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…
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…
Mining cost inflation eases in July, but energy risks linger
SOUTH African mining input cost inflation slowed in July, but high fuel and other energy-linked costs still weighed on the sector. The Minerals Council South Africa said its…
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…
The furnaces that could relight SA’s industrial ambition
MENAR Group, an unlisted coal producer, says it can double mineral exports from its South African mines and projects and create 800 jobs through new ferromanganese production.…
Implats suspends Rustenburg shafts for week-long safety reset
IMPALA Platinum (Implats) suspended production at its Rustenburg shafts on Friday for five days in order to conduct a “safety reset” following two underground fatalities this…
How long before miners call on Eskom for their rebates?
ESKOM will invite the attention of its mining clients in yet stronger terms if it agrees to cut its tariff for Transalloys, the manganese smelting business currently heading for…
Mining’s slow burn exposure to Middle East conflict
THE memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the US and Iran appears to have brought a relative calm to the Middle East, the occasional conflagration in the Strait of…
Amid the gloom, De Beers sees glimmer of hope
SHOPPING for platinum jewellery, especially of the bridal variety, has become more expensive in the past year thanks to the 35% improvement in the metal’s price. But for a good…
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…
Cadastre to be rolled out within a year, says DMPR’s Mbele
SOUTH Africa’s new minerals cadastre had been successfully rolled out in the Western Cape and would be implemented nationwide within the next 12 months, said Jacob Mbele,…
Chrome export levy resurfaces in new industrial strategy
CHROME ore export levies are squarely on the South African government’s agenda after earlier indicating they were “a blunt tool”. A target set down in the revised Industrial…
SA miners fear the worst in mineral cadastre rollout
IN May 2024, then Orion Minerals CEO Errol Smart gushed: “I’m coming off an all-time high on hearing this news.” A day earlier, the South African government had signed an…
Water security a growing risk for SA mining
WATER supply disruptions are emerging as a significant threat to South Africa’s mining sector, with bulk supply in multiple regions subject to frequent interruptions during 2025,…
US talks may lead to conciliatory MPRD amendments
THE South African government could adopt a more investment-friendly attitude to mining and minerals reform if it helped repair trade relations with the US. This follows a…
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…
Froneman on crime: “Don’t be soft, let’s call it treason”
PUTTING people on special leave is no way to root out crime and corruption, says Neal Froneman, the no-nonsense hard man of South African mining and chair of Business Against…
SA platinum exports surge but miners face war inflation
THERE was a 13% increase in platinum group metal exports in the first two months of this year, said Swiss bank UBS in a report this week. However, the conflict in the Middle East…
Eskom agrees power tariff in bid to save SA ferrochrome
ESKOM will supply South Africa’s ferrochrome industry with heavily discounted power for the next five years under an amended Negotiated Price Agreement (NPA). The agreement,…