Mining Weekly

The Zandkopsdrift rare earths project in South Africa’s endowed Northern Cape was highlighted on day two of the Junior Indaba, which also learnt of the rapid forward momentum of West Wits Mining’s gold-bar producing Qala Shallows mine on the doorstep of Johannesburg, as well as the advance of Pensana's rare earths project in Angola. Frontier Rare Earths CEO and co-founder James Kenny declared the company’s Zandkopsdrift to be the lowest-cost producer of magnet rare earths and battery-grade manganese sulphate globally. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Aim-listed Caledonia Mining says results from its 2025 exploration programme at the Motapa exploration property, in Zimbabwe, demonstrate the presence of significant gold mineralisation across multiple zones. The company says the results also highlight the opportunity for Motapa to evolve into a strategic extension of the Bilboes mining complex, potentially enhancing production and extending the life-of-mine at Bilboes through the development of a combined mining operation.

The Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant mineral resource estimate for ASX-listed Elevate Uranium's Marenica project, in Namibia, has increased by 12.6-million pounds of triruranium octoxide to 52.8-million pounds of triruranium octoxide, at 180 ppm. This represents a 31% increase in contained metal since the start of this year.

Business rescue practitioners (BRPs) Daniel Theodorus van Jaarsveld and Luke Bernard Saffy have taken over the custodianship of London-listed Petra Diamonds' Finsch mine, in South Africa, and will now begin executing the legal requirements under the business rescue process, including the formulation of a Finsch-specific business plan that will be put forward to the creditors for voting. Petra in May announced that it would place the mine in business rescue in order to protect the rest of the business. At the time, the company said it believed the business still had a viable future, given its Cullinan mine's unique product mix.

Market research firm BMI expects decarbonisation to move to the top of the mining sector's agenda, that AI will become a foundational feature of the global metals and mining sector, that structural deficits in critical minerals will emerge and that competition for access to critical minerals will continue to increase. These trends are outlined in BMI’s 'Metals And Mining Megatrends To 2050: Navigating A New Era Of Technology, Geopolitics And Green Transformation' report, which shows that the industry faces mounting scrutiny of its environmental footprint.

Aim-listed Shuka Minerals has successfully completed the third drill hole – KBDD03 – at the Number 2 orebody at its Kabwe zinc mine, in Zambia. The third diamond drill hole was planned at 65° at a bearing of 125° and was designed to intersect the orebody 30 m to the east of the KBDD01 intersection at a depth of about 250 m.

ASX-listed Askari Metals has reported “outstanding” Phase I trenching assay results from the K9 pegmatite target at its 100%-owned Uis project, in Namibia, further underscoring the project’s breakout polymetallic potential. The company says the results confirm extensive mineralisation across tin, lithium, tantalum, rubidium and caesium, strengthening confidence in K9 as a high-priority drill target within a rapidly emerging critical minerals district.

Mineral exploration company Lithium Africa is preparing for a large-scale 3 500 m drilling campaign at its flagship Springbok project, in South Africa’s Northern Cape province, this July. The drilling campaign will target a new mineral resource at the Norrabees mine, incorporating new structural mapping that has reversed the interpretation of the Norrabees pegmatite dip direction.

A strong and vibrant exploration system is essential to the future of the mining sector, and to advancing transformation, inclusion, and long-term growth in South Africa. In spelling this out at the Junior Indaba on Tuesday, June 9, Anglo American senior VP corporate affairs South Africa Nevashnee Naicker highlighted that every successful mining project created demand for infrastructure, energy, logistics, skills, supply, suppliers, and services, and in that sense, junior mining companies were not only discovering minerals, but often planting the first seeds of entirely new economic ecosystems.

South Africa plans to add to its automotive incentive programme minerals used in the manufacturing of electric vehicle batteries to boost local EV production and support related supply chains. The government is reviewing its automotive policy to address the global shift toward electric and hybrid vehicles, tightening emissions rules and rising competition from low-cost imports, particularly from China and India.

Eskom Green, which has now been officially launched, reports that it intends implementing an initial 2 GW pipeline of advanced utility-scale renewables projects in partnership with private investors on land mostly adjacent to the State-owned utility’s coal-fired power stations. However, it is also moving ahead with several smaller on-balance-sheet projects that have a combined capacity of 500 MW using capital set aside in the group’s corporate plan.

Industry organisation the Minerals Council South Africa says it will engage the government on its Industrial Development Strategy 2026 released by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) on June 8, with the council noting “with regret” certain statements contained in the strategy. The strategy includes proposals on a tax and quotas on chrome ore exports, as well as linking conditions regarding beneficiation to the issuance of mining rights.

Mining's future will not be built only by the largest companies. Even though major mining houses are economically critical, history has shown that discoveries are usually made by optimists, entrepreneurs, and explorers. Every operating mine started as an idea, a map, a drill programme, and a group of people prepared to take a risk when success was still uncertain, Junior Indaba chairperson Bernard Swanepoel pointed out in opening the vibrant junior mining event on Tuesday, June 9. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The Eskom Restructuring Task Team (ERTT) has outlined the terms of reference guiding its deliberations on the establishment of an independent State-owned Transmission System Operator (TSO) that owns and controls the country’s transmission assets and is responsible for operating the electricity market. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the establishment of the task team during his February State of the Nation Address, while reaffirming government’s support for a fully independent TSO.

Aim-listed Jubilee Metals has resumed run-of-mine (RoM) deliveries to Sable refinery, where refining activities have restarted following the successful expansion of the Molefe mine Pit 2 as part of the pre-stripping under the updated mine plan to combine pits 2 and 3. “The recommencement of RoM deliveries from Molefe mine to the Sable refinery marks a significant milestone in the continued expansion of Jubilee’s Zambia copper strategy and demonstrates the rapid progress being achieved at Molefe mine under the updated mine plan,” CEO Leon Coetzer says in an update to shareholders.

Green hydrogen, which is produced with the help of platinum group metals (PGMs) could become the catalyst for new green iron, green steel, green chemicals and beneficiation industries built on South Africa's mineral and renewable energy advantages. “The real prize is not hydrogen — it’s industrialisation. The opportunity is significant if South Africa can align infrastructure, investment and skills development,” Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy president Gary Lane pointed out on LinkedIn in response to Mining Weekly’s report on June 5 about South Africa’s green hydrogen and power-to-x (PtX) project development standard (PDS).

Gold exploration and development company Cora Gold has outlined a more than 12 000 m reverse circulation and diamond drilling programme at its Sanankoro gold project, in Mali, targeting both resource expansion at existing deposits and new discoveries at high-priority greenfield targets. The campaign will focus heavily on Zone B, C and Selin, all located within Sanankoro while also testing underexplored strike extensions and nearby targets, with an updated mineral resource estimate expected after assay results are received.

London-listed Pensana has achieved progress on construction of the Longonjo mine, in Angola. The $250-million development is on target and on budget for first mixed rare earth carbonite (MREC) commissioning in 2027 with a 20-year mine life producing initially 20 000 t of clean MREC, expanding to 40 000 t in year four.

Standard Bank has published a bullish macroeconomic assessment of the giant Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in northern Mozambique, which has been described as the largest commercial project in Africa’s history but which has faced protracted delays following a deadly insurgency in Cabo Delgado in 2021. The onshore project has a current estimated capital cost of $30-billion and has been expanded to a yearly production of 18-million tonnes from an initial nameplate of 15-million tonnes.

JSE-listed Omnia achieved a strong performance for the financial year ended March 31, with its diversified business model and execution in its Agriculture and Mining segments enabling it to weather a complex operating environment. Speaking to Engineering News & Mining Weekly, Omnia CFO Stephan Serfontein explained that challenges in the period included maintenance shutdowns, external supply constraints, railway derailments across South Africa, infrastructure decline in the country impacting on the ports and considerable challenges with regard to water supply.