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…
US bans critical mineral exports in bid to boost defence
THE US will prohibit exports of certain used critical minerals as it moves to secure military supply chains and reduce reliance on China for metals, said the Financial Times. The…
Short sellers target US rare earth stocks
HEDGE funds are ramping up bets against US critical minerals companies, wagering that Trump administration support won’t be enough to loosen China’s grip on global supply, said…
BHP shares slide on Jansen potash cost blowout
BHP shares posted their steepest single-day decline in 14 months on Friday after the world’s largest miner flagged a $2.3bn writedown on its Jansen potash project in Canada,…
BHP takes $2.3bn writedown on Jansen potash
BHP will take a $2.3bn writedown on its Jansen potash project in Canada after the latest in a series of cost overruns pushed the price of the phase two expansion to $6.9bn, said…
Central banks likely to increase gold reserves in next 12 months
SENTIMENT towards gold remains high among central banks, according to a World Gold Council survey published today which said official sector purchases were likely to increase…
Gold overtakes US Treasuries as top reserve asset
GOLD has displaced US government bonds as the world’s leading reserve asset, driven by relentless central bank buying and a price rally that has seen bullion nearly double over…
Coal miner Thungela digs in over shareholder rights
IT’S necessary to state from the outset that the current legal battle between Aeon Investment Management, Fossil Free SA and shareholder activist Just Share on the one side and…
Why SA coal export prices haven’t shot the lights out
SHARES in Thungela Resources have surged 80% in six months, driven mostly by the US/Israel attack on Iran in late February, which is when the coal miner’s valuation received its…
There’s more to Exxaro price surge than energy security
SHARES in Exxaro Resources ran to a three year high this week and were not far short of their five-year high, reached in 2022. That was shortly after Russia’s invasion of…
Tungsten prices surge as Iran war drains stocks
TUNGSTEN prices have hit their highest level in at least 90 years as the US and Israel burn through munitions supplies in their air campaign against Iran, deepening a supply…
Gold slides for seventh session on inflation fears
GOLD fell for a seventh consecutive session as escalating conflict in the Middle East drove oil prices higher and dimmed prospects for a near-term US interest rate cut, said…
SA bank says gold to end above $6,000/oz this year
SO how do your economic projections play against those of the experts? This was the subject of a fun “View from the Room” session at Standard Bank’s African Markets Conference at…
Nornickel says platinum and palladium output to fall
RUSSIA’S largest mining company MMC Norilsk Nickel expects platinum and palladium production to decline this year due to lower ore grades. Palladium output could fall as much as…
Gold climbs towards $5,000 amid geopolitical turmoil
GOLD surged to a record above $4,967 an ounce on Friday, supported by a weaker dollar and mounting geopolitical tensions, whilst silver climbed to an all-time high just below…
AI and defence will strain copper supplies
GLOBAL copper consumption is set to surge 50% by 2040, driven primarily by artificial intelligence and defence sectors, said Reuters citing a report published on Thursday by…
Miners search for scale in era of minerals diplomacy
The dial has been turned up in the global mining industry. New mines worth an estimated $5-trillion are required over the next 10 years to supply the critical minerals for AI…
Diamond industry urges reform of Kimberley Process
THE diamond industry will meet in Dubai next week to debate whether the Kimberley Process, created to stop trade in blood diamonds, can be reformed, said the Financial Times on…
Misplaced coal pessimism has left Thungela oversold
FEW JSE stocks have swung as wildly as Thungela. From a 52-week high of R140.81 in February 2025 to barely R81 by October, the share has lost more than 40% of its value in just…
Sibanye-Stillwater bullish on US anti-dumping petition
THERE was a “reasonable indication” the US palladium industry had suffered material harm as a result of Russian imports of the metal. This was the outcome of a preliminary…