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Uranium development company Neo Energy Metals stated in a London Stock Exchange announcement on Tuesday, March 24, that it is negotiating an agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater to secure unrestricted access to the New Beisa Complex uranium and gold site.

Also provided by Neo, headed by CEO Theo Botoulas, was additional information on the development of the New Beisa project and the Henkries Complex mining right application.

The New Beisa project aims to restart uranium and gold mining operations at the former Beatrix 4 shaft while a Henkies Complex mining right application to South Africa's Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) is expected to be approved by December 2026 – a timeline in accordance with the contractual agreement reached with Desert Star Uranium.

The initiatives span South Africa's Free State and Northern Cape provinces.

Access to the New Beisa Complex, Neo stated, would allow certain preparatory work to begin while a Section 11 approval process is under way. Section 11 approval involves mandatory written consent from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy for the transfer of mining and prospecting rights in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.

Security contractors already appointed are reportedly liaising directly with Sibanye-Stillwater's management amid mineral rights specialists working with Sibanye-Stillwater in parallel to support the implementation of the Section 11 process.

Unnamed quantity surveyors, project managers and contractors are reportedly appointing entities with requisite mining engineering, process engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, environmental, health and safety, and tailings management expertise needed to achieve the targeted medium-term production timeline date of December 2027.

Sibanye-Stillwater Section 11 and Section 102 applications have, Neo reported, been submitted to the DMPR, with approvals required to be completed by June 6. A Section 102 application is a formal request to amend, vary, or extend existing permissions, including prospecting rights and mining rights.

In accordance with the contractual process, the second Section 11, being Neo's own application, would be submitted following approval of Sibanye-Stillwater's Section 11 application process, which the agreement stipulates must be completed by December 6.

To support this, unnamed professional mineral rights consultants had been appointed to ensure that Neo's documentation for the Section 11 application was properly prepared for immediate submission.

While the Section 11 process is under way, executive management is finalising a Neo-Sibanye contracting agreement, which is intended to provide immediate site access to begin certain on-site work as well as analyses to enable Neo to meet the targeted December 2027 medium-term production timeline.

As part of the implementation assessment, Neo is also updating resource statements to reflect the improved operating and price environment.

NEW EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS

A new head governance and legal has been appointed by Neo to support compliance with regulatory and legislative requirements, the establishment of clear policies, and assistance with South Africa and UK secretarial functions.

Two line managers have been appointed, one for the Northern Cape Henkries Complex and another for the Free State New Beisa Complex, and notification was given that the management team would continue to be strengthened and expanded as the company developed.

Incorporated are three new subsidiary companies to complete the implementation assessment at New Beisa, and assist with efficient administration of Henkries.

May is the proposed month for Neo's upcoming AGM in London, where shareholders will be...

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As a result of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, South Africa's coal company Thungela is prioritising the safety and well-being of its 16 employees in Dubai, where the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed coal mining and marketing company has its international marketing base.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is "a matter of profound concern", Thungela CEO Moses Madondo emphasised during a media conference following the company's release of its 2025 financial results, which saw 17%-lower group revenue of R29.6-billion, in a year of strong operational performance but within the context of a challenging thermal coal market environment.

"The ongoing conflict in the Middle East following the US-Israeli actions involving Iran has raised new levels of uncertainty and has caused concern, not only for the global economy but for peace, safety and security in the region. We continue to provide support to our colleagues in Dubai, prioritising their safety and well-being," Madondo reiterated on Monday, March 23.

In response to Mining Weekly, Madondo explained that Thungela's 16 Dubai-based international marketing employees have been permitted to leave Dubai and operate remotely.

"The 16 people that work out of our Dubai business originate from a variety of countries, including Singapore and even Finland.

"While all of them are still essentially working through the Dubai office, they're working from home, whether that may be in Finland," Thungela CFO Deon Smith explained.

Only three Dubai nationals remain with opportunities being sought to ensure their safety.

Meanwhile, product flow remains unaffected, and the business remains in a healthy shape from a cash generation perspective amid producing currencies strengthening owing to the US dollar weakening.

Operating free cash flow for 2025 was R396-million and net cash as at December 31 was R5.1-billion.

A final cash dividend of R2 a share has been declared, taking the full-year dividend to R4 a share. In the form of both dividends and share buyback, some 700-million is the total returned to shareholders in 2025, reflecting continued board confidence in the ongoing generation of returns.

Current coal prices point to greater cash generation than in the second half of last year, with cash now being generated on its way towards being highlighted in the 2026 interim results.

Thungela, which means to ignite, has operations in South Africa and Australia. In South Africa, a strong performance at Mafube and the ramp-up at Annea Colliery supported export saleable production of 13.9-million tonnes and in Australia, the overcoming of challenging geological conditions resulted in export saleable production of four-million tonnes.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of R1.2-billion were generated and operational cash flow hit the R2.4-billion mark.

Regarding the availability of fuel for the company and Transnet during the supply chain disruption, Smith pointed out that it was not only fuel that was of concern to mining and transport companies but also a number of other energy inputs into its business, all of which were being closely monitored.

"Our estimates at the moment are that there should be sufficient fuel storage for the bulk users, and we have engaged our suppliers to give us confidence and comfort they are able to withstand the current supply crunch.

"It might come at a slightly incremental cost, but that cost for our business, given that we spend about 6% of all of our operational expenditure on fuel energy-related costs, isn't going to be as pronounced as what the tailwind is on our revenue," said Smith.

Thungela has considerable storage across its mines and its key suppliers. The potential price impact of holding higher st...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the Mooi Plaats solar photovoltaic project that has begun commercial operation in the Northern Cape; the first gold pour from Qala Shallows; optimism about “great" opportunities for gold mine development in South Africa.

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Toronto-listed Canadian company Giyani Metals has received an additional R29.9-million from South Africa's State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for its high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) demonstration plant in Johannesburg.

HPMSM is a refined precursor material used in the production of cathode powders for lithium-ion batteries deployed in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESSs).

"We would like to thank the IDC for being such a supportive partner," Giyani interim executive chairperson Nigel Robinson stated in a media release to Mining Weekly on Friday, March 20.

The extra R29.2-million has increased the total loan facility to R264.3-million and the maximum combined loan facility under the IDC facilities to R329.9-million, Giyani outlined.

Although Giyani does not intend to recommence demonstration plant operation, the completion deadline date of the demonstration plant has been extended to June 30.

The continued operation of the demonstration plant has confirmed demonstration plant scale reagent consumption and contributed to operating knowledge of the crystallisers and purge management at a large scale.

This data will be incorporated into a definitive feasibility study (DFS) on the project. As a result, the DFS is now expected to be completed during the second quarter of this year.

The HPMSM enabled by the IDC's additional funding is being prepared for analysis by interested offtakers.

"We look forward to announcing these results to the market as soon as they become available, which will enable Giyani to ramp up towards securing offtake agreements and advance project financing discussions," Robinson added.

As the developer of the K.Hill battery-grade manganese project in neighbouring Botswana, where a commercial-scale HPMSM site is planned, Giyani is focused on becoming the preferred producer of sustainable, low-carbon high-purity battery-grade EV and ESS manganese through its bespoke hydrometallurgical process.

Under the terms of the addendum to its existing convertible loan facility agreements with the IDC, additional security over certain project assets and information has been granted in favour of the IDC.

Giyani has undertaken and satisfied the provision of funding not less than R40-million to its subsidiaries to support completion of its DFS and the IDC will have the right to nominate one director to the board of Giyani if it holds more than 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company.

As reported by Mining Weekly last year, high-purity manganese oxide produced from the Johannesburg demonstration plant met Phase 1 qualification standards set by US battery technology company Charge CCCV, which enabled the advance to Phase 2 of Charge CCCV's digital DNA Supply Chain Qualification Programme.

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) published in July 2023 evaluates a base case K.Hill scenario that considers a single production line with a feed capacity of 200 000 t/y to process high-purity manganese oxide material to produce HPMSM over a 57-year life-of-project, which includes a 49-year life-of-mine plus eight years of stockpile rehandling.

The PEA also evaluates an upside case, which assumes the construction of an additional production line from year 5 of operations to increase total feed capacity to 400 000 t/y, reducing the life-of-project to 31 years.

Included in the project is a crushing facility with a run-of-mine pad and stockpiles, a three-stage crushing plant and a crushed material bin. It also includes a processing area, including grinding, extraction, purification, fluoride polishing, crystallisation, product storage and handling; water treatment, reagent storage and tails handling; a sulphur dioxide plant; plant...

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Bullish hydrogen sentiment re-surfaced at the PGMs Industry Day on Thursday, March 19.

"I'm actually pretty bullish on hydrogen," said Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Dr Richard Stewart at the event covered by Mining Weekly.

"I think hydrogen's got the inside track," said Implats CEO Nico Muller.

This followed PGMs Industry Day chairperson Bernard Swanepoel putting this question to Minerals Council South Africa president Paul Dunne, who is also the CEO of Northam Platinum, which recently visited China where the company experienced fast-growing use of hydrogen to power trucks.

Swanepoel: Your road to Damascus, you went to China, you came back believing in hydrogen.

Dunne: Our belief in hydrogen comes about from a number of revelations that we've seen on our travels in China. I do think it's important to travel to see what's happening in important nodes of activity in China. Northern China, in particular, is very relevant here. You can't mine coal in China just for thermal purposes these days. It must be beneficiated or improved, and, a la Sasol, splitting the hydrocarbon is taking place.

When you do that, you release grey hydrogen as a by-product for free, effectively, and certainly that's happening. We visited one very large coking coal company, I think possibly the largest coking coal company in the world, or of that order. They have 20 000 trucks already powered by grey hydrogen, with an ambition in the one single company to move to over 200 000 trucks. In this case, they're using a Toyota fuel cell, which has 100 g of platinum per cell, and it's completely commercialised and industrialised. In some ways, it's happened below the radar. It's not been entirely visible to us.

One of our colleagues, Hurbey Geldenhuys, had the temerity on a subsequent visit to Shanghai to meet the head of the SOE, a PhD, Chinese lady, and Hurbey remarked that we'd been hearing about green hydrogen now for many decades and, frankly, we don't believe you. It was very bad of him to say that in a Chinese setting, but he meant it well. The lady professor then stood up and lectured him in Chinese for half an hour through the translator, who was a young student and the message was very, very clear. It's in [China's] Five-Year Plan. It's supported by local government, it's supported by provincial government, it's supported by national government, it will happen. So, we have the view that electrolysers and green hydrogen will proceed from here, and on the other side of the hydrogen equation, it's already happening through grey hydrogen.

FIVE-YEAR PLAN

Stewart remarked that what had reinforced his belief in hydrogen was the Chinese Five-Year Plan.

"Green energy's in there, and green hydrogen is specifically mentioned and there's a strategy that can give real legs to it. We've seen China do it with solar panels. They've done it in EVs. They're going to do it in hydrogen. That, to me, is a real indication that this is now seriously going to get legs," said Stewart.

Much mention was also made of the new multi-year research and development partnership that Valterra Platinum and Sibanye-Stillwater have concluded with Johnson Matthey and to accelerate the next generation of PGM-enabled technologies.

"To secure the future of PGM demand, we must actively create it – through partnership, shared investment, and a wide portfolio approach that continually brings new applications into the pipeline," Valterra Platinum, headed by CEO Craig Miller – who also addressed the PGMs Industry Day event – outlined in a recent LinkedIn post.

"By combining Johnson Matthey's industrial technology leadership with a growing base of aligned partner capital, we can fast-track impactful new PGM applications and help shape the demand of tomorrow," the Valterra not...

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Minerals Council South Africa is seeing positive signals from government as it awaits the second draft of South Africa's proposed Mineral Resources Development Bill.

"It's our expectation that our concerns will be addressed and – for now – we're satisfied that we're being heard," Minerals Council South Africa president Paul Dunne said in his opening address to the PGMs Industry Day, which is chaired by mining luminary Bernard Swanepoel.

Dunne emphasised the criticality of mining companies and investors having a pragmatic, stable regulatory environment that attracted investment rather than discouraged it by onerous, globally uncompetitive policy.

"It's our considered view that the proposed Mineral Resources Development Bill in its original form does not encourage or sustain the growth and investment that the mining industry needs to realise its full potential to create employment, to stimulate the economy and to fulfil its social mandate," Dunne said at the March 19 event covered by Mining Weekly.

South Africa's platinum group metals (PGM) industry, he said, had made significant contributions towards addressing historical injustices, even in the throes of difficult operating and regulatory environments, and some incredibly demanding market conditions.

"Minister Gwede Mantashe has often said on public platforms that the mining industry is the most transformed sector in our economy, and we agree," said Dunne.

South Africa's mining sector spends R3-billion-plus a year on statutory social and labour plan projects and commitments, building houses, schools, roads, bridges, clinics, and water and sanitation infrastructure.

Pointing out that Minerals Council member companies accounted for 80% of the world's mined PGMs, Dunne expressed the belief that PGM mining industry growth and national economic growth were inextricably interlinked.

"We can't have one without the other and we need a stable, predictable regulatory environment that promotes both.

"A PGM industry that attracts local and international capital for exploration, the development of new mines and the expansion of existing operations will create more employment, attract new entrants, and multiply all the benefits that the mining industry delivers for the country."

South Africa's PGM industry employs 170 000 of the mining sector's 470 000-strong workforce in "relatively well-paid jobs", which come with "a very high economic multiplier effect".

"If we consider extended family dependency together with our direct supplier base, collectively the mining sector supports around 3.5-million people. Clearly this is a very important sector of society and needs to be understood in the context of a developing nation.

"In many cases, mining operations take place in remote parts of the country and are the only source of jobs and income. Often, mining companies step in to provide services and infrastructure that failing or dysfunctional municipal governments are not delivering.

"Mining matters to our economy. It accounts for 6.2% of GDP and R816-billion worth of exported mineral products, representing 45% of total exports.

"Corporate tax payments amounted to R31-billion, contributing 10% of total corporate tax collection. Mining companies make up 35% of the JSE Top 40 by market capitalisation.

"It costs at least R20-billion and ten years to build a decent-sized mine. Very few mining companies have that type of money lying around on the balance sheet. Mining companies need to operate in an environment that allows them to attract capital in the form of debt or equity to fund projects.

"However, providers of capital will not put their money into risky jurisdictions where returns are threatened by regulatory uncertainty, crime and corruption and failing infrastr...

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The Mooi Plaats solar photovoltaic project has begun commercial operation. The project supports 240 MW of green energy to the South African platinum, diamond and iron-mines.

This achievement is described as marking another advancement in the growing portfolio of renewable assets in South Africa of Envusa Energy, a venture owned jointly by Anglo American and Electricité de France Renewables (EDF) power solutions.

Located in the sunny Northern Cape, the Mooi Plaats project, which is delivering clean renewable energy into South Africa's national electricity grid in support of platinum group metals (PGM) mining company Valterra Platinum, diamond mining company De Beers, and iron-ore mining company Kumba Iron Ore, amid the broader transformation of this country's energy landscape.

Mooi Plaats is the first of three projects to reach commercial operation this year, with two 140 MW projects on the way, Envusa and Anglo American South Africa chair Nolitha Fakude outlined in a release to Mining Weekly on March 18.

"Mooi Plaats is not only a source of low carbon power – it's an enabler of new socio-economic opportunities and stronger national energy security," Fakude explained.

Mooi Plaats, which benefits from excellent renewable energy resources and a strong Eskom grid connection, is the first project in the Envusa portfolio that will aggregate the energy from the Koruson 2 cluster, allocating energy on demand and utilising the portfolio wheeling concept developed and implemented in collaboration with South Africa's State-owned electricity utility Eskom.

EDF CEO Tristan de Drouas pointed out that Mooi Plaats' commercial commencement demonstrates the momentum that is building within the EDF-Anglo partnership.

"We're deploying world-class renewable energy projects and aggregation capability that contributes directly to South Africa's energy transition," De Drouas stated.

Envusa, which is creating more than 1 300 project-related jobs, is investing R20-million into local socio-economic development projects for the Inxuba Yethemba Middleburg community, which is also an ownership participant through the Winds of Change Community Trust.

Partnering Envusa is Pele Green Energy, whose CEO Gqi Raoleka emphasised the shared commitment of the partnership to South Africa and its developing communities. "Beyond delivering 240 MW of clean energy, this project demonstrates how the energy transition can strengthen energy security, support decarbonisation and create meaningful socio-economic impact for host communities," Raoleka stated.

Anglo chief project and development officer Alison Atkinson spoke of each milestone of the Envusa rollout bringing South Africa closer to a cleaner and more inclusive energy system.

"The project contributes to early tariff relief, strengthens grid resilience, and supports the development of local economic opportunities," Atkinson noted.

EMISSION REDUCTION

Mooi Plaats is expected to supply 15% of the electricity demand of Valterra and mitigate 500 000 t of carbon emissions a year.

With grid electricity currently accounting for 87% of Vaterra's total emissions, the renewable supply would, Valterra reported in a separate release to Mining Weekly, would help to reduce the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2030.

As all Envusa Koruson 2 projects come online, Valterra would meet a third of its electricity needs by adding 480 MW of renewable energy to its operations.

Approximately 80% of electricity generated through the Koruson 2 programme is allocated to Valterra and savings from the programme are estimated at 10% below current tariffs in 2026.

Valterra mines, smelts and refines PGMs and associated co-products amid its integrated value chain supported...

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First blast October, first pour March. It's just go, go, go for Australia-listed West Wits Mining as it streaks ahead at a time of sky-high gold prices.

The highly impressive and safe manner in which the metallurgical team at the Sibanye-Stillwater Ezulwini gold smelting plant went about processing of first gold from Qala Shallows on March 17 was a pleasure to behold.

"It's really great to host the West Wits team," Sibanye-Stillwater VP Ayanda Shabalala said at the event attended by West Wits chairperson Michael Quinert and West Wits CEO Rudi Deysel.

"We start off with the processing of about 10% of West Wits material and that goes up over the next three years to about 80%.

"We're looking forward to a very full relationship between ourselves as Sibanye and West Wits," added Shabalala, at the event that Mining Weekly attended.

Ezulwini, which means 'in heaven', has the capacity to process 130 000 t a month.

West Wits' Qala Shallows is expected to contribute more than $1.15-billion to the South African economy over its 17-year life, supported by a steady-state production profile of 70 000 oz/y for 12 years.

The latest compliant mineral resource estimate of the Witwatersrand Basin project of Sydney-listed West Wits Mining is up 2.2-million ounces. The project is situated a mere 15 km west of Johannesburg.

"We want to be your strategic partner, because South Africa is blessed with still a lot of resources that haven't been exploited, which I think the world's starting to see. We've got 17 years life-of-mine on this project, and we can see it going much longer, 25 to 30 years – and why build a new plant when there's a perfectly good plant here, which is what attracted us to the whole idea of being a strategic partner with Sibanye," said Quinert.

"Initially it's a bit hard for a really big company to deal with a smaller company, but slowly we're becoming bigger and I think once we get over all those issues, we're sort of now well positioned to take this forward together because the last thing we really want to do is build our own plant. So, we want to be with you guys to make this gold mine happen," Quinert added.

The smelt house visit placed major emphasis on safety protocols, with Shabalala expressing the hope that the partnership enhances safety, as a key value, and also innovation.

"We need to look at what else can we do together, how best we can improve production, both from a tonnage point of view as well as from an efficiency point of view. So, I'm excited. If you're saying you want to grow and actually supply more, we'll say supply more, even starting now. We really are hungry for good quality material that will help to earn value.

"Together we can extract some synergies, that can add value, create employment, create value for the communities, the employees, the shareholders; I'm really looking forward to a long-term relationship that creates win, win outcomes for everyone," added Shabalala.

Deysel took the opportunity to invite the Ezulwini team to visit Qala Shallows "because I think we share absolutely the same view on how we want to operate. I actually would like you guys to come and visit our little mine, which has started up and which is growing."

ASX-listed West Wits Mining has started a scoping study under its Project 200 initiative within the broader Witwatersrand Basin project (WBP). Project 200 is a strategic growth initiative aimed at assessing the potential to scale WBP toward an aspirational target of a 200 000 oz/y gold production.

The new Qala Shallows gold mine is not only a milestone for West Wits Mining but also for South Africa's mining industry, the South African economy, and the communities that will share in the opportunities created here, Minerals Council South Africa...

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Many more "great" opportunities exist in South Africa for gold mine development, West Wits Mining chair Michael Quinert emphasised on March 17 when the first gold pour from his new virgin rock Qala Shallows gold mine took place at Sibanye-Stillwater's Ezulwini gold processing plant.

Quinert said it was "fantastic" for a company of the stature of Sibanye-Stillwater to lay on a gold processing plant for West Wits.

Quinert was speaking to Mining Weekly in a video interview at Ezulwini. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

What's more, its relative 800-m shallowness also translates into lower costs.

"Who would have thought we'd find a seven-million-ounce resource, basically at surface. If we were in Australia, people would be doing back flips. So, you know, we're very pleased to come here. We're really committed to the country, and we think there's a big future for South African mining."

Qala Shallows is staffed overwhelmingly by South Africans and is considering a listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Mining Weekly: Qala means it's just the beginning and Shallows points to it being pretty shallow.

Quinert: That's what we're trying to broadcast because most people think of South African mining being deep, everything's called deep, but this is shallow. We're starting at level two. So, it means it's more straightforward. Our costs are better, and it shows there are some fantastic orebodies still here ready to be exploited.

So, what'll you do next?

Well, we're looking to expand the project. You know, this is only the beginning. It is only the beginning. This is a 17-year life-of-mine producing a steady state 70 000 oz. But we think we can take this all the way to 200 000 oz. There's a massive resource there on the Jorc statement now, of seven-million ounces. It's all at good grades, so we've got to do the work and the feasibility on expanding it. But we think Qala is a great start.

Give us a bit of history of how this all came about.

I came here as a lawyer, of all things, in the early 2000s to work on some projects for some clients, that ended up being the Ergo plant, which DRDGOLD are now owning. And it also ended up being some of the assets that Pan African are mining on the West Rand, and this company, West Wits, was really a spin-off of some of the assets that came out of that project. I was asked, would I be chairman, and I said, yes, great, thinking that as chairman, I can sit around and do what I want, but no, it's been a lot of work, but it's been worthwhile. And here we are, after all this time now, pouring gold on this fantastic day on the West Rand.

The situation here at Ezulwini is quite impressive.

I think it's fantastic to be with a company of the stature of Sibanye-Stillwater and to take a small mining company like us on. We've had some great relationship-building with them, and they're very keen to see the project work and we do believe that this can be a catalyst for starting overseas investment into South Africa to exploit these wonderful assets. Australian investors are going to West Africa, East Africa, places that have far less to offer in terms of stability, opportunity and resources and the people here, the skills you have here in South Africa.

I mean, you basically run mining in all of Africa, so why not come here and use your skills locally and so we're looking forward to building that relationship with our South African friends. None of these things are down to one person. There's a huge team that sits behind what we've done, of consultants, but I can proudly say for you guys that there's only two Australians now in this whole company of over 250 people. They're all South Africans, and all our consultants, all our engineers, everyone's South African. So, while w...

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Gold trade disruption caused by the war in the Middle East should not be compared with that of the global impact experienced during the Covid pandemic but should rather be viewed as a regional interruption.

"While the physical flow of gold has been temporarily interrupted in some regions, the gold industry's diversity is ensuring that if you can't get gold from Dubai, you can probably get it from Singapore and you can certainly get it from Switzerland," World Gold Council senior market strategist John Reade and World Gold Council senior market strategist North America Joseph Cavatoni agreed as they unpacked gold's sharp reaction to escalating conflict in the Middle East, its initial surge following geopolitical tensions, before levelling out as markets absorbed the shock.

"If necessary, there are also quite a few kilo bars in New York after last year, which could be used to supply markets where they need to so.

"This is not a rerun of Covid…but it is something to keep an eye on," the gold strategists emphasise.

Looking ahead, they expressed the opinion that investors should expect elevated volatility to persist amid ongoing geopolitical risks and disruptive global policy dynamics – conditions that are shaping not just gold, but broader financial markets in 2026.

The Middle East conflict resulted in an immediate rise in the gold price as a reaction to the conflict amid the potential impact of the closing of the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategically important choke points.

Protraction of closure through conflict could impact safe haven assets like gold, which traded up to around about $5 500/oz the Monday following the attacks on Iran, and at the time of going to press were in the $5 100/oz range.

'"I certainly don't think that means that this is over in terms of gold moves associated with the Middle East conflict. I just think that investors and traders are settling down a little bit after the initial shock.

"But it is interesting to speak to some people in the market. About supply chain issues, obviously, Dubai is an important physical hub for global gold supply.

"I was ballpark estimating this morning, something like about 20% of physical flows in gold go through Dubai.

"Not much is consumed there itself, but it takes an awful lot of gold, particularly from artisanal and small scale gold mining activities across Africa, and that gold then ends up, typically, into the broader Middle East region, and into India," Reade pointed out in the World Gold Council's release to Mining Weekly.

Disruption to the global gold supply chain is linked to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, and Doha, the capital of Qatar, being major international flight hubs, but this is not expected to be protracted because gold flows will be re-routed into the important consuming markets of China and India.

The London and Shanghai exchanges are reported working fine at the moment.

Expectations are that materially higher gold volatility levels are likely to be sustained at these higher levels for the foreseeable future.

Since gold started to trade materially higher in 2024, volatility has been ticking higher and its elevation accelerated 2025.

"With what has happened so far this year, in January, and now with this Middle Eastern conflict, implied volatility is high. We're sitting at a level of about 28 volatility for three months, implied, and that's a pretty high level indicative of everything we've discussed in terms of the conflict.

"But I wouldn't expect it to rapidly fall back to the $1 500/oz to $1 800/oz level that we saw a few years ago.

"I think that the changing nature of...