Mining Weekly

Heavy equipment manufacturer Komatsu has reached an historic milestone in autonomous mining, commissioning its one-thousandth autonomous ultra-class haul truck equipped with the company’s FrontRunner Autonomous Haulage System. “The milestone reinforces Komatsu’s position as the pioneer and global leader in autonomous haulage, having been [the] first to market with a commercial autonomous mining solution in 2008 and now the first original-equipment manufacturer (OEM) to commission 1 000 autonomous ultra-class trucks worldwide,” the manufacturer says in a media release.

Uranium and gold development company Neo Energy Metals has appointed World Gold Council chairperson and former Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman as independent nonexecutive chairperson, with effect from April 24. His appointment, along with that of new independent nonexecutive directors Sajjad Sabur, John Wallington and Johan Reeder, come as the company moves into the next phase of its strategy to become a leading African uranium producer with significant gold credits.

Johannesburg- and London-listed integrated resource group Tharisa has appointed former Petra Diamonds CFO Jacques Breytenbach as CFO designate, with effect from May 1. He will succeed Michael Jones, who is retiring as CFO with effect from July 31, and will take up the position of CFO and executive director from August 1. Tharisa, which owns chrome and platinum group metal (PGM) operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe, says this provides for a comprehensive handover period to ensure continuity and stability within the finance function.

Goldman Sachs on Tuesday maintained its forecast for the copper price to average $12 650 per metric ton this year and its estimate of a 490,000-ton 2026 surplus for the metal. However, the bank flagged risks to copper supply from potential sulphuric acid shortages should disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continue.

Without compromising the positions of any stakeholders or the credibility of the process, a way must be found to fast-track a good logistical future for South Africa’s very important manganese mining industry. Needed is a very clear position that is bankable and then South Africa Incorporated must move forward – and do so very fast to avoid South Africa losing out to its nimbler global manganese competitors.

JSE-listed Afrimat expects to report a 22.1% to 32.1% year-on-year increase in earnings per share (EPS) to between 76.9c and 83.2c for the financial year ended February 28. In a trading statement, Afrimat says its headline earnings per share (HEPS) are also expected to be between 27% and 37.1% higher year-on-year at between 91.8c and 99.1c.

London-listed mining services company Capital has reported record revenue of $101.7-million for the quarter ended March 31 – a 41.6% increase year-on-year and a 9.7% increase quarter-on-quarter. In a trading update to shareholders, the company notes that drilling and associated revenue for the quarter was $62.8-million, up 8.8% year-on-year and 4.3% quarter-on-quarter.

The Burkina Faso government has published a decree authorising its legal entity Société de Participation Minière du Burkina Faso (Sopamib) to acquire an additional shareholding in ASX-listed West African Resource’s local subsidiary Kiaka SA. Kiaka SA owns the recently completed Kiaka gold project in the country’s south-east.

Scientists at the University of the Witwatersrand have designed South Africa's first app to warn residents of pollution levels, as Johannesburg suffers a spike in coal emissions in recent weeks, causing breathing problems and other health issues. Africa's wealthiest city lies not far from the country's coal mines and the rotten-egg smell of sulphur has often been present in the air.

Throughout history, gold has been seen as a safe-haven asset, although recent price movements have not been what might be expected, metals refinery services provider Heraeus says. In its latest ‘Precious Appraisal’ report, Heraeus notes that, to date this year, the gold price has been exposed to both fundamental and speculative demand that is antecedent to these price moves.

Global miner BHP is keen to pursue large-scale copper exploration in Zambia, the country's mines ministry said on Monday, highlighting growing international interest in the central African nation's mineral wealth, as surging demand for the metal reshapes global mining priorities. Zambia, Africa's second-largest copper producer after Democratic Republic of Congo, is seeking to more than triple output by 2031 and is stepping up efforts to attract investment into its largely underexplored deposits.

KAMPALA – Uganda's central bank said on Tuesday it had begun purchasing gold from domestic producers under a programme announced two years ago to incorporate bullion as part of the country's foreign reserves. The first purchase was made on Friday, the Bank of Uganda said in an emailed statement to Reuters, without sharing details on the value of the gold purchased.

The underpinning of platinum group metals (PGM) prices by investment and speculation is expected to persist for as long as the high level of macro uncertainty persists, Sibanye-Stillwater executive VP sales and marketing Kleantha Pillay spelt out at the company’s Capital Day in Helsinki, Finland, on Monday, April 20. “If we shift a bit into a longer or medium term, primary supply is forecast to decline from around the 6.2-million ounces a year pre-Covid level of 2019 down to 4.7-million ounces a year by 2034 – and this reflects the years of under investment into South African supply as producers navigated a number of operating challenges, including cost inflation, crime, water, power.

ASX-listed Atomic Eagle has appointed Grant Davey nonexecutive chairperson, while Govind Friedland will transition from chairperson to nonexecutive director. In a statement to shareholders, Atomic Eagle says Davey has more than 30 years of senior management and operational experience in the development, construction and operation of global mining and energy projects.

Aim-listed Caledonia Mining Corporation has reported gold production of 14 767 oz from its Blanket mine, in Zimbabwe, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with the 18 671 oz produced in the first quarter of 2025. The company attributes the quarter-on-quarter decrease in output to mining sequence changes and constraints in accessing higher-grade, higher-volume areas.

Aim-listed Kropz achieved record production of 40 792 t phosphate concentrate from its Elandsfontein project, in South Africa, for March.  This brought the project’s production to 115 686 t phosphate concentrate for quarter ended March 31 – the fourth quarter of the company’s financial year – an 11% increase from the previous quarter.

London-listed tin and copper exploration company Rome Resources has conditionally raised about £1.2-million through a direct subscription, with existing shareholders, of 400-million new ordinary shares of 0.1p each in the company at a price of 0.30p apiece. The issue price represents a discount of about 8.6% to the five-day volume-weighted average price.

Namibia-focused Andrada Mining has successfully completed a private placement with strategic investors, raising $11-million (£8.1-million) before expenses through the placing of 226.34-million ordinary shares. “The completion of this placement with some key strategic investors, comes at a pivotal juncture for Andrada. The funding allows the company to scale up operations and advance various growth initiatives, while deriving maximum benefit from the high commodity price environment.

Aim-listed Botswana Minerals says the company is progressing well with its fully funded AI-driven exploration programme over licences 458 and 459 in Ngamiland, north-west Botswana, which aims to identify and rank the most promising exploration targets and identify the best copper prospect for drilling. These licences are part of Botswana Minerals’ 7 074 km² land holding in the northeastern Damara Belt, a region known for its potential to host copper and other important minerals, the company points out.

Growth is not an entitlement and capital investment is not a given. These were two key points that Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane emphasised during a Mining Equipment Manufacturers of South Africa (Memsa) event at Montecasino on Friday. Scrutinised were the implications for South Africa of the Middle East conflict, with the big focus on what this country’s original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can do in the face of geopolitical disruption.