and 2.43-million ounces.

The brand-new platinum-catalysed hydrogen fuel cell system that has just been released for passenger cars reveals that fuel cells can be as cheap to manufacture as internal combustion engines (ICEs), UK company Intelligent Energy has highlighted in a release to Mining Weekly. The company’s patented system has been designed to give passenger car manufacturers direct access to the smaller, more powerful, turnkey and commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell solution that is needed to make zero carbon emission mobility a reality in the passenger car market across the entire planet.

ASX-listed uranium producer Paladin Energy has achieved uranium concentrate production and drumming at the Langer Heinrich Mine (LHM), in Namibia, as of March 30. The company said in a statement on April 2 that focus would now shift to production ramp-up and building a finished product inventory, ahead of shipments to customers.

Iron-ore’s reset to around $100 a ton is indicative of a broader reshaping of China’s commodities markets that favors the new economy over the old. The steelmaking material plunged to $95.40 a ton on Monday, a 10-month low, before nosing back into three figures, testimony to the damage still being wrought by a years-long property crisis that appears far from over. In early January, Singapore futures hit $143.50 a ton, their highest since June 2022.

Gold rose to a record as the second quarter kicked off, extending a rally that’s been driven the Federal Reserve edging closer to rate cuts and deepening geopolitical tensions. Bullion jumped as much as 0.8% to $2 247.44 an ounce early on Monday, after setting a series of records in recent sessions. Data on Friday — when many markets were closed — showed that the Fed’s preferred gauge of underlying inflation cooled in February. That adds to the case that policymakers may feel comfortable reducing borrowing cost this year, although the US central bank has been striking a cautious tone.

Rainbow Rare Earths is bullish about the potential of its Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa, as it is expected to be the highest margin rare earth elements (REEs) project in development owing to its different capital and operating cost profile compared to traditional projects, CEO George Bennet says in an unaudited results statement for the six months ended December 31. “Phalaborwa is a unique project in the rare earths space. Due to the fact that it is focused on the reprocessing of phosphogypsum stacks to recover rare earths, it has a fundamentally different cost profile to traditional mining projects, and it is therefore expected to be the highest margin rare earth project in development today,” he comments.

Stellenbosch University PhD graduate Dr Steve Chingwaru has uncovered what is potentially the world’s largest invisible gold resource. The geometallurgist’s findings could help unlock gold to the value of R450-billion “hiding in plain sight” in mine dumps around Johannesburg.

Although high-purity iron, vanadium and titanium producer Ironveld marked the first sales of metal products, including high-purity iron and titanium slag, from its Rustenburg smelter to local buyers during the six months ended December 31, 2023, operational challenges and modifications delayed the expected ramp-up for the remainder of the year. Located on the Northern Limb of the Bushveld Complex in Limpopo, Ironveld's project continued with various activities during the period. Directors provided working capital support of up to £500 000 to ensure flexibility in funding. The company also carried on with the refurbishment of the Rustenburg smelter and initiated mining activities.

As phosphate miner Kropz is still ramping up to steady-state production, the company recorded a $5.7-million gross loss for the 12 months ended December 31, 2023. The company said on March 28 that the loss was largely owing to its Elandsfontein mine having to discount its sales prices as a new market entrant and to consider lower grades being achieved as part of the ramp-up process, coupled with higher production costs per tonne.

Gold miner Caledonia Mining notes in its operating and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2023, that its performance was in line with both market expectations and production guidance. Gross revenue was $146.3-million, 3% higher than in 2022, owing to a 7.8% increase in the average realised price of gold sold.

ASX-listed Lotus Resources has appointed Orimco to arrange debt for its flagship Kayelekera uranium project, in Malawi, where the company intends to restart operations in late 2025. Lotus says it chose debt adviser Orimco based on its demonstrated record, knowledge and experience arranging debt for resource projects in Africa and globally.

Twelve scientists from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries will head to Germany in May, where they will have an opportunity to obtain more in-depth insight into green hydrogen amid the region’s unveiling of important green hydrogen projects, pilot plant initiatives and the awarding of a large number of green hydrogen scholarships. Highlighting this week during the Sasscal-organised two-day Green Hydrogen Symposium in Namibia was Sasscal executive director Dr Jane Olwoch, who emphasised to Engineering News & Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview that “the countries of Southern Africa should first and foremost take note of the region’s advantages of participating in the green hydrogen economy.” (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Abu Dhabi's International Resources Holding (IRH) has exercised its right to proceed with the formation of a joint venture (JV) vehicle with diversified metals processor Jubilee Metals Group for the implementation of a copper waste rock project in Zambia, as well as to progress with the upgrade of Jubilee’s Roan copper facility together with the continued expansion of its chrome operations. The waste rock project scope targets the processing of in excess of 260-million tonnes of copper-containing surface material. The project is aimed at initially implementing four modular processing plants with a combined processing capacity of 2.4-million tonnes a year, capable of producing more than 20 000 t/y of copper in concentrates, starting in the second quarter.

River water near some of Democratic Republic of Congo’s biggest copper and cobalt mines is toxic and may be causing widespread health problems. Scientists from Congo’s University of Lubumbashi tested water in four rivers this month near some of the country’s largest mines and found them to be “hyper-acidic” or “very acidic,” according to a report Wednesday by UK-based corporate watchdog RAID and Congo’s African Resources Watch, which both commissioned the research.

Aluminum Corp of China said it sees “relatively high” risks to supplies of bauxite from Guinea, highlighting its growing dependence on a single country for the raw material. The West African nation last year provided 70% of China’s imports of bauxite, which is used to produce aluminum. That’s left Chalco, as the company is known, highly exposed to disruptions there.

Global mining powerhouse BHP on Thursday announced that Don Lindsay, the former CEO of Teck Resources, would join its board on May 1 as a nonexecutive director. With a 17-year tenure at the helm of Teck, Lindsay brings to BHP a wealth of experience in global resource development, growth strategies and a steadfast commitment to community health, safety and education, said chairperson Ken MacKenzie in a statement.