Mining Weekly

The Future Minerals Forum (FMF) has launched the inaugural Future Minerals Barometer, a pioneering tool designed to measure and track progress of critical mineral value-chain developments across supplier countries. Developed in partnership with McKinsey & Company and other sector experts S&P Global Market Intelligence, Global AI and GlobeScan, the barometer integrates stakeholder sentiment, data, market intelligence and project-level evidence into a single authoritative platform to guide global decision-making.

JSE-listed Northam Platinum has reported a 3.7% year-on-year increase in total equivalent refined platinum group metals (PGMs) produced from its own operations and a 14.8% year-on-year increase in chrome concentrate production for the six months ended December 31. Total equivalent refined metal production from own operations totalled 467 818 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E), while chrome concentrate production for the period totalled 822 759 t.

The Canada-Africa Chamber of Business will be holding the fifth Canada-Africa Business Conference in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, on February 5. The conference will have a strong focus on mining, energy, infrastructure and sustainable development, and will see the participation of investors, senior executives, policymakers and institutional partners from across Africa and Canada. “Namibia has built a strong reputation as a jurisdiction where mining investment can be undertaken responsibly, transparently, and in partnership with government and communities,” explained Country Manager of B2Gold Namibia John Roos. “The Canada-Africa Business Conference provides a valuable platform for practical dialogue between operators, investors, and policymakers, helping to advance projects that contribute to long-term national development, which we are pleased to support.”

TSX-V listed Millennial Potash has announced that it has initiated a definitive feasibility study (DFS) at its Banio potash project, in Gabon. The company has engaged ERCOSPLAN Ingenieurgesellschaft Geotechnik und Bergbau, a preeminent global potash specialist consulting company with significant experience in the West African Potash Basin, to complete a DFS for the Banio potash project.

ASX-listed uranium developer Deep Yellow has confirmed that newly appointed MD and CEO Greg Field will start in the role on February 2, earlier than initially anticipated. The company announced last month that Field would take the helm, and the board has now confirmed his start date as it moves towards key decision points across its development portfolio, including the Tumas project, in Namibia.

The Trump administration’s policies and repeated attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve are bringing into question the role of the US dollar as the global reserve currency and driving demand for precious metals as fiat currency alternatives.  “Whilst gold is the primary focus as a monetary asset, demand is so strong that there is significant spillover into the other precious metals, supporting broad-based price increases. This trend looks unlikely to abate through 2026

Canada's Robex Resources has secured final court approval for its proposed merger with Australia's Predictive Discovery, clearing a key regulatory milestone for the transaction as the companies work toward completion in the first quarter of 2026. The Québec City-based company reported on Tuesday that the Québec Superior Court (Commercial Division) had issued a final order approving the previously announced merger, under which Predictive Discovery, through a wholly owned subsidiary, would acquire all the issued and outstanding common shares of Robex by way of a statutory plan of arrangement.

Rio Tinto has engaged JPMorgan and two other advisers on its potential acquisition of Glencore, a deal that could create the world's largest miner worth over $200-billion, a source with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. The other banks Rio Tinto has engaged are Evercore and Australian financial services group Macquarie, the person said. The roles are highly prized as bankers jostle for a share of potentially more than $100-million in advisory fees that such a deal could generate.

LSE-listed Rainbow Rare Earths has started operations at its Johannesburg pilot plant, marking the final phase of process testwork for the Phalaborwa rare earths project in South Africa. The operation is designed to validate the company’s optimised flowsheet and generate data to support the definitive feasibility study (DFS) and third-party project finance validation.

TSX-V-listed Tsodilo Resources has announced the verification of significant critical minerals and rare earth element (REE) mineralisation from its 100%-owned Gcwihaba Metals project, in northwest Botswana. The C26 and C27 targets were initially identified as geophysical anomalies through ground magnetic and gravity surveys.

London-listed Petra Diamonds has recovered a 41.82 ct Type IIb blue diamond of seemingly exceptional quality in terms of both its colour and clarity at the Cullinan mine, in South Africa. The company, in a media release, says it is in the process of analysing the diamond and ascertaining the preferred sales method.

Integrated resource group Tharisa has reported a softer start to the 2026 financial year, with production for the first quarter, ended December 31, having been affected by seasonal conditions. The company reported, however, that operational indicators were improving, underground development was progressing as planned and strong platinum group metals (PGMs) prices were supporting confidence in the months ahead.

TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines says development of its Platreef mine, in South Africa, is rapidly advancing after the first production of concentrate was achieved in November last year. The company advises that the ramp up of the Phase 1 concentrator on site is advancing on schedule, with the first sale of concentrate having been completed.

Exploration company Forrestania Resources has tightened its grip on Kula Gold, lifting its stake to 86.87% as it urges remaining shareholders to accept its off-market takeover bid before it closes next week. Kula reported on Tuesday that Forrestania had passed the 86% threshold, leaving a narrowing window for minority shareholders to accept the offer ahead of the January 22 closing date.

Africa does not have the luxury of treating regional cooperation and regional beneficiation as afterthoughts. If the continent continues to negotiate in small, fragmented units, the result will be a patchwork of export restrictions and incentive schemes that strain investor confidence without building the connective tissue of shared infrastructure and industrial capacity. If, instead, leaders use projects such as the Lobito Corridor as prototypes for how to align geology, logistics, and industrial policy at a regional scale, the continent can begin to shape global value chains rather than simply feeding into them.

BHP Group’s bold bid to buy rival Anglo American in 2024 was supposed to set it up as the clear winner in a copper boom it had long predicted. Two years later, the copper market is indeed booming. And yet the world’s biggest miner is left sitting on the sidelines of an M&A frenzy it began. People familiar with BHP’s thinking said the news that Rio Tinto Group and Glencore are closer than ever to a deal that would leapfrog BHP to become the world’s most valuable mining company has caused consternation within the Australian mining giant. However, some of the people played down the likelihood that it would respond with a move for Glencore, and said it’s watching from the sidelines for now.

Aim- and AltX-listed Shuka Minerals expects to shortly receive £815 000 from investment banking group Gathoni Muchai Investments as part of an increased loan agreement entered into in June last year. This will allow Shuka to settle the cash consideration of its acquisition of Zambian mining company Leopard Exploration and Mining (LEM) and, thereby, the Kabwe zinc mine, in Zambia.

With strong demand for platinum group metals (PGMs) continuing, Bank of America Securities Global Research has raised its 2026 platinum price forecast to $2 450/oz from $1 825/oz and its 2026 palladium price forecast to $1 725/oz from $1 525/oz. Key takeaways from the bank’s latest Global Metals Weekly dated January 9 are that the dislocations of PGMs from trade disputes are keeping markets tight, especially in the case platinum. In addition, China’s platinum imports are adding support.

Independent diamond producer Lucara Diamond Corp, which owns and operates the Karowe mine, in Botswana, is planning to raise $70-million in a private placement of about 437.5-million shares at a price of $0.16 each. The miner notes that trusts settled by the late Adolf H Lundin (the Lundin Family Trusts) have indicated their intention to participate in the private placement in order to maintain, and potentially increase, their interest in the company by subscribing for up to $70-million of the private placement. Nemesia, a private entity controlled by the Lundin Family Trusts, is currently Lucara's largest shareholder.

Rio Tinto's talks to buy Glencore and create a new global industry leader could spur consolidation efforts across the copper-hungry mining sector and heap pressure on BHP, currently the world's biggest miner, to respond. If the bid succeeds, and depending on any final value, it could rank among the biggest 10 M&A deals yet and it reflects an appetite for scale that bankers have said could drive mega-deals in 2026.