Mining Weekly

Gold has scope to push higher next year, likely hitting a record, as the Federal Reserve cuts rates and central banks add bullion to reserves, according to Macquarie Group. The precious metal may struggle in the first quarter of 2025 due to a strengthening US dollar, but it stands to extend gains after that, analysts including Marcus Garvey said in a note in which they raised price forecasts. It could “quickly challenge” $3 000/oz if Chinese demand picks up, or if President-elect Donald Trump’s policies risk a deterioration in the US fiscal outlook, they said.

Australia-listed lithium exploration company Lepidico has been placed in voluntary administration following unsuccessful attempts to secure financing for its Karibib lithium project in Namibia. The announcement on Thursday comes just days after the company entered a trading halt earlier, pending the release of details regarding a capital raise.

A new report published by the Future Minerals Forum states that an estimated $5.4-trillion in investments is required by 2035 to meet the growing demand for key materials in the mining and metals industry. According to the report, this demand is driven by the ongoing energy transition and traditional factors such as population growth, necessitating substantial investment in mining, refining and supporting infrastructure.

Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane has outlined an “aspirational” and largely unfunded new generation project pipeline to progressively replace its aged and polluting coal fleet. Having previously declared that Eskom had a 22 GW project portfolio, Marokane told members of the Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy that the generation division, which is yet to be unbundled, was “working on a pipeline of new clean energy to ensure security of supply in the long term”.

Dr Nombasa Tsengwa, the CEO of Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Exxaro Resources, has been placed on precautionary suspension with immediate effect, pending the outcome of an independent investigation into allegations related to workplace conduct and governance practice. The board stated in a stock exchange news service announcement on Wednesday, December 4, that it believes the decision to be in the best interests of the company and Tsengwa.

South Africa’s High Court upheld a legal challenge to the government’s plan to procure 1 500 megawatts of new coal-fired power, ruling that it was unlawful because of the potential impact on public health. Plans for more electricity from the dirtiest fossil fuel in South Africa, which has the most carbon-intensive economy among the Group of 20 nations, violate the constitutional right to health, Judge C.J. van der Westhuizen wrote in a ruling released on Wednesday. Three environmental activist groups filed the case against South Africa’s energy minister and energy regulator as well as President Cyril Ramaphosa after the government disclosed its intentions in a 2019 energy plan that the ministry approved in 2020. Those decisions are “unlawful and invalid”, the judge said, ordering the minister and regulator to pay costs to the complainants.

A R1.5-billion green loan facility secured in 2022 is the significant funding underpin of three solar PV renewable-energy plants being constructed by Harmony Gold at its large Moab Khotsong gold mine in North West province, near Orkney.  The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Harmony anticipates that this latest project will supply about 20% of the peak daytime demand of South African operations once completed in financial year 2026.

Embattled Aim-listed vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals has announced that independent nonexecutive chairperson Michael Kirkwood and CEO Craig Coltman have resigned from the board with immediate effect. Coltman will continue as an employee of the company for his three month notice period and will work directly with Matuson Associates business rescue practitioner Piers Marsden as required.

Diamond producer Lucara Diamond Corp expects to sell between 400 000 ct and 420 000 ct in 2025 for a total diamond revenue of $195-million to $225-million. CEO William Lamb said in an operational guidance update for 2025 issued on December 4 that the company had achieved significant milestones at its Karowe mine, in Botswana, this year, by successfully meeting and exceeding all production targets.

There’s no escaping gold in Tarkwa. It’s in the forest. It’s under your feet as you walk the streets of Ghana’s biggest mining town. It’s the economy. Exposed holes in the ground bear witness to attempts at illegally digging out some of the precious metal and a polluted river on the edge of town shows the consequences of the boom in semi-industrial scale mining. The environmental damage has triggered a wave of protest in the capital Accra demanding a ban on all small-scale mining operations in places like Tarkwa. In turn, anxious local politicians — ahead of national elections on Dec. 7 — have tried to reassure registered mines that they will be shielded from the government’s threat to crack down on illegal activities, which it calls “galamsey”.

President Joe Biden touted his administration’s ties with Angola, including investment in a railway to deliver critical minerals across the continent as he met with Angolan President João Lourenço on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed “significant trade and investment opportunities that keep our companies competitive and defend the interests of workers,” according to a readout of the call provided by the White House.

A recovery in mining GDP during the third quarter of the year, after quarterly declines in the previous two quarters, was still unable to lift overall real GDP in the July to September quarter, industry organisation Minerals Council South Africa says in a statement. Against the Bloomberg financial market consensus for real GDP to increase by 0.4% in the third quarter (the Minerals Council expected growth of 0.3%), overall real GDP declined by 0.3%, it points out.

The Phase 1, 2, and 3 concentrators at the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have set a new monthly production record in November, with TSX- and OTCQX-listed Ivanhoe Mines reporting combined production of 45 019 t of copper in concentrate. The concentrators processed 1.2-million tonnes of ore, achieving an average feed grade of 4.58% copper. Total copper production from Kamoa-Kakula for the year to November 30 now stands at 390 061 t.

Aim-listed Lexington Gold is “encouraged” by the significant exploration target potential identified at its Ventersburg gold project in the Free, State, South Africa, chairperson Ed Nealon says in an update announcing further progress on the project. Held and operated through Lexington’s subsidiary, White Rivers Exploration (WRE), the project is strategically situated within the Witwatersrand Basin.

London-listed Gem Diamonds has announced a revised life-of-mine plan for its Letšeng mine, in Lesotho, as well as a two-year extension to the group’s revolving credit facilities.  The revised plan includes approval of steeper slope design for the final openpit cutback of the satellite pit.

Global investor sentiment towards South Africa improved significantly in 2024, Exxaro FD Riaan Koppeschaar reported on Tuesday, December 3. In a pre-close message for the financial year ending December 31, Koppeschaar highlighted the expectation of further positive improvements in investment sentiment towards South Africa on the back of factors including energy and logistical advancement.

Diversified miner South32 on Tuesday announced the appointment of two new independent non-executive directors, Stephen Pearce and Mandlesilo (Mandla) Msimang, to its board. Both appointees would officially join the board on February 1, 2025, and would seek election by shareholders at the company’s 2025 annual general meeting.

Diversified miner Anglo American has completed the transaction to incorporate the Serpentina iron-ore resource into its Minas-Rio operation in Brazil, the company announced on Monday. The deal, originally disclosed on February, involves integrating Vale’s Serpentina into the existing Minas-Rio operation, a move that is designed to unlock synergies and boost production.

Canadian mining company GoviEx Uranium states in its latest ‘Sustainability 2024’ report that it is taking a precautionary approach to environment and social risks, devising strategies that effectively mitigate or minimise risks related to environment, social and governance (ESG). As the company develops the Muntanga uranium mine, in Zambia, towards construction within the next one to two years, GoviEx says climate-related risks and opportunities have influenced the company’s strategy and financial planning from the earliest stages of development.

The outlook for platinum group metals (PGM) demand has been uplifted by a series of new developments in the field of platinum-catalysed green hydrogen generation as well as concomitant fuel cell buildouts that are green-hydrogen fed. On top of South Korea setting out to construct the world’s largest hydrogen fuel cell power plant in the coastal city of Gyeongju, Sinopec inaugurating Hong Kong's first public hydrogen refuelling station, and Metrans testing of ...