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Although saleable production of aluminium from the Hillside Aluminium smelter in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal decreased by 1% to 537 000 t in the nine months ended March, full-year guidance of South32's largest aluminium producer remains unchanged. Importantly, Hillside's production guidance for the full financial year ending June 30 continues to be predicted at 720 000 t.
The 1% decrease took place amid the smelter continuing to test its maximum technical capacity, Johannesburg Stock Exchange- and Sydney-listed South32 - Hillside's 100% owner - reported on Thursday, April 17.
In Mozambique, South32 is working with South Africa's State-owned power utility Eskom and the Government of the Republic of Mozambique to extend the hydro-electric power supply to the Mozal Aluminium smelter beyond March 2026, as there are currently no viable alternative suppliers of renewable energy at the required scale.
"We remain focused on finalising a new energy supply agreement during this calendar year to enable the smelter to continue to operate and maintain its substantial contribution to the economy of Mozambique," South32 stated in a release to Mining Weekly.
Sales from Mozal Aluminium decreased by 18% in the March quarter as the operation managed product availability following the decision in the prior quarter to temporarily reduce amperage to the smelter to manage raw material stocks. A drawdown of inventory in the three months to June 30 is now expected, with full-year production guidance remaining at 350 000 t.
MANGANESE FROM NORTHERN CAPE
Following planned maintenance at the Northern Cape's Mamatwan manganese mine in the March quarter and a temporary shut at Wessels in the prior quarter, saleable production from South32's South Africa Manganese decreased 5% to 1 558 000 wet metric tons (wmt) in the nine months ended March 31.
While sales decreased by 18% in the March quarter as port congestion impacted the timing of shipments, full-year guidance remains intact at 2 000 000 wmt
OVERALL OPERATING PERFORMANCE
Overall, March quarter net cash rose by $299-million to $252-million on operational performance and production highlights year to date include an 18% increase in copper and a 6% increase in aluminium as Mozal Aluminium managed the impacts of civil unrest in Mozambique and approached nameplate capacity in the quarter.
In Australia, the Worsley mine development project has begun following environmental approval by the Australian Government, and resumption of export sales from Australia Manganese remains on track for the June quarter.
In the US, construction of the Taylor zinc-lead-silver project at Hermosa continues, with sinking of the main shaft on track to begin in the June quarter.
"Looking ahead, our focus on operating discipline, active cost management and a strong balance sheet leaves us well positioned to manage a period of potential uncertainty in global markets," South32 CEO Graham Kerr commented.
Greenfield exploration targeting base metals in Namibia, Australia, US, Canada, Argentina, and Ireland. have attracted an investment of $26-million and $48-milion has been invested in other exploration programmes at existing operations in the nine months ended March 31.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses Assmang’s huge ten-year zero-fatality achievement; ruthenium’s potential, which was highlighted at PGM Industry Day; and South Africa being invited to help uplift palladium demand by 1.7-million ounces a year.  

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Opening more mines in Namibia is the aspiration of tin, tantalum and lithium green transition metals producer Andrada Mining.
"We've always been very bullish on Namibia, not only as an investment destination, but also from a geological point of view," Andrada CEO Anthony Viljoen commented to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Viljoen described Namibia's Erongo region as being blessed with an abundance of phenomenal geology.
"When we started prospecting there, we were looking at the historic mining operations, and we're very proud that what we've done and what we've contributed to Namibia has started to come to the fore.
"What we're looking at now is expanding our footprint and opening more mines in Namibia and becoming a critical minerals champion for the future."
The London Aim- and OTCQB-listed Guernsey-headquartered exploration and mining company, which spoke from its office in Illovo, Johannesburg, is now also partnering on the lithium side of its business with New York-listed Chilean exploration and mining company SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera), which also maintains offices in Johannesburg, also at Illovo.
"SQM is one of the biggest lithium miners globally. We're going to start an intensive campaign on Lithium Ridge to expand that resource and hopefully bring our second project into production with Lithium Ridge.
"Similarly, at Uis, we've done a lot of work in terms of the by-product potential of mining lithium alongside the tin, and hopefully, in the not too distant future, we'll be able to bring to the market exactly how we're going to do that and integrate the lithium into our circuit. So, very exciting times on the lithium side, now with two projects," Viljoen enthused.
SQM has committed to spending up to $40-million to advance Lithium Ridge to definitive feasibility study level, and Andrada is in discussion with its existing financiers to expand the current operations at Uis, rather than adopting a greenfields approach.
Mining Weekly: Can you give us some insight into the second tin processing jig plant at Uis?
Viljoen: That was quite an interesting add-on to our whole footprint at Uis. At one stage, Uis was the largest hard-rock opencast tin mine in the world, and outside of the existing pit that we're mining, there are a number of proximal pits that were mined by Iscor back in the day, and we see a lot of potential to start mining those other pits. Also, there's a lot of tin in the geological system around that region, so we see an opportunity to start a concurrent production line, without disturbing our existing operations at the Uis plant.
What's the latest when it comes to tantalum?
Tantalum's also going very well. We've started shipping tantalum on a monthly basis. Now, bearing in mind that the tantalum comes together with the tin concentrate, it gives us by-product potential, and is already adding to the revenue stream, so it's showing the polymetallic nature of this orebody.
DRLLING RESULTS AT UIS
In April, Andrada reported that initial drilling in the previously mined areas of Uis had reaffirmed the scale and quality of pegmatites within a 3 km radius of Uis' existing processing plant.
Tin, lithium oxide and tantalum intersections were described as highlighting the opportunity to augments major tin production with the added advantage of lithium and tantalum as value-enhancing co-products.
This followed Andrada reporting in February that it had secured a $2.5-milliom loan to build the second 100 t/h tin plant incorporating a three-stage primary crushing and screening circuit, a jigging section and shaking tables to process a range of tin ore grades across Erongo.
LITHIUM RIDGE PEGMATITE
At Lithium Ridge, Andrada has reported continuous lithium, t...

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South Africa's sizeable manganese ore, manganese alloy, and iron-ore producer Assmang has achieved a major mining safety landmark by being totally fatality free for ten years.
Jointly owned by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and Assore, Assmang operates three underground mines at Black Rock in the Northern Cape, and two opencast mines at Khumani and Beeshoek, also in the Northern Cape, plus a smelter in KwaZulu-Natal.
"This is a proud and humbling moment for all of us at Assmang," ARM Ferrous CE Andre Joubert commented.
Khumani and Beeshoek produce 17-million tons of iron-ore a year, Black Rock's manganese ore output is four-million tons a year, and the annual production of Cato Ridge Works & Alloys is 110 000 t of high carbon ferromanganese and 55 000 t of medium carbon ferromanganese.
With just over 10 000 people and a world-ranking lost time injury frequency rate of 0.11 per 200 000 shifts worked, Assmang has collectively achieved more than 28-million fatality-free shifts.
Beeshoek has been fatality free for 22 years, Cato Ridge for 17 years, Black Rock for 16 years, and Khumani for a decade.
"Ten years of fatality-free operations is more than a number - it's a powerful reflection of the values, discipline, and deep care our people have for one another.
"I want to extend my deepest thanks and congratulations to every employee, supervisor, manager, and contractor who made this possible. You have proven that zero harm is not only an aspiration, but a sustainable reality.
"Together, we've set a benchmark for the industry, and we remain firmly committed to continuing this journey of safety and excellence," Joubert added in a media release to Mining Weekly.
Interestingly, these milestones were accomplished during significant refurbishment and upgrading programmes involving up to 3 500 contractors at a time. During this time, Black Rock refurbished the Nchwaning 2 vertical shaft and the Gloria decline shaft, sunk the new Gloria ventilation shaft, and executed a major modernisation project.
Amid all this, Assmang reports that it has, over the past decade, prioritised safety and driven continuous improvement through rigorous safety protocols, employee empowerment, and an unyielding commitment to accountability at every level.

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JSE-listed coal and energy group Exxaro Resources and State-owned electricity producer Eskom have announced they will collaborate on research initiatives and projects to reduce carbon emissions and cut air pollution.
The two entities, which both have net-zero by 2050 targets, formalised their collaboration through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed on April 14.
The agreement covers both direct and indirect emissions, with Exxaro particularly keen to find solutions for its Scope 3 emissions, especially those generated by Eskom when it burns Exxaro coal to produce electricity.
No specific interventions were announced at the ceremony, but Exxaro CEO Ben Magara highlighted the need for solutions to improve coal efficiency, control carbon emissions, potentially through carbon capture, storage and utilisation, and to reduce air pollutants such as dust and sulphur dioxide.
The companies said the initial focus of the collaboration would guide the necessary investments and mobilise the stakeholders needed to find technology-based solutions to the challenges associated with the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Magara described the collaboration with Eskom as a way to "accelerate practical and scalable solutions" that not only decarbonised and reduced air pollution, but also delivered socioeconomic benefits to communities in line with the Just Energy Transition.
In parallel, Exxaro would push ahead with initiatives to reduce direct emissions, with its renewable-energy subsidiary, Cennergi, having already built 229 MW of renewables capacity, and with the 68 MW Lephalale solar PV project to be commissioned later this year to supply renewable energy to its Grootegeluk mine in Limpopo.
It was also partnering with G7 Renewable Energies on a 140 MW wind project, which will supply wheeled electricity to Northam Platinum
Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said the State-owned utility was moving to identify the latest developments and strategies to reduce carbon emissions and other air pollutants, highlighting a recent visit to China by senior officials to study interventions being made by utilities in that country.
He argued that Eskom did not have a coal problem, but an emissions problem and that Eskom was investigating various ways to reduce its emissions and ensure that it's coal-fired power stations operated within the "prescripts" of environmental legislation.
Eskom was recently granted exemptions from minimum emission standards (MES) for eight power stations that would otherwise have been forced to close on April 1, including Duvha, Kendal, Lethabo, Majuba, Matimba, Matla, Medupi, and Tutuka.
The exemptions were granted following an application made in terms of Section 59 of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, and followed the granting last year of permission allowing Eskom to continue to operate the aged Hendrina, Grootvlei, Arnot, Camden and Kriel at existing MES plant limits until their decommissioning on March 31, 2030.
The latest exemptions were granted by Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Dr Dion George alongside several conditions, and Marokane said Eskom was in the process of preparing a detailed response.
He would not be drawn on whether that response would include an indication that Eskom would seek to extend the lives of some of its stations beyond their scheduled decommissioning dates.
However, he made an assertive case for the group's strategy of establishing a new 'Renewable Energy Business' to accelerate the deployment of renewable-energy solutions, primarily on land surrounding its coal-fired power stations.
Eskom has issued a tender through which it is seeking private partners to support its renewables business, which he said had a near-term pipeline of projects involv...

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South African platinum group metals (PGM) companies have been invited to become part of a programme that is targeting an initial 1.7-million-ounce increase demand for palladium, a platinum group metal (PGM) that research is showing has a long list of potential new applications.
In making this invitation at the PGM Industry Day in Johannesburg, major palladium producer Nornickel reported that is on the verge of opening a large globally collaborative palladium laboratory, as part of its new 100-patent Centre for Palladium Technologies that is striving to change how the world sees palladium.
Since its launch, the centre has built a portfolio of 25 products and by 2030, the portfolio is expected to advance beyond 100 projects, generating an additional 1.7-million-ounce annual palladium demand.
"We aim to share expertise and collaborate with those who, like us, see palladium as a metal of the future," Centre for Palladium Technologies head Dmitry Izotov stated during a PGM Day panel discussion covered by Mining Weekly.
The visit to South Africa was part of a global roadshow aimed at combining research and business efforts can drive sustainable development.
From a chemical perspective, PGMs complement each other in many applications and research shows that palladium alloyed with other PGMs frequently outperforms the efficiency and durability of individual PGMs.
Potential new palladium applications highlighted in Johannesburg include:
Using a layer of palladium to minimise the light loss of solar panels;
Upgrading hydrogen fuel cell performance;
Lowering green hydrogen production costs;
Replacing iridium with palladium in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays; and
Deploying palladium-based alloys to reduce conductive component expenses in electronics.
The goal of the Johannesburg event was to initiate dialogue with potential partners across the continent: research institutions, industrial firms, and tech startups.
Long-term collaboration with scientists, manufacturers, and end-users to accelerate the adoption of advanced technologies and products is envisaged.
"Our goal is to become a technological partner for producers of PGM-based products. We focus on identifying applications where palladium delivers a strong competitive edge, bringing together leading scientific teams to develop prototypes, conducting large-scale industrial trials, optimising the product, and transferring the technology to manufacturers. This approach allows us to create more efficient materials and open up new markets for palladium applications," Izotov explained.
Since its launch, the centre has built a portfolio of 25 products. By 2030, the portfolio is expected to exceed 100 projects, generating an additional annual demand of 40-50 tonnes of palladium.
A palladium layer in silicon solar cells is expected to provide a 2%-plus efficiency uplift owing to reduced light reflection and absorption compared with silver enhanced photon capture. There is also said to be less microcrack propensity.
Palladium-platinum alloy is said to provide 10%-plus optimisation in hydrogen fuel cell catalysis and proton exchange membrane (PEM) plus a PEM replacement cost reduction of 10% to 25%.
When it comes to OLED displays, palladium use is said to reduce costs by 50% to 70% and increase the lifespan of blue OLEDs by 50%.
At the outset in 2021, Izotov explained that there were no artificial intelligence solutions but by end of 2024, 80% of equipment was operated by computer vision algorithms.
The company's biggest mining mill is operating automatically on machine learning.
"The operator is not involved," he reported, and the algorithm is learns from information "like every 15 minutes, and that's really a big thing for us."
The improved economic effect on ...

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After listening to Heraeus Precious Metals trading head Dominik Sperzel placing ruthenium on a new high pedestal and describing this low-profile PGM as "my personal favourite", Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Industry Day chairperson Bernard Swanepoel remarked that he'd never met a person who speaks passionately about ruthenium but that, "We love it".
Fortunately, South Africa hosts the world's largest endowment of this PGM, a rare silvery-white hard transition metal that forms part the platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and osmium family of magical metals.
Following its latest PGM Day spotlighting, it's unlikely that ruthenium will be able to continue to hide its light under a bushel.
When questioned by PwC energy, utilities and resources leader Andries Rossouw on the things that have the potential to expand the PGM, a study entitled 'Unlocking Hydrogen Transportation' was brought to the fore. This study was authored by Sperzel, Dr Konrad Krois, as well as Dr Jenny Watts and Henk de Hoop, of the Sibanye-Stillwater-linked SFA.
"We've done a nice paper on ruthenium's use in hydrogen's transportation in particular," Sperzel enthused.
While ruthenium is not consuming a lot of ounces "at the moment", the authors believe it has a "bright future" in not only hydrogen, but also green chemistry and electronics.
In green chemistry, Sperzel noted: "We already see applications, where we go away from the classical fossil feedstocks into the greener feedstocks, could be wood biomass, could be something else that helps the system overall run on these different feedstocks, and then third, electronics.
"It's a very, very versatile metal. It's very, very tricky, to deal with in certain instances, but with the spike in demand for semiconductors, with the spike driven by artificial intelligence applications, we believe that these high-end applications need high-end input materials," Sperzel added during a panel discussion covered by Mining Weekly.
A big contribution is the facilitation of hydrogen's transportation through green ammonia cracking, about which the Ammonia Energy Association is regularly reporting final investment decision-making, the latest being the CF-JERA-Mitsui mega-project in Louisiana, US, plus the near-tripling of the Northern Lights carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.
Meanwhile, ruthenium is solidifying its status as an indispensable catalyst in ammonia cracking amid its enabling of lower temperature reactions and high conversion, which leads to energy savings and longer catalyst lifespans.
This is positioning ruthenium as a strong hydrogen economy contender, catering to the demand from fuel cell technology, chemical manufacturing, and metal processing industries, the authors of the White Paper report.
Total ruthenium demand is estimated at around 800 000 oz/y with supply at around 955 000 oz/y, which leaves around 150 000 oz of ruthenium metal for the emerging hydrogen economy.
Despite a challenging environment for clean hydrogen, the Hydrogen Council finds that the effective implementation of already embedded policies could support the business case for the uptake of eight-million tons a year of clean hydrogen across the EU, the US and East Asia by 2030.
The council's 'Closing the Cost Gap' report, developed with the analytical support of McKinsey, highlights that this can be achieved by the transposition of the EU Renewable Energy Directive at EU country level, rollout of Japan's Contracts for Difference mechanism, implementation of South Korea's Clean Hydrogen Portfolio Standard, and realisation of hydrogen-related sections of the US Inflation Reduction Act, resulting in either reducing the production cost of clean hydrogen and its derivatives or mandating or incentivising their use.
To further ...

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Minerals Council South Africa has been scoring big on the transformation front, going well beyond compliance, and hopes are now high that the upcoming Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill will create a legislative context to allow mining to shift from potential to performance.
This was made clear on Wednesday, April 9, by Minerals Council CEO Mzila Mthenjane, senior executive, public affairs and transformation Tebello Chabana, chief economist Hugo Pienaar, and senior policy analyst, public affairs and transformation Fundiswa Ndaba in the first of what are expected to be many more roundtable media briefings.
"The mining industry has made the significant progress in transformation, despite the headwinds and the constraints caused by years of regulatory and policy uncertainty, the slow processes of approving prospecting and mining rights, hence hampering the growth of the industry, operational constraints caused by the irregular and increasing cost of electricity and logistics, which at the best of times, have not been reliable, both in terms of rail and ports," Mthenjane pointed out.
"From a legislative perspective, we're expecting the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources to gazette its MPRDA Amendment Bill in due course, and from our perspective, we do expect a sensible, investor friendly change to the MPRDA that addresses negative sentiment towards South Africa's mining and prospecting sectors.
"It's a Bill which we hope will encourage and support investment, firstly in exploration, and then providing for a shift in sentiment that results in continuing mine development from the exploration, as well as continued investment in current mines, which continue to contribute and support the country through contribution to the fiscus.
"Combined, we see this growing the industry, and hence, by extension, will create more employment, create more opportunities for new entrants and entrepreneurs and mining industrialists.
"Let's not forget that miners are also industrialists, and I think, also contributing to even greater transformation than what we have achieved in the past and benefiting communities and the entire country.
"I do believe that the industry can do so much more than it is currently, and so the legislative context for mining has to enable a shift, and the industry needs to shift from potential to performance," Mthenjane added.
REGULAR MEDIA ROUNDTABLES
Going forward, Minerals Council South Africa intends holding regular media roundtable briefings "to get to understand what's going on in the mining industry", communications head Allan Seccombe stated.
"I think that's going to be a key thing for us, to bring media stakeholders along with us on our journey as we as we strive for growth, safety, employment, all the good things that we all want for our country and certainly our mining industry.
The focus first of the first roundtable briefing was on transformation, which the council described as "a critical aspect of our industry, particularly as we address our legacy with the industry looking at a lot of things the mining industry was historically known for and trying to rectify that", added Seccombe.
It's been a journey since the advent of democracy, the publication of the Mining Charter "and I think the mining industry has continued to prioritise socioeconomic transformation over that period", Mthenjane explained.
"You'll all be familiar, with the structure of the Mining Charter, which is really consistent with several other industry charters, including, amongst other things, black ownership, employment, equity, preferential procurement, enterprise and supply development, skills development, as well as social economic development," added Mthenjane.
Specific to the...

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Three new green hydrogen qualifications are being registered with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations to enable South Africa to seize the platinum group metals (PGMs)-linked green hydrogen opportunity as its green shoots turn into roots at a time when the disrupted world is in eager need of a promising new planet-friendly economic direction.
Last month, the emerging green hydrogen fuel cell economy received a R90-billion stimulus opportunity from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who urged South Africa while in Cape Town to get going on green hydrogen.
Then, at last week's PGM Industry Day in Johannesburg, Anglo American reported that South Africa's rejigged Hydrogen Corridor has been short-listed for Just Energy Transition Investment Programme funding.
Emerging simultaneously are enabling new green hydrogen qualifications, with South Africa's Chemical Industries Education & Training Authority (CHIETA) working with sister Setas such as the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) and the Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) on the green resource that has the strong potential to fundamentally transform the global economy and to reindustrialise South Africa.
"Green hydrogen's becoming the new gold," CHIETA CEO Yershen Pillay remarked to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
CHIETA data suggests that the overall employment need embraces about 178 key skills and competencies, with the 17 that CHIETA needs to develop covering gas engineers, hydrogen systems engineers, hydrogen technicians.
Being registered by CHIETA with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations are three new qualifications .
The first is that of a green hydrogen technology practitioner. This will ensure that you have the skill on site to manage your green hydrogen technologies, such as your electrolyser technologies.
The second is that of a green hydrogen production practitioner. We've been working with some of our companies such as Sasol, Afrox, Air Products, Rheinmetall, and many of them require some form of production expertise to produce the green hydrogen on site.
The third qualification is that of a green hydrogen storage and fuel transporter, because transporting hydrogen is very dangerous. It's a gas that is highly explosive, especially at high temperatures. You need certain safety standards and will have to be qualified to transport and store green hydrogen.
"These are the three qualifications that we are contributing as the chemical Seta to ensure that we have an adequate skills infrastructure to seize the green hydrogen opportunity as a country," Pillay explained.
"Our entire development process is informed by our stakeholders. The companies themselves, the training providers, all approached us as CHIETA, and they said to us that this is where the demand lies. We need pipe fitters, for example, on site and they need to be adequately trained.
"What we've been able to do is to work with closely with likes of Sasol, Air Products and various other companies like Rheinmetall, who say they will be able to absorb these skills.
"We have plans to implement the first-of-its-kind Green Hydrogen Centre of Specialisation. This centre of specialisation is going to be in collaboration with our higher education institution, such a universities, as well as our TVET colleges.
"We are collaborating with some of our sister Setas, the Mining Qualifications Authority, as we know, there are quite a few developments in the mining space, with country companies like Anglo American venturing into green hydrogen trucks, etcetera. and then we've collaborating with and TETA on the transport side.
"Ninety-five per cent of the green hydrogen economy is transport orientated, so witho...

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - New York- and Toronto-listed gold and copper mining company Barrick is now advancing its portfolio of growth projects to support a planned 30% growth in gold equivalent ounces by the end of the decade.
Barrick delivered on the goals it set for 2024, meeting its gold and copper production guidance and maintaining its record of reserve replacement while adding substantially to its resource base, Barrick chairperson John Thornton states in the company's 2025 Information Circular.
"We improved our financial performance, despite higher costs, with an increase in net earnings of 69% - the highest in a decade - operating cash flow growth of 20%, and a doubling of free cash flow relative to 2023," Thornton notes in a release to Mining Weekly.
At the same time, a portfolio to achieve sustainable production and profitable growth was developed.
"We continued to ramp up Pueblo Viejo, started prefeasibility work at Fourmile, and restarted the Porgera mining operation.
"We completed feasibility studies for Reko Diq, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper/gold deposits, and the Lumwana Expansion project, which will become one of the world's largest copper mines," Thornton reports.
Both projects will support Barrick's goal of organically growing production volumes, particularly in copper, and as such the company is proposing to change its name from Barrick Gold Corporation to Barrick Mining Corporation, to reflect the company's changing production profile.
Despite rising metal prices, mining equities have underperformed, with Barrick no exception. "We viewed our equity as undervalued and consequently repurchased $498-million of shares in 2024 and we will continue to pursue share buybacks whenever we believe our shares are trading below their intrinsic value.
"We have an industry-leading balance sheet, substantial liquidity and a global portfolio of Tier 1 assets. These qualities, along with our fully funded pipeline of organic growth projects, put us on track to grow the company and increase per-share returns over the long term," Thornton highlights.
Also in the Information Circular, lead director Brett Harvey says that board renewal remained a priority in 2024, enhancing Barrick's global business expertise to achieve representation that reflects the people and regions integral to its operations.
"During the year, we conducted a rigorous and structured selection process to identify potential board candidates, and we're pleased to nominate Ben van Beurden and Pekka Vauramo for election at this year's annual and special meeting. At the same time, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Christopher Coleman and Andy Quinn, who will retire from the board," Harvey adds.
The board also appointed new chairs for its key committees. They are Isela Costantini for the compensation committee, Loreta Silva for the audit and risk committee, and Brian Greenspun for the environmental, social, governance and nominating committees.
Shareholder attendance at this year's annual and special meeting on May 6 will be by way of live webcast.

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South Africa's rejigged green hydrogen corridor project, Project Rhynbow, has been shortlisted for just energy transition (JET) funding, this week's Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Industry Day audience heard on Thursday.
"It's a great achievement for us as South Africa, to be able to get to this point, and the best achievement will be when tyres hit the road," Anglo American principal market development Fahmida Smith outlined during a PGM Industry Day panel discussion covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
The anticipated timeline for vehicles on the road is 18 to 24 months post funding of the projects.
Project Rhynbow is a collaboration between Anglo American Platinum, Bambili Energy, Sasol, and Total Energies with Accenture as secretariat and is focused on creating a local hydrogen economy focused on mobility and stationary applications.
Chaired by mining luminary Bernard Swanepoel, the panel discussion was led by PwC Africa energy, utilities and resources leader Andries Rossouw, and the other members were World Platinum Investment Council director of research Edward Sterck, Heraeus Precious Metals head of trading Dominik Sperzel, Platinum Guild International Hong Kong CEO Tim Schlick, Nornickel CEO of Palladium Center Dmitry Izotov, and Smith, who explained that the project design allowed for green hydrogen refuelling infrastructure to be added as corridor demand increased.
The project consists of fuel cell electric vehicles and dual fuel vehicles, which both require hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.
The "at scale" or "scalable" project frameworks allow for green hydrogen refuelling infrastructure to be scaled according to utilisation or vehicles that need to be supported.
Being part of the Hydrogen Valley Project developed by the partners and the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, it was awarded strategic integrated project, or SIP, status in October 2023.
Having been shortlisted for JET funding, it will now undergo a detailed due diligence process.
The project's current focus was on having infrastructure that was sufficient for the number of vehicles needed on the road, "for what we refer to as milk runs, for example", Smith remarked.
"One of the things that could change is the pace at which the hydrogen economy takes off.
"Clearly, that's been slower than we have been anticipating, and it's probably just worth considering why.
"I think the main thing comes down to putting the horse in front of the cart, and that is the production of green hydrogen at scale, at a low enough levelised cost of hydrogen, with the infrastructure in place to distribute that hydrogen and get it to end-users, making it available and making for them these decisions, for example, a fuel cell electric vehicle.
"That requires big subsidies. Now we've known about those numbers for a while, but the pace at which those subsidies have flowed has been much slower than we had anticipated, and they are beginning to come now," Sterck pointed out.
Products that Heraeus of Germany is supplying go beyond electrolysis, the PGM-based process from which hydrogen is generated, into purification, fuel cells, which turn hydrogen back into green electricity, and into the transport of hydrogen, the latter being very important owing to hydrogen likely being produced in regions where it will most likely not be totally domestically consumed, such as the outlook in South Africa.
"I can say this as a German, we're a big energy importing country ultimately, and the hydrogen has to come to Germany somehow, and Japan, Korea, these countries have similar problems that we do have.
"And we, for example, believe in chemical binders like green ammonia. We have done a nice paper on ruthenium use in hydrogen transportat...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses South Africa reclaiming its position in the global mining industry by restoring trust; the new sun-tracking system that is attracting attention; Plug Power stressing the importance of platinum-based proton exchange membrane technology

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In a Zoom video interview with Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly, Plug Power President and CEO Andy Marsh on Wednesday pointed out that platinum-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology is at the heart of everything that this Nasdaq-listed company does.
Plug is a prime mover in US' platinum-catalysed green hydrogen and fuel cell economy and the adoption by US business of this planet-friendly way of doing things is because it pays them to do so.
The company built and operates the US' largest liquid green hydrogen plant, a 15 t a day liquid hydrogen plant that uses 40 MW of Plug's platinum-and iridium catalysed electrolysers.
More than 80 000 forklift trucks are powered by the 250 hydrogen fuelling stations it has built.
Between Walmart and Amazon, there are about 150 sites that use Plug's PEM technology to operate around the clock.
With the help of Plug's technology, these companies talk about moving 8% to 10% more pallets an hour, while also being users of clean energy.
"Where you need fast start-up, where you need to be able to work in cold environments, where you can really change the power level instantaneously, PEM is the answer," Marsh highlighted.
Plug has a $1.66-billion loan contract with the US Department of Energy (DOE) to build a huge hydrogen plant in Texas. The DOE has been actively involved in research and development of green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, recognising their potential to decarbonise various sectors and contribute to a cleaner energy future.
The DOE's hydrogen and fuel cell technologies office has been focused on developing technologies that can produce hydrogen at $2/kg by 2026 and $1/kg by 2031 via net-zero-carbon pathways, in support of the Hydrogen Energy Earthshot goal of reducing the cost of hydrogen by 80% to $1 per 1 kilogram in 1 decade.
This has been under way against the backdrop of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was introduced to save the universe from the potentially catastrophic consequences of climate change.
Stimulated has been heavy investment in clean energy, climate action, and environmental justice, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to an environmentally protective economy.
The IRA legislation that former President Joe Biden signed into law in August 2022 has the capacity to enable $3-trillion in climate investments in the 2022-2032 period and $11-trillion in overall infrastructure investments by 2050.
Key ingredients to the success if all this are platinum group metals, which South Africa hosts in the greatest abundance.
However, reverberations are being caused by Wednesday's US April 2 'Liberation Day' announcement that a 30% tariff regime will be imposed on South Africa, while also imposing a 10% base tariff, alongside higher individual tariffs for specific countries, including 20% for the EU, 24% for Japan, 26% for India, and 34% for China.
"I've spent some time with the DOE. I've spent some time with many Republican Congress folks. Now, there's certainly no guarantee that many of the incentives that were put in place to grow the green hydrogen industry will continue, but I think it's likely they will.
"There's over 20 members of the House who are Republicans who asked the President and asked the Speaker not to change the provisions of the IRA when it comes to hydrogen.
"It's an industry that's strongly supported by the oil and gas industry. There are some big projects, especially in places like Texas, including our own 45 ton liquid plant, that are still on the drawing board.
"There will be hydrogen hubs in the United States. It probably isn't happening as fast as people hoped three or four years ago, but we really do believe it's going to continue," said Marsh.
Augmenting its US gr...

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If South Africa wants to reclaim its position in the global mining industry, half-measures just won't cut it. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) needs to go beyond admitting administrative failure and must actively restore trust, says mining luminary Paul Miller, the CEO of AmaranthCX.
"This means having a fully transparent cadastre, open-access geological data, strict enforcement of exploration obligations, and limit the discretion exercised by political activists masquerading as public officials.
"Investor confidence depends on an efficient, predictable and fair system, not a bureaucracy manipulated for personal and political interests. Politicians must make policy, and officials must implement that policy in an even-handed way.
"South Africa's mining decline was not inevitable, it was a choice. For two decades, the government chose secrecy over transparency, bureaucracy over efficiency, and political favouritism over competence. It wasted its geological wealth through negligence, mismanagement, and sheer administrative failure," Miller points out.
Now, South Africa faces the uncomfortable truth of the rest of the world having possibly moved on.
"The question is no longer whether South Africa can fix its mining sector; the question is whether investors will ever trust it again," cautions Miller, who does point out, however, that some investors are still persisting, particularly in copper in the Northern Cape, and also in lithium, uranium, rare earths and mineral sands.
But in the main, the mining sector being the economic flywheel it once was has past, with major mining companies focusing largely on 'stay-in-business' and sustaining capital investments, rather than greenfield projects.
South Africa was once the undisputed leader in African mining. It had the geology, the skills, and the infrastructure to dominate the continent for generations.
Yet today, its share of Africa's exploration budget, a forward-looking indicator of future success, has fallen from 35% two decades ago to about 7% today.
Meanwhile, countries with fewer resources but better governance - like Namibia, Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire and even Malawi - are attracting investment.
'WANTS' OUTLINED
At the Investing in African Mining Indaba in February, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane outlined what is wanted for the South African mining industry to be able to play a strong and competitive game "and win for the nation of Mzansi".
"We want a regulatory environment that encourages local and foreign investment into our prospecting sector, which for the past four years has attracted less than 1% of global exploration spending.
"With a vibrant exploration portfolio, we see an enduring, sustainable mining industry that changes the fate of many people, lifting them from continued unemployment, poverty and hunger to dignity and pride because of the wealth that mining can create," Mthenjane pointed out.
"We want provisions for exploration companies in the DMPR's review of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), that are fit for purpose for prospecting, junior, midtier and major mining companies, encouraging investment through business-friendly laws.
"We want the expected and timely introduction of a modern, transparent mining cadastre that will bring South Africa level with other mining jurisdictions in terms of efficiency of licensing to urgently manage the backlog of unprocessed prospecting and mining right applications, and to speedily process and issue new applications without contestation and court cases, effectively removing perceptions of malfeasance.
"An investment-friendly exploration environment will encourage the creation of prospecting funds from the private sector, broadening the op...

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Canada-headquartered Lucara Diamonds has terminated its engineering, procurement, and construction management contract with JDS Energy & Mining (JDS), effective March 31, as it transitions to owner-managed operations at the Karowe underground expansion project (UGP) in Botswana.
Announcing the shift on Monday, Lucara stated that it had entered into a master service agreement (MSA) with JDS to complete specific engineering components while all site-based contracts and activities move under its direct oversight.
The company expects the transition to enhance cost control, improve operational efficiency, and provide greater flexibility in decision-making. By taking direct management of critical project milestones, Lucara aims to leverage its in-house expertise to advance the UGP more effectively.
"The strategic shift in project management will allow us to better leverage our team's deep understanding of the Karowe mine and its unique characteristics. By taking direct control of site-based activities, we are positioning ourselves to respond more rapidly to project needs and challenges," said Lucara president and CEO William Lamb.
Lucara acknowledged JDS's contributions and said it looked forward to the firm's continued involvement under the MSA in specific engineering aspects.
The UGP is a key project for Lucara, aimed at extending the life of the Karowe mine. The project has made significant progress, with the production shaft now exceeding 720 m in depth and the ventilation shaft surpassing 680 m.
Further advancements have been made on the production man and materials winder building, while most of the required surface infrastructure, including bulk air coolers, is already in place.

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Investors in the Pan African Resources gold mining company are not only exposed to what is an exceptionally high gold price but also to low-cost, low-risk, near-term production growth of considerable magnitude.
"So, it's an exciting time for us," Pan African CEO Cobus Loots highlighted in a Zoom interview in Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Reflecting remarkably rapid progress in a new mining jurisdiction, Pan African will commence gold production in Australia before the end of this financial year (FY) in June - and is looking to a stepped-up FY 2026 production number well north of 270 000 oz.
In addition, at the prevailing high gold price, Pan African should be pretty much debt-free in the next 12 to 18 months, which is a fantastic position to be in for a company that is looking forward to impressive short-term production growth.
Moreover, Mogale Tailings Retreatment (MTR), commissioned in October, is being speedily paid back, as is poised to be repeated in the case of the Tennant Consolidated Mining Group (TCMG) gold/copper project in Australia, which is already within a hair's breadth of being commissioned in game-changing fashion.
Exceptionally high environmental, social and governance (ESG) ambition is a hallmark of this Johannesburg- and London-listed company, which has a 'going beyond compliance' ESG mantra.
The ahead-of-schedule, below-budget gold-from-tailings MTR operation, west of Johannesburg, has been an example of that - plus some, in that MTR has proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the people of Kagiso and Krugersdorp, where rehabilitation of historic mine sites is uplifting lives and livelihoods across a broad front, improving water quality as far afield as the Cradle of Humankind, the UNESCO paleoanthropological site 50 km away, and even persuading illegal miners to throw in the towel.
On the green energy front, close to half of the electricity that Pan Africa consumes will, in the next three to four years, be clean and green, and rehabilitation of yet another of the company's upcoming gold-from-tailings prospects, the Soweto Cluster, is already under way.
"It's fair to say we're really enjoying the exceptionally high rand gold price. We're pretty much unhedged as of the end of February, so we are seeing all of that high gold price now coming through in terms of cash flows, so it's a great positive for us," an upbeat Loots commented.
"All other things being equal, 2026 will be an exceptional year from a production perspective, with a full years' production from MTR and then also from Australia.
"So, we're seeing the 2026 production number well north of 270 000 oz, which, I guess, not many other producers can do, in terms of production growth, over such a short space of time."
Mining Weekly: What are the chances of South Africa seeing another standalone processing facility as part of the Soweto Cluster project?
Loots: We'd obviously love to grow further in the tailing space. We constructed all of MTR in 14 months, and that processing plant is doing very well, so we said to the market that we're busy with feasibility studies, and I think we'll have quite a clear picture as to where we're headed by September or October of this year, and definitely it could include a further Soweto plant in time.
Is the inclusion of a hard-rock crushing circuit, to process nearby remnant hard rock Soweto Cluster resources, looking feasible?
We're still busy with our feasibility on a hard-rock circuit, but it's not a primary focus for us. We have more than sufficient tailings reserves with MTR and Soweto to keep us going for 20 years or more, so that's really the focus.
What is the latest on the restructuring of the Sheba gold mine in Barberton?
Discussions with all stakeholder...

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JSE- and ASX-listed Orion Minerals says it is firmly on track to become a near-term base metals producer with the release of the definitive feasibility studies (DFSs) for its flagship project, the Prieska copper/zinc mine (PCZM), and the Flat Mines project (FMP), which is part of the Okiep copper project (OCP), in the Northern Cape.
MD and CEO Errol Smart tells Mining Weekly that the projects will help to establish the Northern Cape as a credible copper production region globally with world class capital and operating costs.
"We have the skills in this country . . . and there's a wonderful opportunity to really accelerate development in the Northern Cape," he says.
The company expresses that the PCZM DFS has delivered robust financial and technical results, with exploration potential and life-of-mine (LoM) extension.
The PCZM DFS outlines an optimised two-phase development strategy aimed at derisking the development pathway and fast-tracking value-creation from a safe, modern, long-life, mechanised, underground base metals mine.
This includes the initial Upper-Level Phase, which is based on mining near-surface supergene sulphide ore that is accessible from an existing decline, with first production expected 13 months after the start of construction and continuing for 4.3 years.
Capital expenditure (capex) to achieve first concentrate production, within 13 months, is R560-million.
During the Upper-Level mining, pumping in the main shaft will take place to de-water the mine, which is currently flooded to 265 m below surface. Following the de-watering, refurbishment of the main shaft and construction of the mining infrastructure will take place.
Secondly, the Deeps Phase will commence following completion of mine de-watering, refurbishment of the main shaft and construction of the mining infrastructure.
Mining of the Deeps has a LoM of 11 years and will overlap with the last 2.2 years of the Upper-Level mining.
The combined operation is planned over 13.2 years of production at an ore processing rate of 240 000 t/y for the Upper levels and 2.4-million tonnes a year for the Deeps phase.
The post-tax net present value (NPV) of the combined operation is R7.1-billion, using non-inflation-adjusted estimates and a discount rate of 8%. The project is expected to deliver a post-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 26%.
Orion notes that the project has an undiscounted post-tax LoM cash flow of R16.6-billion.
The total estimated capital cost for PCZM is R7.59-billion. Peak funding requirements amount to R7.23-billion including an 11% contingency allowance.
Payback is expected to occur 5.8 years from the start of construction and only 2.4 years after peak funding.
For the combined operation, all-in sustaining unit costs (AISC) over the duration of the LoM will be about $4 550/t or $2.06/lb copper equivalent metal sold.
The operating break-even grade is estimated at 0.99% copper equivalent.
This operating break-even grade is well below the average combined Uppers and Deeps Ore Reserve grade of 1.6% copper equivalent, applied in the production schedule. Sixtry-three percent of the revenue is from copper and 37% from zinc.
"Orion's Prieska project presents a unique value proposition with significant upside potential, perfectly aligning with the Industrial Development Corporation's (IDC's) Critical Minerals Plan.
"By leveraging existing infrastructure, the project is set to commence mining operations ahead of the previous bankable feasibility study schedule, accelerating value creation and delivering economic benefits. We remain committed to supporting this project and unlocking its full growth potential," IDC divisional executive industry planning and project development Rian Coetzee says in the DFS.
"It's an incredibly stro...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks Anglo American Platinum's belief that growing co-product revenue is helping to provide pushback against PGM price volatility; Namibia, India, China, Europe, Australia, Scotland and Bulgaria all advancing green hydrogen; and the steps la

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A robotic rig deployed at a project last year increased productivity by about 50% and consumed 75% less water than the more conventional rigs working on the same contract, Master Drilling director Koos Jordaan reported this week.
An image showing the robotic arm of the rig was displayed during this week's presentation of dividend-yielding, record $270.8-million revenue financial results for the 12 months to December 31.
In addition, Master Drilling's slim drilling robotic rig is moving to field trials in the second quarter of this year.
Interestingly, a company-developed slot-boring rig is being commissioned for larger diameter boxholes, and a low-profile rig is on a contract in Tanzania after being made available commercially last year.
Jordaan provided a far-reaching technology update for the drilling and mechanised rock excavation technology solutions company, which was established in 1986 and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited in 2012. Fochville-based, Master Drilling is active in close to 30 countries.
Covered during the presentation was company technology that is being advanced in rock boring, exploration drilling, shaft sinking, tunnelling, winch safety, digitalisation, efficiency upliftment, and technical investment across a broad front.
Technological advances are taking place amid the increased number of mines that are going underground requiring accelerated access to orebodies.
"It's important that we provide solutions for fast shaft and tunnelling access to underground orebodies, dilution reduction, and grade enrichment," Jordaan noted during the results presentation covered by Mining Weekly.
"For us to play an active role in this industry, focus on our automation, remote operation, and the robotics that we're driving in material handling, could make a big difference.
"There's also our understanding of what needs to happen in geophysics in exploration and in-hole data and information that's also important. How big data is treated and how value is generated from that by artificial intelligence is important," he added.
Master Drilling finds that clients with greater access to data have a bigger capability to be able to manage their operations in a safer and a more efficient manner.
"That being said, we also see risk in the implementation of solutions that are not brand agnostic. You can't have a project anymore that's operated in India and the servers are hosted in America," Jordaan opined.
TECH INVESTMENT
Being worked on are several raise-boring projects as well as engineering and design of a reverse circulation rig, which is required for specific shaft infrastructure construction. Engineering is also on the way for second-generation low-profile slot boring equipment.
Regarding shaft-sinking equipment, a 50 m test sink during the beginning of February is providing insight for commercialisation next year.
In tunnelling, a 5.5 m-diameter tunnel borer being advanced is heading for project mobilisation by the middle of theis year, and a completed 6.5 m-diameter tunnel boring design is awaiting inquiries.
Collaboration with Komatsu is also under way to identify the right opportunity to work together.
"In terms of cut and break, we're working in partnership with Element Six developing technology, and then also their consumables for tunneling applications, where we're very excited about the potential of this technology as a low-energy, non-explosive method.
"If you look at reef boring, we're busy assembling the system. We followed a staged approach where we've been successful on the milestones that we've set.
We'll do surface experimental testing with this unit, and then it should move to a field trial towards the end of the year. We're doing this work in collaboration with African Rainbow...

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The product basket of Anglo American Platinum contains eight more products then the five platinum group metals (PGMs) with which it is overwhelmingly associated.
Moreover, growing co-product revenue is helping to provide pushback against PGM price volatility.
"We mine and refine 13 products," Anglo American Platinum marketing and market development executive Hilton Ingram pointed out about the PGM mining and marketing company that is demerging into the standalone Valterra Platinum.
In addition to its five PGMs, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's products basket also contains gold, nickel, copper, chrome concentrate, three sulphates and one rare earth metal.
Gold is at a record high with a bullish outlook in uncertain times, nickel prospects are improving following recent developments that have shown that Indonesia is price sensitive, continuing increases in demand for stainless steel translate into demand for chrome, and there is insufficient copper to meet the demand the global electrification trend.
These co-products are all helping to provide resilience against PGM price volatility and the commodity price cycle, Ingram noted at this week;s Capital Markets Day, covered by Mining Weekly.
PGMs are, of course, at the heart of the business, accounting for 85% to 95% of revenue over the last five years. While platinum is the largest by volume, changing prices put palladium into the revenue lead in 2019, rhodium then took over that role in 2021, with of platinum grabbing back the top revenue position in 2024. Then ruthenium and iridium play big roles in satisfying industrial market demand
CATALYTIC CONVERTERS, OXYGEN SENSORS, SPARK PLUGS
A breakdown of PGM market demand shows that investment made up around 3% of total demand in 2024, and jewellery 5%.
Various industrial uses attracted 25% of PGM demand, with green hydrogen expected to grow that significantly in time.
However, by far the largest PGM user at present is the automotive sector, where PGMs are used in emission controlling catalytic converters, oxygen sensors and spark plugs.
During this time of unprecedented change in the automotive industry, Ingram said: "I'm going to give you reasons why the mood music around PGMs has changed and why we should be optimistic."
Automotive demand as a function of the number of vehicles produced, the share of those vehicles that are catalysed, and the PGM loadings per vehicle.
Trends show that global auto demand volumes could beat consensus forecasts, with Ingram outlining how market demand still overwhelmingly favours internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
On top of that, stricter emission standards and stepped-up testing are likely to lead to increased PGM loadings.
While historically, growth in global gross domestic product (GDP) has been accompanied by rising car sales volumes, today's consensus forecasts imply that an inflection point has been reached and that the age-old GDP-sales rise relationship will no longer hold.
"We asked the forecasters about the change: Is it because of mobility as a service? No, came the response.
"Is it self-driving vehicles? No, they said. These are still too far off to be affecting the forecast.
"So, what is changing? They attribute it to our changing relationship with cars, due to urbanisation, public transport and affordability. But that view assumes people buy cars purely for the utility of going from A to B and I'm not sure we do.
"If you've grown up poor, you know that cars represent more than just transport. They represent freedom and status.
"Our world is much bigger with a car. You have the freedom to go where you want, when you want. It's also a potent status symbol.
"Drive through the suburbs of Johannesburg today, and you see cars in the driveway that are...

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The Wits Mining Institute (WMI) has demonstrated to students and media the latest blasting initiation technology it is using in its simulated DigiMine as part of practical learning for students and in researching safer blasting practices.
The technology, which comprises the new-generation BlastWeb II system, as well as wireless detonators, has been supplied by electronic initiation company DetNet, which WMI has a long-standing collaborative partnership with.
The new blasting initiation system introduces various feature and functionality upgrades to its predecessor BlastWeb I, notably in terms of communication, monitoring, safety, security and integration with other systems in the mine.
Notably, some of the new features include centralised blasting from a control room, increased detonator capacity and accommodation for both wired and wireless detonators - the latter of which eliminates the need for surface wires and additional infrastructure.
The system also supports remote monitoring and reporting, all while being smaller in size than its predecessor and using magnetic transmissions for communication to ensure omni-directional coverage.
DetNet senior mining engineer Ntombifuthi Mathebula explained that each blast control unit of the BlastWeb II system had six channels, with one channel connecting up to 400 electronic detonators for a total capacity of 2 400 detonators.
DetNet first donated its BlastWeb I system to DigiMine in 2019 to train postgraduate students in its application and equip the future workforce with appropriate and practical skills based on real mining conditions.
DigiMine head Dr Ahsan Mahboob said exposing academics and future engineers to new technology was vital for mitigating against fall-of-ground incidents, which were still the primary cause of fatalities in the mining sector.
He emphasised the importance of collaboration and innovation among academia and industry to devise safer solutions for the sector, as well as other sectors that required detonation such as construction.
Mahboob said the BlastWeb II system, in particular, helped students to learn about the advanced digital aspects of mining technology, as well as contribute to more technology development, as DetNet plans to expand on the technology's functionality with input from WMI.
"DetNet's electronic initiation technology is an important part of modern blasting systems that makes mining safer while promoting sustainability and productivity," he added.
Notably, the use of BlastWeb by postgraduate researchers in the simulated mine conditions allowed them to explore possible avenues of integration with related mining systems such as ventilation and gas reticulation.
For example, post-blast conditions are often unsuitable for workers owing to dust and gases, delaying their return underground; however, integrated systems can allow for enhanced monitoring functions, real-time data generation and alignment between processes.
There are also opportunities to link blasting technologies to real-time geotechnical modelling to analyse post-blast rock stability. Advanced numerical modelling and simulations can optimise geotechnical conditions post-blast.
DetNet global market support manager Vinesh Naidoo advocated for more entrants in the mining industry to become aware of the benefits tied to electronic detonation and the advanced initiation systems available that can control blasting.
"[With] BlastWeb II, we embrace complex blast designs that deliver optimal results for miners, while also testing each detonator and blast from surface to ensure a safe and accurate blast with no misfires," Naidoo stated.
Mahboob added that the more precise blasting offered with the BlastWeb II system ensured more efficient use of resources and less waste,...

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Drilling and mechanised rock excavation technology solutions company Master Drilling, which was established in 1986 and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange Limited in 2012, has declared a 23%-higher nigh-R100-million 2024 dividend while also moving the needle impressively on South Africa's safety-enhancing and cost-cutting mining front.
While reporting record $270.8-million revenue and earnings of $58-million in the 12 months to December 31, Master Drilling has also engaged in helping to advance the rollout of new technology, which is expected to take people out of vulnerable areas, elevate grades, lower unit costs, streamline downstream materials handling, reduce tailings management, and offer a propensity to advance from mechanisation to automation.
Also announced on Tuesday, March 25, was a new global partnership with De Beers Group polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and ultra-hard materials manufacturer Element Six, a pioneer in the development and manufacturing of ultra-hard materials.
The pair intend to deliver diamond-enabled tunnelling that reduces waste rock generation.
In addition, very promising additional separate advances involving Master Drilling were outlined to Mining Weekly by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) executive: growth and strategic development in the executive chairperson's office Mike Schmidt following the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's presentation of financial results on March 10.
"Those two specific projects can really move the needle in this space," Master Drilling CEO Danie Pretorius enthused in a Zoom interviews with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
"In the medium term, we should be well positioned to help the mining industry to get down to some of those orebodies that were not accessible in the past," an upbeat Pretorius opined.
A novel tunnel boring machine (TBM) at ARM, the diversified mining company headed by Dr Patrice Motsepe, is expected to open up a narrow tabular dipping platinum group metals orebody to allow narrow-reef boring to take place, so that upper group two reef extraction is maximised and waste minimised.
Master Drilling's activity with ARM, as well as its widespread function in nearly 30 countries, has helped to provide it with stable $332.5-million order book and further extend its already extensive $695.8-million work pipeline involving innovative drilling technologies and mining solutions.
Meanwhile, Pretorius expressed pride in the maturation of the company's inventive home-grown drilling and cutting technologies and displayed steadfastness in the its determination to enhance safety, uplift productivity, and magnify cost-effectiveness.
Beyond its core technologies, the far-reaching Fochville-based Master Drilling has strategically invested in asset-light digital ventures that encompass proximity detection solutions and integrated data and resource management systems specifically designed for mining operations.
Mining Weekly: What should be the big takeaway from your 2024 financials?
Pretorius: The two financial indicators that stand out are the profitability of the business and the balance sheet. For a company this size to increase the dividend 23% to nearly R100-million, with five times cover, is very important.
Is the transition to the green economy still a big driver of business for Master Drilling?
There are quite a few initiatives that we're busy with in the green economy space. Top of mind is the ARM project, the reef-cutting project that we're busy with, which was mentioned in the interview you had with Mike Schmidt of ARM, and just some context on that. If we can successfully roll out that reef-cutting project, we can probably, in theory, halve the waste development of a mine. Typically, a 600 000 t mine c...

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Confidence in the outlook for platinum group metals (PGMs) was expressed at the capital market day of which Anglo American Platinum, which is on its way to becoming the demerged and stand-alone Valterra Platinum.
"The market fundamentals of supply and demand suggest upside to the current PGM basket price," CEO Craig Miller highlighted about a group of precious metals that touch lives globally in the form of platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and ruthenium.
Existing demand is stronger than we had previously forecast, with demand for PGMs in catalysts more robust, and use in a wide range of industrial applications continuing to grow in line with gross domestic product (GDP).
"As we look further out, we also see the prospect of new demand segments to support the energy transition and the technologies addressing climate change, we reinforce our outlook that the demand for our metals is strong and it's sustainable," an upbeat Miller stated during the presentation attended in-person by Mining Weekly.
"At the same time, we continue to see primary supply decline on the back of lower investments in existing and new assets across the sector, while secondary supply, which comes from the recycling market, continues to under deliver against forecasts.
"We therefore believe that there will continue to be deficits in the balance between the PGM supply and demand, particularly in platinum and rhodium, which gives us positive outlook for PGM prices.
"So, as we go forward, we do have a differentiated value proposition. Firstly, we have an outstanding asset base being clear around the role of each asset within the portfolio and the investments that we continue to make to grow as well as sustain our asset integrity, supporting the continued delivery of steady production.
"In addition, our global marketing organisation delivers the right solutions for our customers and helps us maximise the value potential from every single ounce that we produce.
"Secondly, we've got the capabilities and the discipline to make the most out of that asset base. The primary objective is to make sure that all our managed operations remain in the most competitive part of the cost curve. This sets us up for through the cycle profitability, realising superior earnings margins.
"Thirdly, we bring our assets and our capabilities together with a strong balance sheet, with a clear capital allocation framework and a real discipline in how we execute.
"That should translate into a consistent and leading shareholder returns and great prospects for all our stakeholders.
"We have mine plans that give us a clear pathway to multiple decades of production. I'm grateful we don't have the reserve replacement challenges of many of our precious metal peers, and instead, can focus on optimising the full potential from our outstanding endowment. We also have a great balance. We have enough breadth in the portfolio to give us the diversification and a wide range of options to enhance value.
"Our marketing business provides a real connection to our customers and helps us to shape the demand for PGMs in a deliberate way. We have the team. We have the systems and the plans in place to position each one of our assets in the first half of the cost.
"In an industry that is unlikely to see significant sources of new supply, and we're low where the low hanging fruits on costs has already been taken out, this gives us the assurance of delivering cash through the cycle.
"We've put in place a new organisation structure, which is set up to make the most of our status as an independent company through efficient governance, clear accountability and a new level of agility.
"All of this sits behind our commitment to continue to deliver on our action plan, which involves a further R4...

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Namibia has produced its first green hydrogen; India has announced subsidies worth $259-million for its nine second green hydrogen auction winners; China has fired the starting gun on a new era of long-distance hydrogen-powered freight transport; Europe has put forward a "non-price" innovation for green hydrogen-based steel; Australia has picked a Hydrogen Headstart programme winner; Scotland has placed an order for a hydrogen electrolyser; and Bulgaria is stepping on to the hydrogen stage.
Mining Weekly can report that these current month developments have been announced amid a large number of less recent announcements, and also arise against the background of this month's South Africa-European Union Summit in Cape Town, where European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen stated in direct reference to South Africa: "You have clean energy in abundance, from wind to sun. You have raw materials that are critical for electrolysers, including 91% of the world's PGM reserves, and you have a rising industry to produce clean hydrogen and strong export ambitions." The summit, hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, positions South Africa as a future supplier of platinum-based green hydrogen to the European Union (EU).
Interestingly, green hydrogen was first generated in South Africa as long ago as 2012 by HySA with the help of a platinum-based electrolyser, with platinum group metals going hand-in-glove with green hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells under the proton exchange membrane (PEM) flag.
The number of people working in platinum mining has doubled from 85 000 in 1988 to 183 000 in 2023. (Also see attached infographic.)
In Namibia, HyIron's Oshivela green hydrogen plant is using a 12 MW electrolyser from China's Peric Hydrogen Systems.
In India, none of nine companies that have won three-year subsidy payments for green hydrogen production has bid for the maximum subsidy across all three years, and those that bid for the maximum for one or two of the years brought down their overall average by requesting extremely low subsidies in other years.
In China, a new era of long-distance, non-stop 1 000 km-plus hydrogen truck travel has been entered. Advantages the refuelling advantage include full system diagnostics integration, and weight reduction.
In Europe, chemicals giant BASF has commissioned Europe's largest green hydrogen project at its Ludwigshafen complex in southwest Germany. The 54 MW PEM electrolyser supplied by Siemens Energy has more than twice the capacity of Yara's 24 MW PEM electrolyser in Norway, which previously held the title for Europe's largest completed green hydrogen project. In addition, German power utility RWE, in partnership with France's TotalEnergies, is advancing more than 30 green hydrogen projects. At the heart of the partnership is RWE's 300 MW Lingen electrolyser, which is expected to be operational in 2027. Moreover, EC last week presented an action plan to foster demand for EU steel products under the Industrial Decarbonisation Accelerator Act.
In Australia, Western Australia's ambitions to become a global clean energy powerhouse received a major boost with the federal government awarding A$814-million in production incentives to the 1 500 MW Murchison green hydrogen project. The funding forms part of the Hydrogen Headstart programme, designed to accelerate large-scale renewable hydrogen projects by bridging the commercial gap between production costs and market prices.
In Scotland, the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub project, a scalable green hydrogen production, storage and distribution facility powered by renewable energy, is being delivered through a joint venture between bp and Aberdeen City Council. For this, Hydrasun has awarded a purchase order to Nel Hydrogen for a 2.5 MW cont...

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Shifting investment priorities and geopolitical uncertainty continue to shape the outlook for commodities, with platinum group metals (PGMs) facing unique pressures, Nedbank CIB markets research head Arnold van Graan reported on Thursday, March 20, when he described the mood in the PGMs sector as "remaining subdued".
On the one hand, supply is tightening and changing demand dynamics could push prices higher, and on the other hand, investor sentiment remains lacklustre, shaped more by short-term volatility than by the market's long-term trajectory, Van Graan outlined, while noting that this disconnect was evident in discussions at Mining Week in Cape Town, where industry leaders debated the risks and opportunities facing PGMs.
The divergence between short-term sentiment and long-term fundamentals is seen as being at the core of the PGM price conundrum.
Supply constraints are becoming more evident, particularly in South Africa, where ageing mines and years of underinvestment are limiting future production growth.
While no large-scale closures have been announced, rising costs and operational hurdles could soon drive further restructuring.
Markets tend to respond sharply when supply cuts become unavoidable, and history suggests that these turnarounds can take a long time to materialise but can be market-moving when they realise.
HYBRID VEHICLES
On the demand side, the hype around battery electric vehicles (BEVs) rapidly replacing internal combustion engine vehicles has softened.
While BEV growth continues, adoption is slowing owing to cost pressures, infrastructure challenges, and consumer hesitation.
Meanwhile, hybrid vehicles, which still require PGMs, are gaining market share and becoming a bigger part of the market mix.
Revised forecasts suggest that hybrid technology will remain essential to the transition to cleaner mobility, ensuring continued PGM demand.
With the platinum demand outlook evolving, there is a shift away from palladium, largely owing to geopolitical concerns over Russian supply.
Western automakers are reducing their reliance on Russian-sourced palladium, making platinum the preferred alternative.
While platinum's historical price discount to palladium was a key driver of this shift, concerns over supply security are now taking precedence, reinforcing platinum's position in long-term supply chains.
RECYCLING
Recycling, once a stable secondary supply source, has become less predictable. High used-car prices and reduced scrappage rates have constrained the availability of recycled PGMs.
Unlike past cycles, where price rallies quickly led to increased recycling, the pipeline of recyclable material has been depleted.
Rebuilding these supply chains requires time and capital, both of which are scarce in the current higher-interest-rate environment, making recycling a less effective market stabiliser.
Russian PGMs continue to flow into global markets despite sanctions, with supply routes shifting towards China and other non-Western-aligned countries.
Although these shifts have created short-term imbalances, history suggests that markets always find equilibrium.
Meanwhile, potential trade policy shifts in the US could introduce further volatility and uncertainty to a complex market.
HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELLS
Hydrogen and fuel cell technology remain long-term demand drivers, but their immediate impact is limited.
While industrial applications for PGMs are expanding, they are not yet large enough to offset declines in traditional autocatalyst consumption.
For now, the sale of vehicles that contain PGMs remains a primary demand driver, and any shifts in automotive trends should continue to have a material impact on PGM prices.
Investor hesitation continues to define this cycle. Despite clear signs of t...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks platinum recently being given a major boost with EU backing; the London Bullion Market Association calling for action along the entire gold value chain; and mindfulness, alertness, watchfulness and uptake being needed more than ever.

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With the gold price soaring sky-high, insight into the global gold assaying and refining standards that need to be upheld were intensively communicated at the conference this week of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which proactively ensures gold market integrity, transparency and trust.
In providing this crucial insight, it was most interesting to hear the name of South Africa's Rand Refinery being mentioned in a renowned manner because of its 22 years of service as an LBMA gold market referee.
"Referees are an integral part of the work of the LBMA on the technical side of things," LBMA CTO Neil Harby, himself a former long-serving Rand Refinery technical assurance executive, pointed out.
In addition, Metalor Technologies of Switzerland's laboratory, trace analysis and metallurgy manager Daniela Manara, and LBMA's physical and technical services officer Hannah Coakley, outlined how good delivery, quality and integrity issues have, up to now, been proactively dealt with by Rand Refinery and four other refiners. However, because of the considerable workload, two additional referees were added to the referee list during the event.
"The LBMA plays a critical role in the precious metals market, ensuring quality, transparency and trust, but the referees are at the heart of this. They are acting as the gatekeepers who uphold the highest standards in bullion production and certification," Coakley said at the London event covered by Mining Weekly.
"The referees are key advisors to the LBMA, and throughout my five years in this role, a personal focus for me has been to continue the work of ensuring that the relationship between LBMA and the referees group continues to strengthen and develop.
"I believe that the referees group is unique in that competitors work together for the good of the industry and the market.
"Without this collaboration, the global gold and silver market would lack the credibility and reliability that makes it one of the most trusted investment spaces today," Coakley added.
As reported by Mining Weekly last year, Rand Refinery, as the owner of one of the world's largest integrated single-site precious metals refining and smelting complexes, is mitigating environmental impact by introducing renewable energy, with the South African gold refiner intent on reducing carbon emissions by 9 000 t to 11 000 t through growing its solar photovoltaic plant to a capacity of at least 5.4 MW. Importantly, the certified gold and silver chain-of-custody of the Rand Refinery, which was established in Germiston in 1920, is independently audited.
Regarding proactive gold-bar adjudicating, Coakley had this to say: "It's important to know that the referee and the applicant don't have any direct contact, and that the referees are never aware of the applicant name at any stage of the process, ensuring complete anonymity."
POROSITY RAISING CONCERNS
Worryingly, a hot topic which has recently raised concerns is the porosity and micro porosity of gold bars and interestingly, once again it is the Rand Refinery is part of the group that has been meeting to discuss how to deal with what has seemingly been brought about as a result of gold bars being produced in continuous induction furnaces rather than being conventionally cast.
While conventionally cast gold bars almost never contain porosity, bars produced in continuous induction furnaces often contained porosity, or micro porosity, the degree of which depends on the exact operating perimeters of a particular system.
With the increase in the use of induction furnace technology in the last decade, the presence of micro porosity in large bars was becoming more of a concern.
"The rejection of bars containing micro porosity in recent years, either by the LBMA as pa...

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In the next ten years, renewable energy market growth indications point to 30 GW of clean power capacity coming into play.
That is the calculation of Leon Groenewald, the MD of Exxaro Energy, the renewables division within the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Exxaro Resources, which hosts Cennergi, a business that develops, finances, builds, owns, and operates bespoke and holistic projects that lower the cost of electricity through renewables partnerships and reduce carbon emissions.
Cennergi's stated mission is to build on its existing renewable assets and competencies in South Africa, while providing renewable-energy solutions to the private and public sectors locally, and in select global markets.
The operating wind assets of this business last year lifted revenue by more than R1.4-billion through the generation of 725 GWh of electricity, at an earnings margin of 80%.
Against that background, this question was asked during last week's Exxaro media conference, which followed Exxaro reporting a higher 2024 net cash position of R16.3-billion, up from 2023's R14.8-billion.
Mining Weekly: Do you foresee significant growth in your renewables business?
Groenewald: The answer is yes. Indications of the market growth over the next ten years for renewables is, let's call it, circa 30 GW, so we certainly think this is a market to target. Wind, if you can get it, is preferable, but if you look at the energy mix that is forecast, probably 60% to 70% is going to be solar. What we think will happen with solar is that, as the price of battery storage decreases, the combination of solar and battery storage will be able to compete with wind and also in terms of the time of use. So, we're certainly bullish about the wind and solar part of the equation, and we see battery storage as a rising star in the next couple of years. We already see it in Eskom. If you look at the tenders that Eskom issued and awarded, certainly in Bid Window 2, there's a significant reduction in tariffs already, so we've started to see the benefits of the combination of solar and battery storage developing.
BATTERY STORAGE
Battery storage, or battery energy storage systems (BESS), are devices that enable energy from solar and wind renewables to be stored and then released when the power is needed most.
BESS, which is said to seamlessly integrate with renewable energy sources, optimising their utilisation, minimising waste, and bolstering grid reliability, swiftly addresses grid challenges like under voltages, overloads, and reactive power deficits by injecting or absorbing power.
MINING TICKING THE BOX
Last year, group renewables capacity was increased to more than 437 MW by entering into a partnership with G7 Energies at Karreebosch Wind Farm, in the Western Cape, to provide platinum group metals (PGM) company Northam Platinum with 140 MW to power to its PGM mines for 20 years.
Moreover, the 68 MW Lephalale solar project at Exxaro's own Grootegeluk coal mine is on track to cut Scope 2 emissions by 161 000 t/y from mid-2025 and group wind asset project financing is expected to be settled by 2031.
Mining Weekly: In view of you doing a great deal with mining company Northam Platinum, are you going to focus more on mines in growing your renewables business? Is mining a good business area?
Groenewald: In terms of offtake, mines are generally larger offtakers, so certainly that ticks the box. From a counter-party credit risk, Northam is a very credible offtaker. But large industrials certainly come into play, and you'll see some of our colleagues in industry, particularly Noa Capital, which is backed by AIIM, doing the trader market. We also see that market as a precursor to the wholesale market that is developed, and therefore you can introduce offtak...

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In terms of sustainability and responsible sourcing, the 2025 focus of the independent London-based precious metals association - the LBMA - will be on mandatory disclosure, recycled gold and auditor consistency, the association's assaying and refining conference heard on Monday, March 17.
"Our sustainability and responsible sourcing strategy is ambitious, and we know we cannot do it alone. We need action from the entire global value chain, from 'rock to ring'", were words flashed across the screen where South Africa's Rand Refinery is being highlighted as a top sponsor. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
LBMA stands for the London Bullion Market Association, an international trade association representing the global over-the-counter bullion market for gold and silver, with a focus on setting standards and promoting integrity in the precious metals industry.
What was lound and clear is that investors seeking shelter from political and economic volatility are increasingly moving into gold.
"Many of you are aware that the gold price is over $3 000, as of Friday," LBMA CE Ruth Crowell told the 250-delegate conference, covered by Mining Weekly.
"You may also have been aware that lease rates were at their all-time high, and part of that is there's been so much metal in motion from all over the world into the United States that it started to prompt so many headlines about is London running out of gold", even though the actual decrease in London's gold holdings was only 1.74%, which the world would not have known were it not for the invaluable transparency that LBMA is providing.
"I'm delighted to say one of my key achievements has been bringing more transparency to the market. It's a 300-year-old market, but it's only recently that we started publishing vault holding stocks, as well as trade data," Crowell pointed out, which meant that when the true numbers went out on Friday, the world was able to take note of the moderate 1.74% reality, which proved mollifying.
"You instantly saw a calming in the market in terms of people knowing where they stood," Crowell enthused.
While this may not necessarily have been stimulating data in the days preceding current geopolitical turbulence, it's hugely sought after in this period of global disruption, which renders the LBMA's strong recent drive towards transparency very rewarding.
GOLD BAR INTEGRITY DATABASE
On the gold bar front, Crowell expressed delight in being able to reiterate that the LBMA's gold bar integrity database, the journey of which began ahead of the Covid pandemic, was launched in January.
"I'm even more delighted to say over 50% of refiners are already on board, and the rest have already engaged and are getting there.
"My favorite comment over the last few months, in terms of what's happened since the launch, is just how easy it is to do.
"But for those of you who are still a little confused, It's about creating transparency and trust in the gold that we all treasure.
"LBMA's role in that ecosystem is to robustly and efficiently collect the data we currently receive from you as refiners, both in terms of responsible sourcing as well as production numbers, financial net worth, in a secure, transparent database that the team can interrogate more smoothly.
"Some of the biggest use cases for this data is for anyone trying to ensure sanctions compliance, as well as customs compliance, something that certainly started as a focus with the outbreak of war in the Ukraine, but also in terms of this uncertain world we live in when it comes to tariffs. So, all of this is about driving trust and transparency and ensuring the robustness of the market," Crowell emphasised.
TRADING TUBULANCE FORECAST TO CONTINUE
LBMA's drive is poised to be of benefit to the preci...

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South Africa's world-leading platinum group metals (PGM) endowment received a major when European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen referred specifically to clean energy and green hydrogen forming the main part of this week's R94-billion (€4.7-billion) new investments package at the European Union-South Africa Summit in Cape Town.
Amid annual trade between South Africa and the European Union being close to the €50-billion with 98% of South African exports to the European Union being duty- and quota-free, Von der Leyen spoke of beneficiation of South Africa's metal and mineral beneficiation that would be required would in the creation of quality South African jobs.
The Clean Trade and Investment Partnership would, she said, support South Africa's need to add more value to local production in South Africa, for instance in the clean hydrogen value chain.
"You have clean energy in abundance, from wind to sun. You have raw materials that are critical for electrolysers, including 91% of the world's platinum group metal reserves, and you have a rising industry to produce clean hydrogen and strong export ambitions."
Von der Leyen added that European companies interested in investing in South Africa needed the incentives that the Clean Trade and Investment Partnership would provide to stimulate investments in clean energy, raw materials and green hydrogen.
Von der Leyen's comments have been made against the background South Africa's PGMs having the catalytic qualities to first produce green hydrogen and then turn it into unbleamished electricity with the only byproduct being water.
Crucially, an interlinking note from the World Platinum Investment Council highlights the widespread examples of PGM usage across the hydrogen value chain along with associated applications fully endorses the far-reaching observations by Von der Leyen, who was accompanied by European Council President António Costa at the European Union-South Africa Summit and hosted by South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa in Cape Town.
During the summit, the European Union and South Africa agreed to start talks as part of a clean trade and investment partnership, with South Africa being the world's first country to sign such a partnership that focuses on the clean energy transition, skills, technology, as well as on developing strategic industries along the entire supply chain - thus creating good jobs in South Africa and Africa.
Mining Weekly can report that the bulk of the €4.7-billion global gateway investment package - €4.4-billion, in fact - will be invested in projects supporting South Africa's crucial Just Energy Transition and represents a significant pledge in the context of the Scaling up Renewables in Africa campaign, launched by Von der Leyen and Ramaphosa on the margins of the G20 Summit in Rio.
Partnering with the international advocacy organisation Global Citizen and being backed by the International Energy Agency will culminate with a major pledging event at the upcoming G20 Summit in Johannesburg in November.
The Global Gateway package also focuses on connectivity infrastructure - both physical and digital- and on uplifting the local pharmaceutical industry. The Global Gateway Initiative is a strategy by the European Union to invest in infrastructure projects worldwide.
HYDROGEN VALUE CHAIN AND PLATINUM GROUP METALS
Owing to its versatility as a fuel, chemical feedstock and energy carrier, the World Platinum Investment Council points out that hydrogen - the planet's most abundant element - is essential for the energy transition, especially when produced as green hydrogen from renewable energy sources.
This is because PGMs are critical for enabling the use of green hydrogen to achieve decarbonisation goals.
PGMs are used across...

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"King coal is back!" Mineral Resources and Petroleum Minister Gwede Mantashe exclaimed at the ribbon cutting of coal producer Seriti's new Naudesbank colliery, near Carolina, in Mpumalanga, on March 14.
Mantashe, enthused by the opening of a new colliery at a time when global politics and markets are increasingly anti-fossil fuels, expressed his support for a more balanced approach to energy security - one which still relies on coal-based power for baseload.
He also expressed his support of the coal mining industry as a source of continued direct and indirect employment, as well as investments by mining companies into the surrounding communities, building roads, clinics, schools and other critical infrastructure.
Mantashe acknowledged the challenges and constraints of the fiscus in addressing these crucial aspects of building a functional society and alleviating poverty, and freely admitted to Seriti CEO Mike Teke that it was on the backs of private companies such as Seriti that government depended to execute meaningful service delivery and harvest taxes.
"When you open a new mine Mike, I want you to make money. Bring it in as quickly as possible. Make money so that we can impose more obligations on you," the Minister said.
Speaking at the launch, Mantashe said that although his communist ideology - and that of the African National Congress - might be at odds with the capitalist nature of private mining companies, it was a necessary compromise to further the goals of the National Democratic Revolution.
"People say, 'What kind of a communist are you, who promotes making money?' But I'm not idealistic. I'm realistic and pragmatic and dealing with real life. Mines must make work properly, make money, employ more people and meet their obligations," he said.
"Mining is not there to create jobs. It must make money, and in the process of making money, it must employ people. In the process of making money, they must fulfil all the obligations that are imposed on them. If they are not going to make money, those obligations are not going to be fulfilled," Mantashe said.
Although he emphasised that the primary function of mining was not job creation but rather economic growth, he expressed his desire to see an increase in mining employment figures.
"In 2024, the mining industry directly employed a total 484 837. If you add indirect employment, it goes above one million. This is a number that should improve. When you open a new mine, I make sure that I come. I want to see that it's really open because it's going to employ more people, and that number is going to improve," he said.
He noted that although miners like Anglo American and BHP were moving away from coal mining, South African miners such as Seriti, Exxaro Resources and Thungela continued to invest in coal mining.
"That is the emergence of black ownership which is responding to the disadvantages of Apartheid," Mantashe said.
He insisted that, despite the prevailing narrative that coal is dead, it was on the rise.
"There has been a discussion of the accelerated exit of coal mining. Major companies have been pulling out of coal, out of fear. But I'm telling you, coal is not declining - it's growing. The discussion is shifting from purely climate change discussions to a more balanced approach, which is development plus responsible mining. That means you protect the environment, but you mine. Because if you don't mine, you have no capacity to protect the environment," Mantashe said.
Teke agreed.
"At the Investing in African Mining Indaba [in February, in Cape Town], there was a conversation about 'What is a critical mineral?' and they were counting lithium [and others]. I said 'Coal is critical, because for you to mine the others you need the energy that is genera...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses African Rainbow Minerals's new narrow-reef boring technology; the strong belief that South Africa can return to being a global ferroalloy hub; and Exxaro uplifting small business, schools, post-mining economies, farming, and more.

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JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - Mining veteran Bennetor (Ben) Magara has been appointed as the new incoming CEO of Exxaro Resources, effective from April 1.
Magara, a mining engineer with more than 35 years of mining industry experience, will succeed acting CEO Riaan Koppeschaar, who will continue in his role as Exxaro FD.
A former CEO of Lonmin and Anglo Coal South Africa, and former executive engineering and projects head for Anglo American Platinum, Magara is chairperson of Africa Mining & Metals and also serves as nonexecutive director on the boards of Weir and Grindrod.
With soft and hard rock mining experience at underground and opencast operations, Magara has a reputation for driving operational excellence and providing strategic leadership. He is credited with doing so at multiple large mining operations from his early days at Anglo American Coal and most recently, and notably, the stabilisation, restructuring, and turnaround of Lonmin plc and its subsequent disposal to Sibanye Stillwater, creating the world's largest PGM producer.
In 2020, Magara founded Africa Mining & Metals, a mining and advisory company focused on battery metals and precious metals.
He has also spent several years in the Democratic Republic of Congo's mining industry advising in the Copperbelt. He will remain an independent nonexecutive director at Weir Plc, a FTSE100 company, and will step down from the board of Grindrod as of April 1.
Exxaro chairperson Geoffrey Qhena spoke of Magara bringing a wealth of mining leadership, and global board and governance experience to Exxaro, along with a reputation for impeccable integrity.
"We're confident Ben will stabilise the organisation and continue to drive forward our growth and sustainability strategy, particularly with the knowledge he brings from being chairman of our investment committee," Qhena added in an Exxaro media release to Mining Weekly on Thursday, March 13.
Qhena also emphasised that Magara's extensive experience as an engineer, mine manager, corporate leader, and listed company CEO, would be valuable to Exxaro as it continues to maximise the value of its current assets while accelerating prudent transition into a diversified minerals and renewable energy solutions business.
Exxaro lead independent director and nomination committee member Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi described Magara as a seasoned mining executive who is highly regarded for his people skills and emphasis on teamwork and collaboration and expressed delight that his appointment had the unanimous support of the Exxaro board. "As trusted and experienced CEO, he has excellent knowledge of the company and industry and is well-prepared to lead," Fraser-Moleketi added.
Meanwhile, Koppeschaar was thanked by Qhena for playing "a sterling role" as acting CEO.
The announcement of Magara as the new CEO coincided with Exxaro - a large South Africa-based diversified resources group, with interests in the coal, energy and ferrous markets - releasing its reviewed condensed group financial statements for the year ended December 31.

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The rollout of new narrow-reef boring technology, which has the potential to boost platinum group metal (PGM) grades, lower unit costs, enhance safety, and streamline downstream materials handling, will commence at Bokoni Platinum Mines in Limpopo in January.
African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) executive: growth and strategic development in the executive chairperson's office Mike Schmidt outlined this during question time following the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's presentation of financial results on March 10, which was covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
A novel tunnel boring machine (TBM) will open up Bokoni's narrow tabular dipping PGM orebody to allow narrow-reef boring to take place, so that upper group two (UG2) reef extraction is maximised and low PGM content waste minimised.
PGM ounces are concentrated in a very narrow 60 cm reef width. By targeting the high-grade UG2 reef and minimising dilution, the mined stoping grade can be uplifted by as much as 60%.
Bokoni PGM mine's UG2 is being grasped as the opportunity to implement what is perceived to be a paradigm shifter that will take people out of the stopes, open the way for explosion-free mining, lift grade and even shrink tailings requirements.
"We'll start cutting by January. We're very positive that this is not only going to be a change towards safer, more rapid, more cost-effective mining, but also far more profitable mining, not only for ARM, but for the industry at large," an upbeat Schmidt enthused.
Conventionally, only a two-metre advance can be achieved a day, which prompted ARM to tailor TBM technology to suit Bokoni's narrow tabular dipping UG2 reef.
The ready-built TBM is now scheduled to be mobilised by end of next month, "at the latest", and to start cutting by the end of July, paving the way for the introduction of narrow-reef boring in January, by narrow-reef boring machines that will be equipped with position sensing and steering capabilities to follow the UG2 reef horizon.
Interestingly, the new technology also comes with distinct downstream handling advantages, reduced tailings management, as well as a propensity to advance from mechanisation to automation.
A benefit of reef boring is consistent rock chip size, which eliminates the need for underground rock breakers and crushers and provides the option to pump rock chips directly to concentrator plants.
Performance targets have been based on a typical mechanised stoping crew at a bord-and-pillar operation where 15 000 t a month would be typically achieved and a grade of about 3.3 g/t, which provides the equivalent of 50 kg of PGMs a month, or 1 600 oz.
ARM has partnered with Herrenknecht, a German company known for designing and manufacturing tunnel boring machines, and Master Drilling, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed South African company that specialises in reef boring solutions.
Herrenknecht has addressed the cross sectional challenge by using three overlapping cut heads in one frame, while Master Drilling has focused on attaining a rectangular cut profile instead of a circular one. Both approaches aimed at increasing production and reducing waste.

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South Africa has extensively tested highly convincing home-grown smelting technology that has the potential to re-establish this country as a global ferroalloys hub by enabling it to produce quality, low-cost, ferromanganese and ferrochrome - and even some forms of steel to boot, African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) Ferrous CE Andre Joubert highlighted very explicitly in an interview with Mining Weekly.
Joubert's firm stand follows the comment of Glencore Operations South Africa CEO Japie Fullard during question time at Merafe Resources' presentation of 2024 financial results on Monday, March 10, that the results of the pilot testing of the new Proudly South African SmeltDirect technology are "looking great".
The Glencore team spent the whole of last week at the operation where chemical reactions rather than large electricity volumes smelt ore.
"I must say that the partnership that we've got is really working well," Fullard enthused.
Very importantly, the partnership involves ARM and Glencore commercialising SmeltDirect, which when retrofitted to existing smelters lowers the electricity requirement substantially, reduces costs to a level that could invite the competitive recommissioning of many of South Africa's idled ferroalloy smelters, and opens the way for considerably greater environmental protection by driving down carbon emission.
"We've made fantastic progress," said Joubert, who is exceedingly bullish about the prospect of the new technology creating a platform for South Africa's return, in significantly competitive fashion, to the ferroalloy renown this country once enjoyed - and some.
"This is something that can revitalise all the dormant plants that we've closed down over many years in South Africa," he noted.
Capital cost hinges largely on the production volume required, with work done putting capital at about $175-million to $180-million per 200 000 tons a year (t/y), a fraction of what it would cost to establish a new greenfield plant from scratch.
"We can revive existing plants in the exact area where they are. Infrastructure is already there, licensing and all those things are already in place, so if we really want to, we can accelerate this quite hard," Joubert outlined.
Every detailed due diligence undertaken has concluded that the technology will work.
"We've been doing detailed work with Glencore for the past month, and I think we'll be able to give you some news by the end of May to say whether we're going to advance this project to a commercial state or not," Joubert forecast.
Mining Weekly: Will ARM be reviving its own Machadodorp smelting complex in Mpumalanga?
Joubert: That's what we're planning and that's the engagement we're having with Glencore right now, that both companies develop this together.
Is this partnership approach open to others?
We haven't gone to that level yet, and I guess once we've done this preliminary work, we'll make those announcements.
To what extent is this technology more environment-friendly than conventional technology?
This is one of those almost unintended benefits of this whole process. Obviously, our initial focus was to get the electricity improvement, but through this process, we now find, just on the chrome side, that by just using anthracite, we'll be 35% less carbon-emitting than conventional processes, and we can take a further step using charcoal as a reductant agent, which will bring us down by 65%. Because a big whack of energy is no longer required, you can then apply green electricity to that, so you can almost come down to carbon zero, or at least be carbon neutral. But I'm not putting out today that next week it will be carbon neutral. We're going to take this first process sort of conventionally and then bring it down by 35%. We've already d...

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The results of the pilot testing of a new Proudly South African smelting technology, which lowers electricity usage and has the potential to render local ferroalloy beneficiation globally competitive once more, were described as "looking great" during question time at Merafe Resources' presentation of 2024 financial results on Monday, March 10.
These words were uttered amid Merafe reporting that global stainless-steel production increased in the period, as did demand for ferrochrome, the feedstock on which it depends. Stainless steel is used almost everywhere in modern life, from nuclear reactors to exhaust pipes, architecture, kitchenware and a host of other applications.
South Africa's major advantage is that it hosts most of the world's chrome resources and chrome is regarded as a metallurgical major in the manner in which it brings critical properties to the metals with which it is alloyed.
Against that background, South Africa became the world's leading ferrochrome producer at a time when South Africa was one of world's lowest cost producers of electricity.
At one stage, installed ferrochrome capacity was 4.8-million tons. Getting back to that competitively would be of substantial benefit to the South African economy and should be implemented, many say, as part of a public-private programme.
London- and Johannesburg-listed Glencore owns 28.82% of Merafe and South Africa's State-owned Industrial Development Corporation 21.88%.
Merafe has a 20.15% stake in the Glencore-Merafe Joint Venture, which produced some 1.5-million tons of ferrochrome in the 12 months to December 31 but has the capacity to produce considerably more with the right technology.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company is currently reviewing smelting operations, leveraging technology for optimisation and cost reduction, and focusing on environmental sustainability, which includes a new solar plant.
Asked by an analyst about the extent to which the envisaged 100 MW renewables project would provide the venture's power needs, assuming all 22 furnaces are operational, Merafe FD Ditabe Chocho responded that although it would be a fraction of what the smelters need to produce, it would be sizable enough to make a difference towards cost reduction and decarbonisation.
"Our total requirements, from a smelters point of view, are in the region of 800 MW to 900 MW," Chocho added.
Pilot trialling to date has indicated that by retrofitting Proudly South African SmeltDirect to smelters can slash their electricity requirement by up to 70%, take them to the low end of the cost curve, and render them far more environment-friendly.
In the meantime, South Africa's once leading status in the global ferrochrome field has been reduced to having to export increasing volumes of raw ore and decreasing volumes of ferrochrome, which is of considerably higher valued and which is easier to transport.
SmeltDirect is seen as potentially being able to put the emphasis back on not only value-added ferrochrome production but also ferromanganese and other ferroalloys.
Merafe reiterated during question time, after presenting a 62% decrease in basic earnings per share to 26.7c, its preference is to convert chrome ore into value-adding ferrochrome.
"Our first prize will always be to convert the chrome into ferrochrome because we believe, from a South African perspective, ferrochrome production should happen in South Africa," Glencore Operations South Africa CEO Japie Fullard emphasised in reply to an analyst.
Asked by Mining Weekly about the trialling of the new SmeltDirect technology, which some say has the potential to restore South Africa to its former ferroalloy glory, Fullard was called upon by Chocho to respond and this is what he said: "I'm sure you're well a...

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Dr Patrice Motsepe, the executive chairperson of the diversified mining company African Rainbow Minerals, on Friday expressed confidence that platinum group metal (PGM) prices will increase in the medium to long term.
"We're confident that, in the medium to long term, the pricing of our PGM metals will increase and it's a business that we have confidence in.PGMs are part of our of our portfolio of assets that we run and operate that we think will do well.
"I often get asked questions by our share with us about Bokoni and what we've said over the years is that Bokoni is a world-class orebody and we're confident that once some of the plans that we have and some of the strategies that we have in the medium to long term, it will create value for shareholders," Motsepe outlined.
To preserve cash in the current PGM price environment, major expansion plans at the Bokoni PGMs mine have been deferred and a Section 189 process to right-size the mine has commenced.
In the six months to the end of December, ARM Platinum's headline earnings fell 144% to record a R680-million loss compared with the corresponding period of financial year (FY) 2024.
Overall headline earnings for the six months decreased by 49% to R1 520-million and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company, which has net cash of R6 073-million, declared an interim dividend of R4 50 a share amounting to R1 011-million for the first half of its FY 2025.
"The declaration of dividends goes hand-in-hand with an important investment in the future.
"We invest in the minerals that we have, including others that we are pursuing, and you have to take a long-term perspective, particularly the context of PGMS, but also in all minerals," Motsepe said during the presentation of half-year results covered by Mining Weekly.
ARM mines and beneficiates iron-ore, manganese ore, chrome ore, PGMs, nickel and coal and also has a strategic investment in gold through Harmony Gold Mining, which Motsepe also chairs.
"The pricing can be very cyclical. We've been in this business for more than 30 years, and we understand it.
"During the good times, we invest in the future, and during the difficult times, that's when there are opportunities, but also that's the time when companies with a strong balance sheet and world-class management will always perform well."
The lower average realised export iron-ore prices and stronger rand-dollar exchange rate were partially offset by higher manganese ore and alloy prices.
Construction of ARM Platinum's 100MW solar photovoltaic facility is progressing on schedule, with the first power delivery expected in August.
With the definitive feasibility study for renewable energy at ARM Ferrous was completed in December, various funding models and energy mix options are being reviewed.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses Harmony Gold’s R3-billion investment in its South African assets; Northam Platinum's significant solar energy plans that will save it R700-million a yea; and the World Platinum Investment Council reporting that the platinum market is

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South Africa's biggest gold mining company is well down the track with its solar build amid group operating free cash flows increasing by 46% to a new half-year record of R10.4-billion in the six months to December 31.
"We've got our strategy and our net zero well mapped out," Harmony CEO Beyers Nel told Mining Weekly in a one-on-one interview following his maiden presentation of stellar financial results on Tuesday, March 4. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Nel said of the company's recent turning of the first sod for a green-loan-supported 100 MW solar plant: "Our programme is rolling out and we're going at this as fast as we can. Our mines are deep and energy intensive, so for us, it's not necessarily getting the mines, in the near term, totally off the Eskom grid, but it's about reducing our exposure to the price of electricity.
"Green electrons are not only green, they're also cost-effective, and it makes a huge difference to our power cost, so we're growing our renewable energy as fast as we can," Nel added.
Regarding Tuesday's record-laden achievement, Nel was, first-and-foremost, keen to acknowledge the contribution of Harmony's employees, labour unions, shareholders, board members and "everyone else", including the media, for supporting what he described as "a phenomenal turnaround story".
"Today, we announced a record interim dividend, which is hugely exciting - giving back to our shareholders and our communities - and that was great for me to see."
The record interim dividend payout of R1 441-million was on the basis of 227c a share.
What Nel acknowledged as also being hugely exciting to him was the building out of Harmony's organic South African projects, extending the life-of-mine of the high-grade underground mines, advancing the high-margin surface operations, optimising the mature mines, and progressing the near-term copper opportunity.
"We like to think of our business in four quadrants, each one of them bringing distinctly different risk profiles and a distinctly different value attribute to the business."
On capital expansion projects now underway to give the South Africa's high-grade Mponeng and Moab Khotsong underground mines 20 years of life, Nel enthused: "That's hugely exciting", as is the high-margin surface retreatment Mine Waste Solutions, which is being given a 16-year life.
On older mine optimisation, he noted: "These mines are equally important to us", representing as they do 40% of cash-generative production, albeit at a slightly lower margin.
In the remaining quadrant are Harmony's international assets, with Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea highlighted for performing "very well" in the reporting period: "There's an opportunity to extend that life, which we're working on."
Then there is the near-term Eva Copper prize, in Australia, and less-near Wafi-Golpu, in Papua New Guinea, where negotiations for a special mining lease are ongoing.
While Harmony has historically been a gold producer, it's on the cusp of introducing near-term copper, which will further derisk and diversify its production profile. Eva is expected to produce between 55 000 t and 60 000 t of copper a year and 14 000 oz of gold a year for 15 years.
Mining Weekly: When are you going to get Eva going? How much will you spend to get it moving?
Nel: We aim to get first copper in the calendar year of 2029. I can't tell you how much we'll be spending, but we've made good progress on the feasibility study update. Remember, it's an update. We acquired the mine with a study. This mine will be bigger than what was originally contemplated by the previous owners, and the technical aspects of the feasibility study are largely complete. We've signed off on the flow sheet and on the mine design, and we're comfortab...

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The platinum market recorded a deficit of 995 000 oz for full year 2024, which is 46% higher than previously forecast, as total demand exceeded eight-million ounces for the first time since 2019 compared with supply at 7 293 000 oz. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Investment demand rose by a whopping 77% year-on-year to 702 000 oz amid above-ground stocks sinking down to below four months of reliability.
Investment demand propellers were exchange trade funds (ETF), final-quarter exchange stock inflows, and the supplier of legal tender coins in China launching a 1 kg platinum bar in addition to the platinum panda and platinum lunar series.
Platinum's sustained consecutive annual deficits of almost one-million ounces in 2024 contain some investment flows related to the recent tariff-driven chaos but is largely structural in nature, World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) CEO Trevor Raymond has pointed out.
Increases across all regions uplifted platinum jewellery demand by 8% in 2024, with jewellery forecast to grow in 2025 to a six-year high.
Mine supply is forecast to decline by 5% in 2025 and global recycled supply continues to bite the dust.
Encouragingly, hydrogen demand showed positivity by translating into platinum uptake, while automotive demand remained steady on higher-for-longer internal combustion engine vehicle levels.
Mining Weekly put these questions to WPIC director of research Edward Sterck. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
How have the various geopolitical issues around the world affected platinum supply and demand?
Geopolitics are centre stage right now. There's a huge amount of rhetoric and, in some cases, invective, which is influencing the movement of material and also how consumers are behaving. There's been some overtures for some kind of rapprochement between the US and Russia and there's been some speculation from people as to whether that would improve the flow of platinum, palladium, other platinum-group metals (PGMs) out of Russia to the world, and thereby ease any kind of temporary constraints. On our numbers, that isn't the case. We see Russian material continuing to flow into the market, and it's fully baked into our supply-demand estimates, so nothing really changes if that rapprochement does come to something.
The other side of the equation, however, is tariffs, which are effectively a tax on the consumer in the country where they're enacted, and there's a risk that if the US does actually impose tariffs, it could increase the price of products and thereby decrease consumer demand. It's also worth noting that tariffs are fundamentally inflationary in their effects, because they increase the cost of products, so from an economic perspective, that could result in higher-for-longer interest rates in the US and also a stronger US dollar, both of which are somewhat negative for platinum demand, and, in terms of the strong US dollar, also arguably negative for US dollar-denominated platinum prices.
How much of the strong investment growth in late 2024 was driven by tariff uncertainty and market turmoil?
Investment demand was really rather fascinating to watch last year. We saw generally consistent bar and coin demand, if you aggregate smaller bars and coins and the larger ones out of China. But what really swung around was ETF demand. We saw strong inflows in the second quarter of the year, outflows in the third quarter, and then a return of demand in the fourth quarter. We also saw quite strong inflows into what we describe as exchange stocks, which are stocks held in approved warehouses by the futures exchanges like NYMEX in the US. These exchange stocks are used as collateral for backing positions in the futures market. We saw a very big inflow into the NYME...

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During this financial year, South Africa's largest gold mining company will be investing more than R3-billion in its South African assets.
"We're on an exciting growth path," Harmony Gold CEO Beyers Nel enthused during the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's half-year results presentation covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
More than R2-billion is going into high-grade underground gold mining projects and over R1-billion into high-margin surface operation projects.
The projects under way at Moab Khotsong and Mponeng will extend the lives of each of these major high-grade gold mines to at least 20 years, with Mponeng producing 250 000 oz of gold a year and Moab Khotsong 200 000 oz a year over that period.
Phase two of the Kareerand tailings storage facility expansion is on track for year-end completion at Mine Waste Solutions, where life-of-mine steady-state production will be 100 000 oz of gold a year
"These projects demonstrate our commitment to gold mining in South Africa, ensuring that they continue delivering excellent margins for years to come," Nel outlined.
Harmony's strong net-cash balance sheet is enabling its major capital allocation to be directed towards portfolio derisking through investment in the high-grade underground, surface and international assets.
EVA COPPER
At Eva Copper in Australia, the feasibility study update is progressing, technical aspects have been completed and final permitting amendments, are awaited.
Eva Copper is expected to produce between 55 000 t and 60 000 t of copper a year and 14 000 oz of gold a year for 15 years.
"Conceptually, this translates to a mine of a similar size to some of our high-grade underground assets," Nel pointed out.
Eva's all-in sustaining costs are anticipated to be in the middle of the global industry cost curve.
First copper is expected in the 2029 calendar year, subject to the completion of the study and board approval.
At Wafi-Golpu in Papua New Guinea, negotiations of the special mining lease are ongoing.
The project pipeline is timed to ensure that project expenditure does not put pressure on the balance sheet.
Harmony Gold FD Boipelo Lekubo reported a 33% net profit increase to R7.9-billion, while the rolling 12-month earnings before tax depreciation and amortisation increased by 28% to more than R22-billion.
Exceptional half-year free cash flow generation from operations shifted the balance sheet shifted further into a net cash position of R7.3-billion.
Harmony has delivered a three-fold expansion in margins since financial year (FY) 2022.
Total operating free cash flow increased by 46% to R10.4-billion in the first half of FY2025.
Gold prices have further increased to around R1.7-million per kilogram compared with the average of R1.4-million per kilogram Harmony received during the six months to December 31.
Harmony, which continues to protect and lock in margins through a hedging programme, typically hedge between 10% and 30% of production over 36 months.
Financial headroom of more than R18-billion is made up of cash and undrawn. Facilities and various capital demands are being funded from within the company.
"As it stands, we're able to fund Eva from our own cash flows and available facilities," Lekubo noted.
Geared year-on-year dividends continue to be delivered, with R1.4-billion being returned to shareholders in the first half of FY2025.
As South Africa's largest gold producer, Harmony is now also offering near-term copper optionality amid its nigh 75 years of South African gold mining experience and a rallying gold price.
With an Australian presence, Harmony has, through Hidden Valley, been operating for more than two decades in Papua New Guinea, where it has high hopes for the go-ahead of W...

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Great strides are being made in the green hydrogen economy in particularly China and Europe, journalists heard during a media conference, where Northam Platinum emphasised the "absolutely essential" contribution being made to the world by platinum group metals (PGMs).
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed PGMs mining company pointed out that "the world doesn't just need PGMs", but that the world "absolutely must have PGMs" to exist as we know it.
This is because the chemical properties of PGMs accelerate reactions at lower temperatures and pressures than would normally be the case.
For example, automotive exhaust cleaning reactions simply wouldn't happen without the presence of palladium, platinum and rhodium, and pollutants would go out of vehicle exhausts into the atmosphere. If the world did not have PGMs, a "very, very dirty" atmospheric condition would result in towns and cities.
When you add PGMs to the mix, they promote reactions "at the same atmospheric pressure and the same temperature, and the reactions then happen", Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne explained in response to Mining Weekly.
The other important aspects of the metals are that "they remain unchanged", which is, in fact, the definition of a catalyst - it promotes the reaction without being a participant in the reaction, allowing for nigh "ad infinitum" recycling.
OIL INDUSTRY ROLE
Reactions are promoted in a similar fashion by PGMs in the oil and gas industry, where a barrel of oil cannot be split into its constituents without PGMs.
Industrial applications for PGMs are, in fact, so broad that "without them, we wouldn't have the world that we live in today", Northam Platinum executive: new business Damian Smith added.
While a growing global population is increasing the need for the efficiencies that PGMs provide, PGMs are geographically constrained, with 80% of them in the ground in South Africa's Bushveld.
Moreover, near-surface PGMs have been largely mined out and investment into new projects will require longer lead times, which is needed because of new applications arising especially on the clean energy front.
Government policy and funding is bringing considerable research and development to bear, which is needed to bring the hydrogen economy to life, to a point where Dunne is emphatic about its emergence.
"The Thirties is definitely the decade of the hydrogen economy. There are great strides being made, particularly in China and Europe," said Dunne.
CHROME, PGM LINK
Chrome is the bonus of the PGM companies that mine upper group two (UG2) orebody at this time of low PGM pricing. Northam is among the companies that have UG2 and has been exporting chrome, which was not prevalent in South Africa's past because of the former strong focus on using the chrome to produce higher-value ferrochrome.
Northam mines two orebodies, the Merensky, which is a nickel-sulphide-based orebody, plus the chromite-based UG2.
Chrome is used to make stainless steel, demand for which is growing at a compound average growth rate of more than 4%, although the high cost of Eskom's power needed to produce ferrochrome has given China the upper hand in ferrochrome.
Unlike the situation in the past, it's cheaper to produce ferrochrome in China, even taking into account the cost of transporting South Africa's chrome to Maputo, China, and then across the land again by another 1 000-km-plus to ferrochrome smelters in Inner Mongolia.

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The area south of the metallurgical complex at Northam Platinum's Zondereinde platinum group metals (PGM) mine in Limpopo has been cleared for the construction of the first of the Johannesburg stock exchange-listed company's 80 MW solar power farms.
Each year, this facility will produce 220 000 MWhrs of secure behind-the-meter electrical energy, reducing annual carbon emissions by 220 000 t and reducing energy costs by 15%. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Clean, green electricity will flow from this plant on 170 ha towards the end of this calendar year.
Northam plans to halve the R2.6-billion a year that it spends on power, amid recently having clinched two further renewable energy agreements, these being 140 MW from a wind farm, close to Sutherland, in the Westdern Cape, and another 80 MW of wheeled solar power, both scheduled to be operating in 2027.
By then, 900 000 MW, or 60%, of energy used at Northam's operations will be renewable, and the group's carbon intensity will have been reduced by 60%.
In today's terms, Northam will save around R700-million a year into perpetuity - "and we don't plan to stop there", Northam CEO Paul Dunne said during the company's presentation, covered by Mining Weekly, of dividend-yielding results for the six months ended December 31.
Northam is progressing other renewable energy projects in a dynamic and rapidly changing technological and legislative environment. These include additional solar and battery storage initiatives.
"We're actively pursuing other initiatives to further reduce our environmental impact and assist with cost control. As an aside, it's also worth noting the accumulation of stock next to the smelt house.
The interim gross cash dividend of 15 c a share is in line with its policy of paying 25% of headline earnings, amounting to an interim gross cash dividend of R59.4-million from income reserves.
Northam sold 456 544 oz of four element (4E), which includes platinum, palladium and rhodium, in the half year, 2% down on the first six months of 2024, totalling 3.1% lower half-year sales revenue of R14.5-billion.
Operating profit of R1.1-billion was at an operating margin of 7.5% amid 3.7% higher equivalent refined metal production totalling 451 213 four element ounces. Half-year capital expenditure remained constant at R2.4-billion.
CHROME YIELD IMPROVEMENT
Northam is continuing to implement a range of smaller scale capital upgrades to its metallurgical facilities, incrementally improving recoveries of PGM and chrome.
The recently commissioned expansion to the chrome recovery plant at Zonderiende This time this has improved chrome yields to 40%-plus.
Zondereinde is now expected to produce 490 000 t of chrome concentrate this year, with the upper group two (UG2) scavenger plant expected to increase PGM recoveries to 89%. Both upgrades have already paid back their capital cost.
With improved yields, chrome sales are expected to improve to 1.5-million tons.
CHALLENGING PRICING
The average basket price received for all metals appears to have found the floor at around R32 000/4E oz.
The spot price at the time of going to press was just under R33 000/4Eoz.
"This is placing pressure on miners as well as refiners and recyclers, and the impact on the world's PGM industry should not be underestimated.
'This is a very challenging price environment and the longer this market condition persists, the greater the correction will be.
"As long as there is no further deterioration, we'll continue to invest through the cycle, as we did very successfully in the previous downturn.
"On the supply side, South Africa will continue to dominate but an aging production base and a dearth of new projects is unable to maintain volumes, and South Africa will require further de s...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses Anglo American Platinum backing green hydrogen’s global advance; DRDGold’s projects advancing as its 2028 Vision gets a massive boost from the gold price; and South Africans needing to pull together smartly to uplift the economy.

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The firm intention of South Africa's Impala Platinum is to prosper on current platinum group metals (PGM) prices.
This was made clear by Implats CEO Nico Muller during the presentation of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's financial year (FY) 2025 results for the six months to December 31, which highlighted a liquidity headroom of R17.8-billion. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
Muller spoke of having an "assured outlook" on PGM market prices going forward, with platinum, palladium and rhodium all in deficit currently, particularly platinum.
That, he said, would change for palladium and rhodium from 2028, with those two metals running into surpluses. But that would not be the case for platinum, for which there would be "a material increase" demand, fuelled by the hydrogen economy as well as the advance of fuel cell electric vehicles.
"We foresee continued demand for platinum to the extent that we see sustained deficits, and therefore continued eradication of excess surface inventory.
"We do believe that there's going to be some switching between platinum palladium that will offset the surpluses created by palladium and, of course, platinum is less reliant on the automotive industry than the other two metals," Muller outlined during the presentation covered by Mining Weekly.
Amid the majority of the great economic jurisdictions the world having given PGMs strategic critical minerals status, discontinued use or demand for PGMs was not on the cards, with the results of the last six months reflective of that.
Refined production rose 2%, sales 5%, and unit cost were held at 3%, which is reportedly industry leading for this reporting period.
Capital plunged down 42% to R3.9-billion, with operating strategy changes at particularly Impala Canada.
He emphasised that the world had in many respects been very stable over the last year.
"It's not shooting sparks, but it is stable," he said in pointing out the particular stability of PGM prices in dollars and only the strengthening of the rand by 5% being the basket price negative.
"It's probably been one of the more stable periods that we have operated in…and out intention as a company is to create continual strength in the organisation we call Implats."
In Canada, the extraction philosophy has been amended towards being a higher margin business, "so you'll see a reduction in production, probably a more accelerated wind down".
"We're continuously evaluating the performance of the business, costs as well as palladium price performance, but to the extent that future viability or future cash flows are threatened, it will not be unsurprising that we will come with an announcement at some time in the future about potentially a more accelerated but responsible wind down of that operation," said Muller while emphasising that Implats is continuously involved with portfolio evaluations in the company to make sure that it honours its statement that it will not support loss-making operations.

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China is probably leading the global hydrogen fuel cell advance, journalists heard at Thursday's media briefing that followed the "commendable" half-year performance of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Impala Platinum (Implats), which generated free cash flow of R639-million in the first six months its 2025 financial year (FY2025).
Having already identified Europe as a favourable driver of the gradually progressing platinum group metals- (PGM-) based green hydrogen fuel cell economic future, at question time Implats group executive corporate relations Johan Theron also singled out China's leading role in the green hydrogen fuel cell field, along with key roles being played by Japan and South Korea.
The interim results highlighted a tightening demand for PGMs, driven by electrification and diverse applications.
Palladium and rhodium, primarily used in auto catalysts, face challenging market supply dynamics, while platinum's robust demand from industrial and jewellery sectors offsets auto catalyst declines.
Canadian operations, exposed to palladium and rhodium, face challenges, with a 15% reduction in production volumes.
Marula's performance is constrained by geological complexity and higher panel loss rates.
Having adjusted the operating parameters at several of its assets in response to continued low rand pricing for PGMs, Implats maintained a strong and flexible balance sheet.
The company, headed by CEO Nico Muller, generated half-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of R6.5-billion and headline earnings of R1.85-billion, closing with a net cash balance of R6.7-billion and liquidity headroom of R17.8-billion.
Moreover, Implats is on track to deliver within previously provided FY2025 guidance, despite water and power interruptions and Impala Bafokeng suffering safety stoppages following loss-of-life accidents amid steadfast safety improvement commitment.
Zimplats in Zimbabwe scaled up to full solar power of 35 MW as part of a planned 185 MW solar complex, and attained technical completion of its smelter expansion as well as the first phase of its sulphur dioxide abatement project. In South Africa, Impala Refineries' base metals refinery debottlenecking project was delivered.
Operational planning and capital investment are structured to enhance the competitive positioning of each asset to maximise returns amid the weak rand PGM pricing resulting in sustained pressure on operating margins.
OUTLOOK AND GUIDANCE
Production in FY2025 is poised to be supported by strong delivery at Impala Rustenburg, Impala Bafokeng, Mimosa and Two Rivers, together with the expected partial unwind of accumulated inventory at Zimplats, countering the tapering production profile at Impala Canada and weak performance at Marula.
Third-quarter smelting rates have been constrained by required maintenance and repairs at two Impala Rustenburg furnaces, which will moderate the pace of excess inventory destocking.
Six element (6E) refined and saleable production and unit costs guidance are maintained at between 3.45-million and 3.65-million ounces and between R21 000/6E oz and R22 000/6E oz.
The capital expenditure forecast for FY2025 has been lowered to between R7-billion and R8-billion, including growth capital of between R1.0-billion and R1.2-billion.
Platinum, palladium and rhodium are expected to remain in deficit in 2025. However, the deficits are expected to moderate. While primary supply is expected to be stable, secondary scrap is expected to drive gross supply gains in 2025.

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The board of directors of the Johannesburg- and New York-listed Sibanye-Stillwater has decided not to proceed with the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron joint venture (JV) project in North America.
Rhyolite Ridge was to be developed under a JV agreement with ioneer, a minerals exploration and development company, which in October last year, provided Sibanye-Stillwater with updated project and technical information that included a technical report summary and other updated technical reports.
Sibanye-Stillwater was to acquire a 50% interest in the JV, with ioneer maintaining a 50% interest and retaining the operational management responsibility. The Rhyolite Ridge deposit is located 362 km north of Las Vegas, in Esmeralda County, Nevada.
Based on the results of a management review and due diligence on that information, the board has resolved not to proceed with Rhyolite Ridge owing to the project not meeting its investment hurdle rates at prudent pricing assumptions.
This was stated by the Johannesburg- and New York-listed stated Sibanye-Stillwater in a JSE stock exchange news service announcement and media release to Mining Weekly on Wednesday, February 26.
The completion of the joint venture was subject to various conditions precedent including a final investment decision from the board affirming its commitment to proceed with the project.
Outgoing Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman, who in September hands over to incoming CEO and current chief regional officer South Africa Richard Stewart, emphasised during last Friday's presentation of half-year results that the company's focus remained on optimising operations for profitability and protecting the group balance sheet.
The restructurings that have been undertaken over the last 18 months were described as having secured greater operational stability, with South Africa's platinum group metals (PGM) mines for 2024 and the group benefiting significantly from the South African gold assets.
Leverage to the higher gold price drove a 216% increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to R3.6-billion for Sibanye-Stillwater in the last six months of last year, the company reported on Friday, February 21.
Group Ebitda of R6.4-billion for the second half (H2) of 2024 was in line with the R6.4-billion Ebitda for H2 2023.
Sibanye-Stillwater is a top-tier gold producer and one of the world's largest primary producers of platinum, palladium, and rhodium. It also refines iridium and ruthenium, nickel, chrome, copper and cobalt and has recently begun to diversify its asset portfolio into battery metals mining and processing and increase its presence in the circular economy by growing its recycling and tailings reprocessing exposure globally.
Restructuring of PGM operations in the US and ongoing restructuring of the Sandouville nickel processing facilities in France are underpinning a firmer 2025 earnings outlook.

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JSE-listed Anglo American Platinum and South Africa-linked AP Ventures are supporting the next vital steps towards the realisation of industrial-scale green hydrogen value chains.
Both companies have once again featured in the latest raising of additional funding by the German company that is on its way towards enabling green hydrogen to be globally transported and traded in the same way as oil is currently through the liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology that it has developed.
Owing to its diesel-like nature, Hydrogenious' LOHC can be transported and distributed in the existing infrastructure for oil-based fuels.
LOHC, which Mining Weekly first wrote about in 2014, has now attracted another €17-million-plus in its latest financing round.
Interestingy, independent venture capital firm AP Ventures is backed by South Africa's Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Mitsubishi Corporation, Mirai Creation Fund and Plastic Omnium and the ventures in which it invests make use of or enable the use of platinum group metals (PGMs), often in association with hydrgogen, the most abundant element in the universe, which can be stored in large quantities and for long periods of time. These are features which enable it to optimise the integration of renewable energy.
Chevron Technology Ventures, Temasek, Winkelmann Group and Covestro are other companies providing additional funding to Hydrogenious LOHC in its latest capital raising exercise.
Moreover, LOHC is being supported by numerous policies and legislation at both federal and EU level, as well as financially, reflecting the recognition it is being given within the energy transition space.
Hydrogenious last year received a grant notification from the German Federal Goverment and the State of Bavaria for its Green Hydrogen @ Blue Danube project totaling €72.5-million.
"Hydrogenious' new funding and leadership structure signals that LOHC technology is at a critical inflection point and must be supported in taking the next steps towards industrial-scale hydrogen value chains," Anglo American Platinum executive head marketing Hilton Ingram is quoted as saying in a media release on LinkedIn put out by Hydrogenious.
As an original seed investor in 2014, Anglo American Platinum has for long had a strongly held view on the potential of LOHC technology to help enable the emerging hydrogen economy, for which its PGMs are critical.
"We believe that Hydrogenious and its innovative LOHC technology are critical to enabling the hydrogen economy," AP Ventures founding partner Kevin Eggers is quoted as saying in the same release.
"LOHC technology represents a crucial component for enabling the hydrogen economy and advancing the global energy transition," Winkelmann Group CEO Christian Knechtel is quoted as saying.
Mining Weekly can point out that AP Ventures was attracted to invest in Hydrogenious because of LOHC making it possible for current infrastructure to be used in the transition to hydrogen.
The storage density of hydrogen in the LOHC is up to five times higher than conventional high pressure storage.
A cubic metre of LOHC can carry about 57 kg of hydrogen.
Thus, transport capacities on trucks, trains, buses, ships and such like are increased, significantly reducing total cost for hydrogen supply to the customer.
The readily available carrier oil is non-toxic, hardly flammable, non-explosive and remains in a useable and convenient liquid state through a broad temperature range of -39 ºC to 390 ºC, which makes transport in the existing global fuel infrastructure feasible.
The technology as such is thus simple since it is based on a reversible catalytic hydrogenation and then dehydrogenation process.
After the release of the hydrogen, the carrier substance can be reuse...

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Johannesburg- and New York-listed DRDGOLD's projects under way are "advancing very well" as the gold-from-tailings company's 2028 Vision gets a massive boost from the sky-high gold price.
Mining Weekly discussed this in a Zoom interview with DRDGOLD CEO Niël Pretorius and DRDGOLD CFO Riaan Davel, which we now publish following last week's declaration of an eighteenth consecutive financial year of dividend payout by the company that on April 25 will celebrate 130 years of being listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
The shareholders of DRDGOLD are continuing to benefit from consistently impressive on-surface gold recovery at the 13-year life-of-mine (LoM) Ergo, east of Johannesburg, as well as its rapidly advancing 20-year LoM Far West Gold Recoveries (FWGR) activities west of the Golden City.
"We're working hard to optimise our existing asset base. Basically what we're doing now is Ergo Two," Pretorius added in referring to initial life of mine plan for Ergo, acquired in 2007, having been mined out," Pretorius outlined.
Ergo Two's first new vital thrust is the cost-cutting 60 MW solar power plant at the tailings reprocessing plant, plus the commissioning of a 160 MWh battery energy storage system.
The second part of Ergo Two involves the expansion of the Brakpan tailings storage facility and commissioning of the Withok tailings facility in order to restore the throughput rate back to some 1.8-million tons a month.
That's the target of Vision 2028, along with a whole new range of resources that will be accessed over the next few years.
At the same time, on the Far West Rand, taking progressive shape are the Far West Gold Recoveries activities involving repurposing and recommissioning the Driefontein Two plant's throughput to 600 000 t a month, from its consistent current 500 000 t a month.
But, from the outset, work started on the design of the regional tailing storage facility (RTSF), where more than two-million cubic metres of material have been moved from the large 800 ha site.
The second component of the RTSF project is the doubling in size of the Driefontein Two plant to take it to 1.2-million tons a month, and through Vision 28, establishing the capital infrastructure to support a throughput of three-million ton a month.
This is about one-million tons higher than currently. Thereafter gold output will be increased by roughly a ton a year, or 40 000 oz, to take DRDGOLD to more than 200 000 oz, sustaining that for many years to come.
"These are exciting projects. They're all going well," Pretorius enthused.
The gold price at record highs is providing the ability to aggressively reinvest into supporting capital infrastructure.
DRDGOLD has spent close to R1-billion on capital infrastructure in the last six months, and has not had to dip into its debt facility set up during the course of last year.
Mining Weekly: How strong is DRDGOLD's balance sheet and what are its added strength prospects in the light of the record gold price?
Davel: We're very proud of our of our balance sheet. From31 December 2023 to 31 December 2024, our property, plant and equipment, grew by R3-billion and the majority of that investment has gone into the solar and battery system at Ergo, which is now practically complete. And then, it's strong in that we still have cash in the bank of just over R600-million at the end of December. We've always invested in rehabilitation funds or assets on our balance sheet, so it's really a strong foundation for us to grow from and the gold price is really supporting our growth.
Our model is brilliant from that point of view, in that we still operating fully at both Ergo and Far West Gold Recoveries, based on its capacity, and constraints that we want t...

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Leverage to the higher gold price drove a 216% increase in earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to R3.6-billion for Sibanye-Stillwater in the last six months of last year, outgoing CEO Neal Froneman reported on Friday, February 21.
Group Ebitda of R6.4-billion for the second half (H2) of 2024 was in line with the R6.4-billion Ebitda for H2 2023.
Froneman, who in September hands over to incoming CEO and current chief regional officer South Africa Richard Stewart, reported during the presentation of second-half (H2)results covered by Mining Weekly that Ebitda from South African gold operations increased by R2.5-billion, accounting for 56% of group adjusted Ebitda for the period. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)
This was the first six-month period since 2017 that adjusted Ebitda from the Johannesburg- and New York-listed company's South African gold operations exceeded the contribution from its South Africa platinum group metals (SA PGM) operations.
This marks a notable turnaround from previous years when the SA PGM and US PGM operations comprised 80% to 90% of group earnings.
The significant increase in the profit from the SA gold operations and restructuring of the group operations have, on balance, stabilised group profitability.
CHROME VALUE OPPORTUNITY
The improved economics of Sibanye-Stillwater's chrome production are expected to assist with the development and extension projects at the SA PGM operations, which are currently being assessed.
This follows the signing on February 19 of a strategic enhancement to the historical Marikana chrome contract and a new chrome management agreement with the Glencore Merafe Venture.
Most of the chrome recovery plants at Sibanye-Stillwater's SA PGM operations is now poised to be operated by the Glencore Merafe Venture, which intends to leverage its processing expertise to optimise chrome production yields and reduce operational costs across all relevant chrome recovery plants.
The enhanced Marikana contract is expected to accelerate completion of delivery of contracted chrome volumes agreed between Lonmin and the venture in 2011, by about 20 years, through increasing feed and improving recoveries from the Marikana chrome recovery plants.
Upon expiry of the Marikana contract, the Marikana chrome recovery plants will become subject to the terms of the chrome management agreement, increasing Sibanye-Stillwater's share of free cash flow from chrome production from the Marikana chrome recovery plants.
Together, these agreements are expected to allow greater exposure to chrome prices and incentivise future chrome production growth, realising value for Sibanye-Stillwater and enhancing value creation opportunities for the Marikana operation.
URANIUM STRATEGY
On 9 December 2024, Sibanye-Stillwater agreed to sell its Beatrix 4 shaft, Beatrix operations in South Africa's Free State, which includes the Beisa uranium project, to Neo Energy Metals, a uranium exploration and development company listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange and dual-listed in South Africa on the A2X market.
This transaction has advanced the group uranium strategy by presenting Neo Energy with an opportunity to develop the Beisa uranium project to be developed by Neo Energy, while allowing Sibanye-Stillwater to maintain exposure to future uranium production without sole reliance on group capital funding. Various alternatives to release value from surface uranium resources at the Cooke mine in Gauteng province are also being considered.
RHYOLITE RIDGE
In 2021, Sibanye-Stillwater agreed with emerging lithium-boron producer ioneer to establish a joint venture company with respect to Rhyolite Ridge. Last year, an updated project and technical information re...