Mining Weekly

The month of January marked a surprising resilience in South Africa’s mining sector, with overall production up 4.6% year-on-year despite severe flooding in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The January production increase was on top of a 2.8% output rise in December.

South Africa’s State-owned mineral research organisation Mintek is spearheading a far-reaching research initiative into the recovery of rare-earth elements (REEs) from South Africa’s abundant reserves of discard coal and coal fly ash. "We’re fundamentally reimagining the role of coal in the modern era by looking far beyond its traditional use as a primary energy source. We no longer see coal and its by-products as mere fuel or waste, but rather as a strategic reservoir of the very minerals that will power the global high-tech future,” Mintek CEO Dr Molefi Motuku explained in a media release to Mining Weekly on Friday, March 13.

Energy and chemicals group Sasol, on March 13, officially opened its new destoning plant, marking a significant milestone in efforts to enhance coal quality and drive improved operational performance. The plant, which achieved beneficial operation in December, forms part of Sasol’s broader plan to strengthen, grow and transform the business.

ASX- and JSE-listed MC Mining has reported, in its interim financial report for the six months ended December 31, 2025, that its net loss after tax had narrowed by 2% year-on-year to $8.1-million, or $0.01  a share. The company reports that revenue declined by 22% year-on-year to $6.6-million, primarily owing to lower sales volumes at Uitkomst, in KwaZulu-Natal, and weaker thermal coal pricing.

Diamond miner Lucara Diamond Corp says it has successfully completed a private placement of $350-million of senior secured bonds. The company explains that the bonds will have a tenor of five years and will have a fixed coupon rate of 12.5% a year, with interest payable in quarterly instalments.

A new analysis of the crisis being faced by South Africa’s ferrochrome industry as a result of uncompetitive electricity tariffs, outlines a possible renewables-battery-led scenario for meeting the industry’s need for sustainably cheap and greener electricity without triggering an acceleration of what could otherwise be an Eskom death spiral. Titled ‘To Save or Not to Save SA’s Ferrochrome Smelters and Eskom’, the thought-leadership paper has been written jointly by Johan van den Berg, an energy professional with experience in the ferrochrome industry, Frank Spencer, an energy engineer, and Johan Roos, an Advocate in private practice.

Aim-listed Jubilee Metals has secured additional high-grade copper feed material for its Roan concentrator, in Zambia, for $1.8-million. Jubilee says it will settle the payment of $1.8-million, or £1.3-million, through the issuance of 29.76-million new Jubilee ordinary shares at a price of 4.48p a share – a 14.3% premium to Jubilee’s closing share price of March 9.

Glencore CEO Gary Nagle is hoping a recent surge in coal prices will help bring Rio Tinto back to the table for a fresh attempt at creating the world's biggest mining company, three investors said, after meeting with leaders of both companies in Australia this week. The two were locked in talks earlier this year to forge a $240 -billion company that would tie together Glencore's marketing business and copper assets with Rio Tinto’s operational expertise to serve fast-growing demand for the red metal.

Given the increasing depths and complexity of orebodies, high and volatile energy costs, logistics bottlenecks and growing demand for safer and sustainable operations, the adoption of digital technologies is now essential as a baseline for mine safety, sustainability and competitiveness. This message echoed throughout Creamer Media’s ‘New Mining Technologies’ webinar on February 25, facilitated by South African Capital Equipment Export Council (SACEEC) CEO Eric Bruggeman, with the panelists including public-private partnership Mandela Mining Precinct executive director Julie Courtnage, original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) Bell Equipment group marketing head Stephen McNeill and multinational engineering company Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions automation and digitisation business line manager Kabelo Nkoana.

When Creamer Media celebrates its forty-fifth anniversary this March, it marks not only a company milestone, but also a rare achievement in specialist journalism: four-and-a-half decades of continuous, independent reporting focused on engineering, mining, industry and economic development. Founded on March 13, 1981, by publishing editor Martin Creamer and his wife Veronica Creamer, the business began in modest circumstances in Commissioner Street, Johannesburg. From those early days in a small inner-city office, the company has grown into a multimedia publishing house employing about 50 people and serving a global specialist audience across print, digital, video and webinar platforms.

JSE-listed Sibanye-Stillwater has advised shareholders that, following the yearly review of governance effectiveness and, in line with the simplification drive across the group, the board has approved changes to its committee structures, effective from the close of this year’s AGM, scheduled for May 28. Sibanye-Stillwater says it will, beyond May 28, have five board committees, namely the audit and risk committee; the remuneration committee; the social, ethics and sustainability committee; the safety and health committee; and the nominating and governance committee.

South Africa's mining production increased by 4.6% year-on-year in January, with platinum group metals (PGMs), chromium ore and manganese ore having made the largest positive contributions and iron-ore the largest negative contribution. Statistics South Africa's (Stats SA's) data shows that PGM production increased by 10.8% year-on-year in January, with the sector contributing 2.7 percentage to the overall growth in mining output.

South Africa’s Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM) has initiated a process for private-sector entities to bid to operate and invest in three siding facilities for a period of ten years in line with reforms under way to open up the rail network to third-party operators, cargo owners, and logistics service providers. Request for proposals (RFPs) have been issued in relation to the Klaserie Siding in Limpopo, which handles coal and containers, as well as the Krugersdorp Siding in Gauteng and the Ngagane Siding in KwaZulu-Natal, which are consolidation hubs for coal but could also be developed to handle containers.

Mali is establishing a mining task force with judicial powers to oversee gold mining and quarrying sites in the West African nation. The Brigade spéciale des mines will step up inspections and enforcement to curb illegal mining and reduce its environmental and social impact, according to minutes from a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Canada-headquartered gold producer Asante Gold has appointed Campbell Baird as COO as part of a leadership transition that will also see president and CEO Dave Anthony retire in May. Baird’s appointment takes immediate effect and comes as Asante focuses on strengthening operational performance at its Bibiani and Chirano mines in Ghana.

Africa-focused gold miner Resolute Mining on Thursday announced a final investment decision (FID) to develop the Doropo gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, paving the way for construction to begin. The FID follows completion of technical, economic, environmental and social studies, as well as the granting of a mining permit by Côte d’Ivoire’s Council of Ministers.

South Africa’s largest gold-mining company Harmony Gold is building a resilient portfolio by investing continuously in its orebodies while growing in copper to protect cash flows through the commodity cycle, Harmony Gold CEO Beyers Nel highlighted during the JSE-listed group’s declaration of record interim dividend payout of R3.4-billion. The dividend involves a total payout of 43% of net free cash and an increase of 23% over the previous dividend policy, which is now revised to allow for up to 50% of net free cash to be returned to shareholders, Harmony FD Boipelo Lekubo outlined at the presentation, which reported  9% lower half-year gold production of 724 000 oz and 21%-higher all-in sustaining costs of $2 115/oz. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Coal company Liberty Coal has successfully recommissioned a key dragline at its Optimum Colliery, in Mpumalanga, following the completion of a comprehensive refurbishment and technical restoration programme valued at almost R500-million. The Marion 8200 dragline, among the largest of its kind in the world, features a boom measuring just over 100 m and can excavate coal to depths of nearly 80 m, while hoisting about 135 t of material in a single scoop.

Eskom expects to submit its final benefit-cost analysis (BCA) report on flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) at the Medupi power station, in Limpopo, to Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Willie Aucamp in early April, having released a draft report on the air-pollution reduction technology and six alternatives for public comment on February 24. The State-owned company acknowledged during a virtual consultation on the draft report this week that the submission had failed to meet the initial six-month deadline set in a directive issued by then Minister Dr Deon George on March 31, 2025.

London-listed Rainbow Rare Earths has announced an economic assessment for the Uberaba project, in Brazil, and says it has reached an agreement with US-based producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients Mosaic to take the project forward. The company explains that the Uberaba project is similar to its flagship Phalaborwa project, in Limpopo, South Africa, in that it will entail the processing of phosphogypsum – a “waste” product that is the residue from phosphoric acid production.