MiningWeekly.com Audio Articles

Coal miner MC Mining’s 70%-owned Uitkomst colliery increased its run-of-mine production by 7% year-on-year to 124 144 t in the first quarter of the year.

Sales of high-grade peas and duff, totalling 62 751 t, were achieved in the period, up from the 53 512 t sold in the first quarter of 2021.

The sales were augmented by the sale of coal carried over from the last quarter of 2021 and the two pre-sale contracts outstanding at the end of December 2021, which were completed during the period under review.

In addition, Uitkomst also sold 8 610 t of high ash middlings coal in the period, marginally down year-on-year, while the mine had 8 373 t of high-grade duff and peas coal on hand at the end of the quarter, compared with 10 909 t at the beginning of the quarter.

MC Mining recorded 71 361 t of coal sales during the quarter, up from the 62 301 t of the first quarter of 2021; comprising 62 751 t of high-grade metallurgical and thermal coal and 8 610 t of lower-grade middlings coal.

MC Mining points out that Russia is a significant producer of coal globally and its invasion of Ukraine resulted in the prices of thermal coal attaining record highs.

Average API4 prices in the first quarter of this year were 162% higher year-on-year at $238/t; but the composition of Uitkomst’s sales mix resulted in average revenue a tonne increasing by just 53% year-on-year to $110/t.

However, these elevated prices are not being accepted in the South African domestic coal market and, as such, MC Mining is assessing alternative coal marketing strategies, including the potential production of higher-quality coal for the international pulverised coal injection market.

Uitkomst’s sales include lower-value middlings coal, as well as sales under fixed price arrangements. Production costs per saleable tonne were marginally higher than the comparative period of 2021, increasing from $73/t to $74/t.

Nonetheless, revenue per tonne sold also increased year-on-year, from $72/t in 2021 to $110/t, owing to elevated API4 coal prices recorded during the quarter.

MAKHADO & VELE

MC Mining’s flagship 67%-owned Makhado hard coking coal project recorded no lost-time injuries in the first quarter.

In the period under review, the Industrial Development Corporation, which holds a 6.7% equity interest in Baobab Mining & Exploration – MC Mining’s subsidiary that owns Makhado – agreed to extend the date for repayment of the existing R160-million loan plus interest.

This is in addition to extending the terminal drawdown date in respect of the conditional R245-million term loan facility for the development of the Makhado project to November 30. In the event MC Mining does not repay the existing loan by the repayment date, the financing documentation enables that the debt be converted into equity.

Baobab also completed the acquisition of the Lukin and Salaita properties – key surface rights for the Makhado project – with the balance of the purchase price of R35-million paid during the quarter.

The economics of the Makhado project were confirmed in the bankable feasibility study (BFS) completed by Minxcon subsequent to the end of the first quarter.

Going forward, the development of Makhado is expected to deliver positive returns for shareholders and will position MC Mining as South Africa’s pre-eminent hard coking coal producer, states MC Mining.

The project has an estimated capital cost (including contingencies) of R625-million, a peak funding requirement of R727-million and is expected to create about 650 permanent employment positions (including contractors) at steady-state production.

The BFS confirmed that Makhado has a short construction period of 12 months, positioning the project to take advantage of the current higher global coal prices.

Meanwhile, MC Mining’s fully-owned Vele semi-soft coking and thermal coal colliery remained on care and maintenance during the first quarter and recorded two lost-time injuries (LTIs) when staff members were involved in a traffic accident ...

The gross refined production of platinum group metals (PGM) mining company Implats declined by 6% to 2.35-million ounces in the nine months to March 31, when sales volumes of 2.38-million ounces were 4% lower than the prior comparable period.

“The operating landscape continues to be challenging,” Implats CEO Nico Muller stated in a release on Friday.

The JSE-listed company head cited escalating geopolitical conflict, rampant inflation, constrained supply chains and a tight labour market as compounding the production impact of extended safety stoppages and the operating protocols required to manage Covid-19.

But improved organisational flexibility enabled Implats to withstand considerable headwinds, which Muller described as being “a credit to our people, who continue to demonstrate remarkable adaptability, resilience and innovation”.

Though volatile, PGM pricing has remained particularly robust.

“We continue to experience strong demand for our primary products from our customer base, despite the demand impact of constrained auto supply chains and the increasingly uncertain outlook for global growth,” said Muller.

Free cash flow generation during the period has kept the balance sheet strong and flexible.

Focus for the remaining months of Implats’ financial year to end June would, Muller said, include embedding operational stability in a period where the risk of unplanned interruptions had increased.

“In the face of an increasingly complex and variable operating context, it is critical that we continue working closely with our key stakeholders, in a constructive and positive way, to ensure safe and profitable production – through which we can deliver value to all our stakeholders.”

Two fatalities were recorded in the third quarter, despite a 24.3% improvement in the reported lost-time injury frequency rate.

Production in the nine-month period to March 31 was negatively impacted by several operational challenges across the group.

A notable impact on production was recorded after extended safety stoppages, intermittent industrial action and power supply interruptions at Impala Rustenburg, and supply chain and labour availability constraints at Impala Canada.

Tonnes milled from managed operations declined by 4% to 16.66-million tonnes, while the average six-element (6E) mill grade declined by 1% to 3.60g/t.

The 4% decrease in mine-to-market 6E concentrate production to 2.11 million ounces reflected the impact of lower contributions from Impala Rustenburg, Impala Canada and Mimosa, which offset the benefit of stable volumes from Zimplats and Two Rivers, and a record result at Marula.

Received 6E third-party and toll material in concentrate of 277 000 oz was stable relative to the prior comparable period and, in total, gross 6E concentrate production decreased 3% to 2.38-million ounces.

Refined 6E production in the prior comparable period benefitted from increased processing availability due to the timing of annual processing maintenance.

In the period under review, scheduled maintenance in the first quarter, together with lower concentrate production and the full rebuild required at the Number 3 furnace in Rustenburg, resulted in the 6% decline of total gross refined 6E production to the level of 2.35-million ounces.

Changes in concentrate feeds and individual metal pipelines resulted in a decline in minor PGM production, while refined nickel volumes increased by 4%.

Impala Rustenburg’s refined 6E production declined by 16% to 860 000 oz ounces, while refined volumes at Impala Refining Services (IRS) increased by 2% to 1.32-million ounces.

The 4% 6E sales volumes decrease to 2.38-million ounces benefitted from the destocking of iridium and ruthenium as demand and pricing strengthened during the nine-month period.

Marula delivered record production in the nine months, with tonnes milled up 9% to 1.51-million tonnes, milled 6E head grade 3% higher at 4.51g/t and 6E concentrate production increasing by 9% to 197 000 ounces.

Impala C...

Platinum group metals (PGMs) miner Northam, through drilling contractor Master Drilling, completed drilling of the No 3 shaft at its Zondereinde mine on April 27, thereby extending the life of the mine and enabling easier and quicker access for personnel to the working face, as well as getting ore to the surface more rapidly.

At a depth of 1 382 m, the 4.8-m-wide shaft will handle personnel and materials, while another two shafts, still under construction, will handle ore and ventilation for the mine.

The current main shaft complex is 4 km away – a distance that poses increasing challenges in terms of getting personnel to the working face and ore out of the mine in a timeous and safe manner.

Work on the No 3 shaft at Zondereinde’s significant brownfield capital expansion project – the Western extension – started in early 2020 and, once complete, will add an additional 30 years of life to the mine.

Zondereinde is currently the world’s deepest PGMs mine at 2 300 m.

Master Drilling employed its RD8-R1 drill rig to initially drill a pilot hole from the surface to an access point 1 380 m underground, following which a much larger reaming drill bit was used to widen the hole through a raise boring method.

On average, the rig advanced 5.5 m a day.

Master Drilling CEO and founder Danie Pretorius tells Mining Weekly that raise-boring is more time and cost efficient than traditional blind-sink shaft sinking methods, but requires existing underground access to get the reaming bit in place, as well as clear chippings as the drill moves upwards back to surface.

During the directional drilling of the pilot hole, Master Drilling achieved significant accuracy reaching the end of the pilot hole at a deflection of only 142 mm. A raise-bored hole this accurate allows for the hole to be equipped as a vertical hoisting shaft, and at the depth of 1 380 m will be the first raise-bored hole to be equipped for both personnel and materials hoisting at such a deep depth.

REACHING GREATER DEPTHS

Once made fully operational, the No 3 shaft will be able to carry 126 people at 12 m a second using a three-deck cage and counterweight configuration. The rock shaft will be able to hoist as much as 115 000 t a month using 14 t skips in a skip-skip configuration. The ventilation shaft, meanwhile, will be able to exhaust 400 kg a second of air.

Both the No 3 personnel and materials, and rock, shafts will reach production levels three and four, while a third decline will enable material distribution from the No 3 shaft to the respective production levels.

As such, the No 3 shaft underground decline cluster of operations will comprise a chairlift decline and piped mining services, a rock decline equipped with a double drum winder consisting of two 12 t skips, and a material decline equipped with a single drum winder and gondola.

Mining activity from the existing workings of the Zondereinde mine will gradually transition into the Western Extension block. The new shaft will also facilitate the supply of services, including backfill, chilled service water and ventilation, to the underground workings. This will alleviate the challenges associated with distance from the existing Zondereinde shafts.

Zondereinde’s Western Extension is a rich resource block containing 21-million ounces of PGMs within the high-grade Merensky and upper group 2 orebodies of the Bushveld Complex.

The Western Extension resource was acquired from Anglo American in 2017 for R1-billion and will enable Northam to increase the output from Zondereinde to 350 000 oz/y of PGMs by 2026 through an additional 16-million ounces of resource.

The development of the No 3 shaft will secure the jobs of Zondereinde’s current employee complement of 10 700, as well as add 600 permanent positions, thereby providing the impetus for further economic activity in the province.

Northam CEO Paul Dunne says the milestone project was delivered on time and on budget by the Zondereinde team, in collaboration with Master Dr...

Diversified mining and marketing company Glencore is guiding 3% higher ferrochrome performance for the whole of this year, with no change to its coal production guidance.

Full-year guidance for nickel is also up by the same three percentage points but full-year 2022 zinc guidance has been reduced by 9% and copper guidance lowered by 3%.

The London- and Johannesburg-listed company expects to produce 1 500 000 t of ferrochrome this calendar year, compared with its previously guided lower 1 460 000 t.

The 40 000 fewer tonnes of copper and 3 000 fewer tonnes of cobalt being guided reflect temporary geotechnical constraints at Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while persistent challenges in ramping up processing capabilities at Kazzinc’s Zhairem operation reflect zinc’s guidance fall.

Glencore CEO Gary Nagle stated that while the group’s production in the first three months of the year was, for the most part, in line with expectations, it mirrored temporary impacts such as Covid absenteeism in Australia in particular.

The higher operating rates in the last quarter of 2021 of the Koniambo nickel operation continued into the first quarter of this year and overall coal production was, Nagle added, broadly flat period-on-period when taking in the company’s increased ownership of Cerrejón.

“Reflecting the Q1 production performance, full-year guidance is reduced for copper and cobalt, but increased for nickel and ferrochrome, while the slower than expected ramp-up at Zhairem reduces full-year zinc production guidance by 9%,” Nagle stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

Marketing activities were supported during the quarter by tight physical market conditions and periods of extreme volatility and extrapolating first-quarter performance would see the full-year earnings of Glencore’s marketing segment “comfortably exceed” the top end of the company’s long-term adjusted earnings-before-interest-and-tax (Ebit) guidance range of $2.2-billion to $3.2-billion a year, Nagle added.

In their note on Glencore’s first-quarter performance, UBS analysts commented: “We do not expect any material change to 2022 forecasts with higher marketing Ebit to offset lower copper, cobalt and zinc volumes.”

Deutsche Bank Research analysts described the copper guidance downgrade as a small negative that would be partly offset by raised guidance for ferrochrome and nickel. “Overall, we believe the Q1 update should be well received,” they stated.

Citi described Glencore’s first-quarter results as reflecting a “decent delivery on subdued expectations” and spoke of the company’s marketing business being “off to a bumper start”.

Diamond company Petra is exploring a responsible exit from its investment in the Koffiefontein diamond mining operations.

The exit would be carried out together with its black economic empowerment partners Kago Diamonds and its Itumelang employee trust, the London Stock Exchange-listed company stated in a release on Tuesday.

Petra expressed the view in its release to Mining Weekly that it might be feasible for another owner to extend the mine’s life. As at 30 June 2021, its gross resource base of 5.25-million carats included 1.11-million carats in the indicated resource category, associated with underground resources.

The focus of this disposal process, the company said, would be to identify a technically and financially suitable buyer that could unlock further value from Koffiefontein.

Petra has appointed Questco Corporate Advisory to manage the disposal process and parties interested in participating in the disposal process have been invited to register their interest.

Koffiefontein’s current mine plan extends to the company’s 2025 financial year, with a process under way involving employee reduction under Section 189A of the Labour Relations Act to attain sustainable operations until then.

In the event of a suitable buyer not being identified, Petra said it remained committed to operate the mine responsibly in accordance with its current life-of-mine plan before proceeding with a decommissioning, rehabilitation and closure programme.

Disposal will be run in parallel to the Section 189A process currently under way and does not in any way impact or alter it.

In the year of the Queen of England’s platinum jubilee, the coins to be used in the Wimbledon ladies’ and gentlemen’s singles finals coin toss will be made of platinum for the first time in the championships’ history.

This follows the unveiling by the UK Royal Mint in March of its largest ever platinum coin to coincide with the year of Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee.

The Wimbledon toss coins have been specially designed by bespoke jeweller Heirloom London in collaboration with the All England Club to commemorate both the Queen’s platinum jubilee and the centenary of Wimbledon’s Centre Court at the All England Club’s Church Road Grounds.

“This wonderful symbolic gesture will add a special element to proceedings this year at the championships, in a year of double celebration,” All England Club chairperson Ian Hewitt stated.

Made from 95% fine platinum, the coins have dimensions of approximately 43 mm x 3 mm, with each gram of their 70 g pure platinum representing a year of service from Her Majesty.

They are being presented to the championships by the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC), the members of which are South Africa’s Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum, Northam Platinum, Royal Bafokeng Platinum, Sedibelo Platinum and Tharisa.

The ladies’ singles final toss coin is inscribed with the words The Championships 2022 Ladies’ Singles Final Saturday 9 July; the gentlemen’s singles final toss coin with the words The Championships 2022 Gentlemen’s Singles Final Sunday 10 July.

The obverse, ‘heads’, side of each coin carries the official emblem of the Queen’s platinum jubilee and has been inspired by the themes of service, endurance and strength. The design incorporates a quotation from Queen Elizabeth’s speech made on her 21st birthday on 21 April 1947 – ‘my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service’ – as well as an oak leaf motif inspired by the royal badge of the House of Windsor.

The reverse, ‘tails’, side of each coin is inscribed with the famous Wimbledon Roundel, as well as its centenary mark, specially designed for use in centre court’s centenary year. The centre court allusion continues with the use of the inspirational Rudyard Kipling quote, ‘If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same’; words that are famously inscribed above the players’ entrance to centre court.

WPIC, as a global market authority on platinum investment, expressed delight at being able to showcase platinum in this way.

“It is, of course, the pre-eminent precious metal chosen to symbolise a 70th anniversary, a fitting tribute for the most important and memorable of occasions.

“Beyond that, platinum serves our planet by improving air quality and paving the way for hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen, the next generation, zero-emissions fuel – and its associated uses,” WPIC CEO Paul Wilson stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

PLATINUM’S ROLE IN GLOBAL DECARBONISATION

Platinum is the metal that is unlocking the global hydrogen economy, with hydrogen poised to become a mainstream, sustainable fuel which will play a central role in decarbonisation; over 30 countries already have road maps or strategy documents setting out their intentions in this regard.

Owing to its catalytic properties, platinum is fundamental to the technology that enables the hydrogen economy; it is used in the production of green hydrogen from wind or solar power and in fuel cells for zero-emission fuel cell electric vehicles.

Thirty times rarer than gold, around 76% of the world’s reserves of platinum are located in South Africa.

Platinum’s high melting point, high density, ultra-stability and extreme non-corrosiveness make it crucial to many industrial and manufacturing processes, yet it is used to fabricate the finest jewellery in the world.

Platinum is also an investment asset that reflects its value across the demand spectrum from industrial to precious metal. It is included in investment po...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer talks about Botswana Diamonds' plans to potentially build a new mine at its Thorny River property in Limpopo; President Cyril Ramaphosa's call for the country to support the current board and leadership at Eskom; and the need for partnerships, as demonstrated by Chile's Codelco, which is seeking prospect partnerships for 34 projects in that country.

An evaluation carried out by Botswana Diamonds has firmed up the possibility of a diamond mine being developed at the company’s Thorny River property in South Africa’s Limpopo province.

The analysis indicates potential opencast options, the London-Aim and Botswana Stock Exchange-listed company said on Monday.

The evaluation shows potential for operational positive cash flow even at low levels of diamond recovery, Botswana Diamonds chairperson John Teeling commented in a release to Mining Weekly. It is anticipated that drilling in the coming months will extend mineable kimberlite volume.

The kimberlite has been found to be potentially commercial when applying current industry standard mining and processing costs, Botswana Diamonds MD James Campbell stated.

The likelihood of a commercial mine is based on mid-range diamond values of $170/ct, mid-range mining costs, a discount rate of 10%, a recovered grade of 40 carats per hundred tons and 1.7-million tons of kimberlite mined, the release stated.

In March last year, Mining Weekly reported that Botswana Diamonds had recovered 11 diamonds and abundant kimberlitic indicators from drill samples.

At the time, Teeling stated that the recovery of so many kimberlitic indicators and diamonds boded well for the potential commerciality of “this exciting discovery”.

The result of the latest evaluation – completed by South Africa-based independent mining advisory consultant Practara, together with modelling input from ABGM of Australia –excludes any additional resources from adjacent targets which will be drilled in the coming months.

Conceptual open pit mine plan models were developed under a number of scenarios to assess the open pit mining potential. The models used the results of several drilling programmes.

Grade and diamond value data was based on previous microdiamond and bulk sampling data as well as production results from the adjacent Klipspringer mine and the technical economic and evaluation report on the Thorny River Project, which was announced in June 2018.

The evaluation is indicative of what could potentially be considered for more detailed work and its objective is to identify the best open pit mining option and considered low, medium, and high-cost scenarios for mining.

Botswana Diamonds states on its website that although South Africa has a long legacy as a diamond producer extending back over a century to the early days of the founding of De Beers in Kimberley, in recent years the apparent complexity of doing business in the country combined with a perception that it is the exclusive domain of majors has resulted in mineral exploration activity being limited. Prospecting rights have thus been allowed to lapse on the part of the majors which has paved the way for smaller operators and individuals to stake claims over what would be considered in other domains as highly prospective ground.

It adds that a review of fiscal regimes in Southern Africa has shown South Africa to be most competitive from an investment point of view, mainly due to lower royalties payable to the state on revenues, and lower rates of citizen free carry.

“The country therefore represents a new frontier and an opportunity for diamond exploration. This opportunity has been taken-up by De Beers who have returned to South Africa after a number of years with the granting of a number of prospecting rights over substantial areas in the country,” the website adds.

The board of diversified miner Sibanye-Stillwater has approved a new fund called the BioniCCubE to foster research and development (R&D) of new innovations and technologies, as well as market development, by investing in and leveraging strategic partnerships.

“This will support the company on our path to embracing digital technology and becoming a climate-change-resilient business as a leading supplier of green metals and energy solutions,” Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman and chairperson Dr Vincent Maphai said jointly in Sibanye’s 2021 Integrated Report.

BioniCCubE will operate as a closed-end fund, fully financed by Sibanye with a capital budget of up to 1.5% a year of group-adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation for appropriate investments.

Two initial investments have been made by Sibanye.

The first investment was made in financial technology company Glint Pay, which operates in the UK, the US and Japan, and which uses gold as an alternative global currency to enable its clients to instantly buy, sell, save, spend and send their physical gold and other currencies. This is done using the Glint Mastercard and Glint application.

Glint offers no credit facilities, but it allows users to transfer, receive and save real gold, which is secured in security company Brink’s vaults in Switzerland. The partnership with Glint enables Sibanye to support new end markets for gold on an innovative, digital and highly regulated platform, backed by physical gold supervised by a world-class regulator in Switzerland.

The second investment made was into French industrial company Verkor.

Verkor intends to ramp up low-carbon battery manufacturing facilities in France and southern Europe to meet the growing demand for electric mobility and stationary battery storage in Europe.

Verkor’s first gigafactory will be built at the port city of Dunkirk in France, with first delivery of low-carbon high performance batteries for electric vehicles planned for July 2025.

The initial manufacturing capacity of 16 GWh in 2025 is expected to expand to 50 GWh by 2030.

Froneman and Maphai noted that Verkor also enjoyed the support of several vehicle and technology companies such as Renault, Demeter, EIT InnoEnergy Groupe IDEC, Schneider Electric, Capgemini, Arkema and Tokai COBEX.

Sibanye made a strategic €25-million investment in Verkor through a new convertible bond issuance.

This strategic investment will pave the way for further technical and commercial cooperation between Sibanye and Verkor, Froneman and Maphai said.

They further noted that the development timelines for Sibanye’s Keliber lithium project in Finland, its Sandouville nickel refinery extension in France to target specific nickel battery metal products, and Verkor’s first gigafactory were largely in sync.

“The global shift towards more socially and environmentally aware behaviours and policies continues to gain momentum, with emphasis on climate change. Future investment in renewable energy and other green industrial activity is likely to support demand for commodities required for the green energy economy, especially those produced with minimal negative environmental and social impacts,” Froneman and Maphai said.

In particular, this included the essential metals that Sibanye produced and was targeting as it positioned itself to create sustainable value through further delivery on the company’s green metals strategy.

“We have reconceptualised our battery metals growth intentions previously presented as a fourth sigmoid curve to become part of an integrated portfolio of green metals.

“Our portfolio of metals is complemented by increasingly green production through recycling and tailings retreatment. Including gold, our ultimate aim is to build a comprehensive portfolio that is robust to global dislocations to promote sustainability and contribute to the reversal of climate change,” Froneman and Maphai concluded.

Amid the global transition to renewable energies and the effects of strong commodity prices and supply crunches, there is a scramble to ensure security of supply of critical and battery minerals in Africa.

These factors heighten the importance of African mining and the role of the Investing in African Mining Indaba – to be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from May 9 to 12 – states Indaba organiser Hyve Group head of content Tom Quinn.

“For all the negatives of the pandemic, it’s created opportunities through increased online consumerism, which comes on the back of the uptake in electric vehicles, energy storage and growth in renewables investment. These factors are all linked to make these minerals valuable resources.”

There have been price increases in commodities, such as cobalt and copper, from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, for example, and platinum-group metals (PGMs) from South Africa.

Nickel has also enjoyed a significant surge in price, which forced commodities entity the LME to suspend trading in March to drive the price down.

The increased interest in African countries supplying these commodities has encouraged Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema to attend the Mining Indaba.

“He’s looking to reset the relationship between miners and the Zambian government, and provide clarity on the country’s mining code to drive foreign investment. The government has planned an announcement before the Indaba, but the President will be engaging with media to discuss specifics at the Indaba.”

Quinn adds that Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi will also attend the Indaba.

“As well as heads of State and over 35 Ministers, the Indaba will have the world-exclusive debut at a major event from Anglo American’s new South African CEO, Duncan Wanblad, who will underpin the critical role of mining in the energy transition through his keynote address on The Power of Mining.”

Quinn adds that Wanblad will be joined during the week by executives from the group, including South Africa board chair and current president of Minerals Council South Africa Nolitha Fakude, new Kumba Iron Ore CEO Mpumi Kikalala and Anglo Platinum CEO Natscha Viljoen.

Transition and ESG Investments

Hyve Group portfolio director Simon Ford says one of the key themes that emerged from COP26 last year was the focus on transitioning to renewable energies and the role that Africa can play in providing the minerals and metals for this transition.

Quinn comments that – in line with the Glasgow Pact, which saw countries committing to reducing emissions and combating climate change – environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues are a key theme for the Indaba this year.

The event has also received a significant number of registrations from the global investment community, which also has a renewed focus on ESG performance.

The Indaba will host financial organisations, such as Standard Bank, Nedbank, Absa and Investec, the African Development Bank and the World Bank, as well as other attendees from the international finance community, to participate and consider new opportunities, especially in the battery metals sector.

Hyve, through its programming, has encouraged Indaba attendees to discuss how ESG is being implemented in their operations and how this might affect future investment decisions.

Important industry bodies including the International Council on Mining and Metals, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the United Nations and the World Gold Council will all feature in panel sessions clarifying the relationship between ESG, investors and the mining industry.

“These decisions are impacted on by incidents such as miner Rio Tinto’s destroying Aboriginal rock shelters in Western Australia last May. A Rio Tinto delegation is attending this year, including new CEO Sinead Kaufman, and we’re working on a briefing with them to discuss the report Rio Tinto made public earlier this year regardi...