Mining Weekly

Aim-listed Kazera Global says it has agreed with its lender, Kazera interim CEO and director Richard Jennings, to extend and increase an unsecured loan facility originally entered into in August 2024. Under the terms of the original loan agreement, it was due for repayment on or before April 30.

Analysis from global law firm White & Case shows that mining merger and acquisition (M&A) transaction activity recorded its fastest start to a year since 2023 in terms of both transaction volumes and aggregate deal value, despite the breakdown in talks between Glencore and Rio Tinto. The data taken from White & Case’s M&A Explorer shows that there were 121 M&A deals in the first quarter of this year, an increase from 117 in the first quarter of 2025 and 102 in the first quarter of 2024.

Diversified miner Glencore has reported a 22% year-on-year decrease in steelmaking coal production to 6.5-million tonnes for the first quarter, primarily owing to pit sequencing at Elk Valley Resources, in Canada, wet weather in Queensland, Australia, and a planned longwall move at Oaky Creek, in Australia. Elk Valley's output was 1.3-million tonnes, or 20%, lower year-on-year, while steelmaking coal output in Australia decreased by 500 000 t, or 29%, year-on-year.

State-owned miner Coal India reported a larger-than-expected quarterly profits on April 27, driven by higher prices and a pickup in demand from customers ahead of peak summer season, as a gas supply shortfall linked to the US/Israeli war against Iran lifted coal consumption. The company reported consolidated net profit of 108.39-billion rupees, or $1.15 billion, higher than analyst expectations of 92.24-billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Construction activities at coal asset developer MC Mining's Makhado hard coking coal project has regained momentum following weather-related interruptions at the start of this calendar year, with hot commissioning of the coal handling and processing plant (CHPP) scheduled for May. The ASX-, Aim- and JSE-listed company points out that project delays during the quarter ended March 31 were largely attributable to inclement weather and delays in commissioning of the Eskom power supply line.

Mining and metals advocacy group ICMM has announced the creation of the ICMM Young Leaders Scholarship programme in partnership with global nongovernmental organisation (NGO) One Young World. The primary objective of the partnership is to bridge the generational gap in the mining industry by empowering young leaders to drive responsible mining practices.

KoBold Metals, the exploration company backed by billionaires including Bill Gates and Sam Altman, officially broke ground on what will be Zambia’s biggest copper mine as the global hunt for critical minerals heats up. The Mingomba mine will cost more than $2.3-billion to build, making it one of the biggest ever investment projects in the southern African nation. It will eventually produce more than 300 000 t/y of the metal, ranking it among the continent’s top sources.

Higher fossil fuel prices are pushing governments to revisit hydrogen as an energy security tool, Haley Zaremba has reported on oilprice.com, pointing out that hydrogen investment in China and Europe is accelerating. China's fifteenth five-year plan is showing hydrogen to be a “now” industry, with the South China Morning Post reporting a shift towards rapid practical development.

Aim-listed Sylvania Platinum has reported a strong performance for the third quarter ended March 31, especially at the Sylvania Dump Operations (SDO), with production of 22 853 oz of platinum, palladium, rhodium and gold (4E) platinum group metals (PGM). CEO Jaco Prinsloo points out that, owing to the usual Christmas break which extends into January, this was a slight decrease from the record production in the previous two quarters of the company’s 2026 financial year; however, it was in line with expectations for the period.

ASX-listed West Wits Mining has entered into an agreement to sell its Mt Cecelia project, in Western Australia, to emerging gold/copper exploration company Aventine Resources. In a statement to shareholders, West Wits CEO Rudi Deysel says the divestment represents a strategically compelling outcome for West Wits shareholders.

Mining and metals advocacy group ICMM has published its newly updated ‘Critical Control Management: Good Practice Guide’ to better support the mining industry’s implementation of controls that keep people safe at work. The update brings together two of ICMM’s most widely used resources, namely the ‘Control Management Good Practice Guide’ and ‘Implementation Guidance’, which were both developed more than ten years ago.

London-listed Neo Energy Metals says the mining right application by its South African subsidiary Desert Star Uranium for the Henkries uranium project, or Henkries Node, in the Northern Cape, has been accepted by South Africa’s Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources for processing and evaluation. In a statement to shareholders, Neo explains that the application is in respect of antimony, cobalt, copper, kieselguhr, lead, molybdenum, nickel, tin, uranium and zinc, consistent with the known polymetallic character of Henkries. Uranium is, however, the primary target mineral.

Gold demand, including over-the-counter (OTC) demand, increased by 2% year-on-year to 1 231 t for the quarter ended March 31, mainly as a result of higher bar and coin demand, the World Gold Council (WGC) reports in its latest ‘Gold Demand Trends’ report. The council points out that the price of gold hit a record high of $5 400/oz in January, before undergoing a correction and decreasing by 6% by the end of the quarter.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks green hydrogen’s revival in the global energy crisis; Sibanye-Stillwater’s far-reaching suite of reports on its 2025 activities; and government’s silence on its exploration systems.  

Australia-listed Vanadium Resources (VR8) has announced two new developments towards the company’s VR8 Steelpoortdrift vanadium project in South Africa becoming a long-term vanadium supplier. Firstly, VR8 has entered into a nonbinding offtake term sheet with US Vanadium Holding Company (USV), a majority-owned portfolio company of TechMet.

ASX- and TSX-listed Perseus Mining has reported the successful completion of the first underground production blast at its CMA Underground project, at the Yaouré gold mine, in Côte d’Ivoire. Excavation of the first production ore started immediately, with this event highlighted as a key milestone for the project, signalling the continuation of the project’s ramp up toward steady-state production planned for the third quarter of the 2027 financial year.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has set aside May 25 for public hearings into Eskom’s application to amend negotiated pricing agreements (NPAs) with Samancor Chrome and Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture. The adjudication process potentially opens the way for the implementation of the 62c/KWh tariff offer that Eskom has made to the two ferrochrome producers for a period of five years, possibly starting in June.

South Africa's African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) has entered into a conditional nickel concentrate sale agreement with metals provider Boliden Commercial for the offtake of nickel concentrate from the Nkomati nickel mine, in South Africa. ARM says the transaction supports the potential restart of mining at Nkomati and strengthens the the mine's restart business case by securing an offtake route for future nickel concentrate production.

South African iron-ore miner Kumba Iron Ore's export sales routes to its markets in Asia and Europe remain open and have not been impacted by shipping disruptions caused by the conflict in the Middle East, CE Mpumi Zikalala has assured stakeholders. Reporting on the company's production results for the quarter ended March 31, she says the company's supply chains have been secured for the remainder of this year.

A new, long-term electricity solution for South Africa’s Hillside Aluminium Smelter in KwaZulu Natal has been advanced, which marks a crucial step towards supporting the future of one of Southern Africa's most important industrial businesses. Hillside, which supports a total of 3 650 direct and indirect jobs and contributes to an estimated 29 000 jobs across the economy, plays a key role in supplying aluminium to South Africa’s domestic downstream industry.