Proposed mining laws show SA Govt has learnt nothing
SOUTH Africa’s mining industry is “crawling on the floor” while mining in Australia, Canada, America and the rest of Africa is on a conveyor belt, says Peter Major, veteran…
Uranium from seawater: Froneman plans new mining firm
NEAL Froneman led the company he founded, Sibanye-Stillwater, for 13 years before abruptly announcing he would step down last year, aged 65. Those years were a punchy, all-action…
BEE’s gaming problem, not racism, is driving a backlash
AT the Nedbank Top Empowerment Conference in Sandton last month, trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau addressed the criticism that broad-based BEE (BBBEE) has…
The coal miner that looks cheap until you read the small print
COAL mining group Salungano, which was long in limbo, is finally making money again – it’s just that it owes R2.2bn in mine closure costs it has no way to fund, and not many…
Minerals Council losing confidence in Govt’s mining cadastre
THE Minerals Council South Africa on Wednesday expressed concerns about the country’s new minerals cadastre which is being rolled out by the government. “The longer it takes to…
Comrade Gwede, BEE isn’t worth the scrap paper it was written on
THE mining industry is waiting apprehensively for the chairperson of the African National Cosa Nostra and sometimes minerals and petroleum Minister, Comrade Gwede, to gazette…
Can SA take Govt’s $121bn trains strategy seriously?
LATE last month, South Africa’s department of transport released for public comment its draft national master plan to revitalise, modernise and expand South Africa’s rail system,…
Mantashe acknowledges power inflation hurting metals industry
SOUTH Africa cannot build a downstream metals industry until the problem of high electricity prices is resolved, mines minister Gwede Mantashe said in an address to Parliament on…
SA’s new BEE ‘review’ a stinging test of political courage
WHEN it comes to BEE sceptics, there are few more vociferous than Moeletsi Mbeki, a man who, as the son of Govan Mbeki and brother of former president Thabo Mbeki, is as close to…
Jan Nelson, founder of Copper 360, passes away
COPPER 360, the JSE-listed mining and development company, confirmed on Tuesday that its founding CEO Jan Nelson passed away after a battle with cancer. “His courage, integrity,…
It’s time Govt. stepped up to global mining challenges
EVERY year, for the past few decades, the world’s mining heavyweights have come to South Africa at the beginning of February, expressed their displeasure with our overregulated,…
Tinkering with reform puts SA mining in limbo again
This article was first published in The Mining Yearbook 2025 New draft legislation is being considered while SA faces international uncertainty and domestic upheavals as its…
Minerals Council calls for ‘rational decisions’ from Govt talks
MINERALS Council SA president Paul Dunne warned that industry and Government discussions over the proposed minerals legislation should not result in “inappropriate policy…
All points north as DRDGold weighs long-term expansion
DRDGOLD, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s oldest company at 130 years old, is actively pursuing expansion opportunities across Africa, with CEO Niël Pretorius particularly keen…
Angola goes for it to boost diamond production
ANGOLA is making good progress on its ambition to become one of the world’s top three diamond producing nations by 2027 according to two South African diamond experts – geologist…
Govt’s minerals exploration target is a policy fever dream
STATS SA’s first quarter 2025 GDP data quietly confirms South Africa’s ongoing collapse as a global exploration destination. Real capital formation in mineral exploration in 2024…
Can South Africa save its minerals exploration sector?
Last year, a South African government-backed fund invited applications from would-be junior miners, hoping to find that the country’s mineral exploration business was not…
SA’s Mantashe: stuck in an endless BEE loop
THERE’S a long-standing view around town that the South African Government gaslights its mining industry with horror legislative proposals as a negotiating technique. There may…
Govt corrects draft bill freeing mineral explorers from BEE
THE South African government on Tuesday corrected draft amendments to the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development (MPRD) bill gazetted last month. The key change was to…
Minerals Council warns Mantashe of looming confrontation
DRAFT amendments to legislation which have shocked South Africa’s mining industry are likely to wind up in the courtroom after the Minerals Council SA told mines minister Gwede…