MPRD in 2026: A maze of mineral policy
It is a cliché of effective industrial policy that developing an industry works best if there is “policy certainty”. It is also one of those clichés that becomes a cliché because…
Three years of giving junior mining a voice
On 12 September 2023, a significant new chapter was written in South Africa’s mining industry at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The launch of the Junior Mining Council…
Policing illegal miners isn’t working. What will?
WHEN 87 illegal miners died underground at Stilfontein in 2024 – and 1,826 surfaced from abandoned shafts – the event was a symptom, not an aberration. The uncomfortable truth…
Johannesburg is having a gold rush … Sort of
THE last time gold was as valuable, prospectors, gamblers, bounders and other rakes were united in scouring the globe – from California to Johannesburg – with their pickaxes and…
Orion moves ahead of JSE junior copper peers
NORTHERN Cape copper developer Orion Minerals, the FM’s Junior Mining Hot Stocks selection for 2026, has so far been the clear standout among the JSE’s junior copper counters.…
Junior miners find an audience among SA investors despite the risks
IF you think about the number of the JSE’s listed junior miners as a beauty pageant, they’d look more like a turnout from a high school, perhaps, than Miss Universe. Fewer than…
Mining DG cool on DTIC’s forced mining beneficiation plan
IN a revealing exchange at the Junior Mining Indaba on Tuesday, reflecting inter-departmental tension over the idea of forced mining beneficiation, Jacob Mbele, the…
Humble origins, big outcomes: SSC founder’s rise to prominence
FRED Arendse is a distinguished South African mining entrepreneur, humanitarian, and transformational leader whose life and career reflect the power of resilience, vision, and…
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…
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,…
Stronger Together: Partnerships Take Centre Stage at ENS–JMC Mining Indaba Breakfast
AGAINST the backdrop of Cape Town’s annual Investing in African Mining Indaba, ENS and the Junior Mining Council (JMC) hosted a high-level networking breakfast at Zest…
Riskier but gold’s mid-tier and junior miners offer value
PAN African Resources broke into the JSE’s top 40 index last month with a market capitalisation of R65bn. Once a gold mining minnow, the share has tripled in value in the past 12…
Marula Mining plans to build gold refinery in Tanzania
JASON Brewer, CEO of Marula Mining, is the type of mining speculator Johannesburg was built on. But it was in Perth that the UK-born financier cut his teeth, a place where junior…
Geopolitics at the G20 and what it means for SA’s juniors
A statement from the Junior Mining Council (JMC) WITH the G20 Leaders’ Summit taking place in Johannesburg on 22–23 November 2025, South Africa is hosting the world at a pivotal…
Trump measures spark rare earth investment surge
SHARES in rare earth mining companies have surged to record levels as investors respond enthusiastically to the White House’s efforts to reduce American dependence on Chinese…
Can South Africa deliver on rare earth minerals?
SOUTH Africa has the critical minerals that the US needs to industrialise, including rare earth minerals, President Cyril Ramaphosa told President Donald Trump in their meeting…
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…
Minerals Council blindsided by Govt’s MPRDA bill
THE reaction at the Junior Mining Indaba being held in Johannesburg to proposed amendments to the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) is that another…
SA’s mining cadastre to make debut in Western Cape
SOUTH Africa’s long-awaited new mining cadastre system will be launched at the end of June as per its schedule, but only initially in the Western Cape province. That’s according…
SA gazettes MPRDA amendments aimed at industry overhaul
SOUTH Africa’s mining industry was combing through the details of amendments to the Minerals & Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) gazetted by Goverment on Tuesday for…