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The biggest takeaway from the hugely profitable Mogale tailings retreatment operation that was commissioned west of Johannesburg by Pan African Resources on Thursday is that one can make a huge success and look forward to very rapid payback by investing in South Africa.

"It's quite ironic. We've been pretty much all over Africa looking for opportunities in terms of expanding our business and ultimately we've come back to South Africa and less than an hour from our corporate office, we have 1.1-million ounces of recoverable gold reserve here, and we acquired all of it for just over $1/oz, which is fantastic," remarked an ebullient Pan African CEO Cobus Loots told Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The project has come in at R2.4-billion, not the budgeted R2.5-billion, and in 14 months, four months sooner than cited, and at the current good gold price, payback of the initial investment is expected in two to three years.

The London- and Johannesburg-listed company, which has advanced significantly in gold recovery from surface dumps, has seen its share price double this year

Employment in an area needing jobs far exceeds the original estimate of 700 during construction and 500 for the operation with 1 600 people currently on site, including the contractors, and ultimately some 500 at the operation and with remining.

There has been highly successful community engagement community, with 1 040 of the current jobs going to locals. The social and labour plan and other investments into schools, for example, will benefit everyone and economic opportunity and employment which has not been here before.

The dusty dumps are being converted into wealth: "This was a huge environmental headache for government. It was unfunded when we took over. Some estimated the environmental liability to be in excess of half a billion rand. I think it could be more.

"So, with us treating these dumps, we're going to reduce that liability to a very manageable number by cleaning water and the land and repurposing these areas for exciting new developments," Loots told Mining Weekly.

"Our activities in terms of the studies demonstrate we improve water quality, which is also a huge plus.

Pan African is a leader in terms of renewables. "We were the first miner to commission a utility scale renewables plant at Evander, then followed that with a large plant at Barberton. Now we're looking at a potentially 20 MW renewables plant in the next 12 to 24 months.

On what is next, Loots said: "Let's get up and running at MTR, let's demonstrate that this plant can do the 800 000 t. We'll get there in the next month or so, and then we'll look to expand this area and the Soweto Cluster by itself could also be interesting for us."

South Africa needs to transition into renewable energy in a way that continues to protect the country's energy availability, Eskom chairperson Dr Mteto Nyati told the Joburg Indaba on Wednesday.

"We also have to make sure that we're coming up with prices, with tariffs that make this country attractive to investors," Nyati outlined during his opening address at the 12th rendition of this key mining event, chaired by mining luminary Bernard Swanepoel. (Also watch Creamer Media's attached video.)

Recalling that low-priced electricity was once a major magnet that attracted investment into South Africa, Nyati emphasised that a return to competitively priced power was a must.

"We need to come up with the ways and means of making sure that we get back to where we were," he challenged, warning that failure to achieve competitive tariffs would knock the country back.

Having earlier highlighted South Africa's significant need for talent and skills, he said major experitse is needed to achieve essential power affordability solutions.

"At the same time, we have to balance this with sustainability as we move across into renewables," he said.

To the mining industry, he added: "Most of your products are being exported, but what kind of energy are you using to produce your products, because if you continue to use energy that is not coming out from clean sources, there's going to be a huge penalty on your products as you sell them in other geographies."

This challenge, he said, was something to which mining needed to give attention and "to force us, as Eskom, to make those the changes that we need to make to help you to continue to be competitive in your space".

On the need for talent and renewables being, in his view, the first two big challenges, the third concerned the environment problems really being social problems.

"They begin with people as the cause and they end with people as the victims," he said, pointing to the need for attention to be paid to the harm done to communities.

The good thing was that erring listed companies would hear from their investors in view of investor focus on environmental social governance (ESG) being given top priority status.

He urged that ESG should not be relegated to the sidelines but rather integrated into the strategy of mining companies.

ESG needed to be used as a source of competitive advantage, to drive innovation and have a positive impact in operational areas.

Turning back to Eskom, he posited that an ongoing approach of one-tariff-for-all should be replaced by unbundled tariffs that reflect the different components of the Eskom business, which the tariff imposed by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) was not yet ready to accommodate.

"For us to get to where we need to, we'll think of capacitating and supporting Nersa," said Nyati, who urged the mining sector to embrace technology to uplift operational efficiency.

Regarding mineral beneficiation, he urged the industry to add value on the continent and to view some of South Africa's challenges as great opportunities.

Manganese Metal Company (MMC) of Mbombela is on its way to becoming a Western world beater in the supply of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate for battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

MMC's R150-million self-funded plant 1 project underway will likely enable South Africa to get into the global battery manganese market ahead of any other potential new supplier outside of China.

This initial super-fast entry will be followed by growth that will be in step with market demand and the availability of funding.

"This project is much smaller than our longer-term plan for ore-based processing, and that's why it will be possible for us to supply the market earlier," MMC marketing executive Madelein Todd outlined to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Project execution of the initial smaller manganese metal-to-sulphate plant began last month, with orders already placed for the long-lead crystalliser plant.

"We see good growth in demand for battery grade manganese," added Todd.

Target markets are Europe and North America, mainly because MMC is already in Asia.

The plant will convert 2 000 t of MMC's pure manganese metal into 6 000 t of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate with the help of renewable energy.

It will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2026, when the clock will start ticking on accreditation to open the way for shipments of ongoing sales from the start of 2027.

The rate at which the industry is now required to build up capacity has resulted in MMC opting to expedite manganese metal-based production ahead of the longer manganese ore-based production, which will likely follow at the end of this decade.

At this stage, manganese fines or even manganese tailings are very suitable feed material.

The processes to refine it to the required battery purity is where the capital needs to flow. That's where we need to apply our brain power, our expertise, and the permitting and the prioritising of building out the value chain must not be on mining. There's enough. It must be on the midstream portion, which is refining, converting it into the high purity material that's needed.

"We'll add manganese metal into this sulphate plant in step with demand, but up to a maximum, and then we'll change to the ore-based process.

"We have shareholders that are invested in MMC, they are invested in South Africa, and they are invested in the future of manganese.

"The impact of manganese on the battery industry is potentially very significant," Todd highlighted.

Manganese brings many benefits to nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery cell makers, through reducing nickel content and increasing manganese content. This enables the cell to be operated at a higher voltage and BEVs to be more price competitive.

Expertise remains the key barrier to entry in the supply of refined high purity material, other than at the handful of incumbents being MMC, Vibrantz Technologies of Belgium and Nippon Denko of Japan.

Long term, MMC believes that that being able to supply metal and sulphate for high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate production has a value-in-use trade-off.

Supplying manganese metal, as MMC has been doing for 50 years, involves the shipment of 100% metal units. Converting that into manganese sulphate requires sulphuric acid and acid resistant equipment on the other side.

"If you supply sulphate, you're only shipping 32% manganese because there's also sulphur and oxygen included, as well as a little bit of the monohydrate, the water component. Then you are shipping a higher volume for lower metal content. But on arrival, you can dissolve it in water," said Todd, who hailed the fact that the midstream in the battery and BEV value chain is beginning to gain important attention.

Mining Weekly: Who is able to do what MMC is able to do outside of China?

Todd: At the moment, in terms of the manganese metal production, MMC is the only non-Chinese company that is doing this. In terms of the material t...

Diversified commodities major BHP has warned that the world will need $250-billion in investment over the next decade to bridge the growing gap between copper supply and surging demand.

As the global transition toward electrification and decarbonisation accelerates, copper demand is projected to rise sharply, with the miner projecting a 70% increase by 2050.

BHP chief commercial officer Rag Udd has highlighted the scale of this challenge, stating that copper supply will need to expand by an additional ten-million tonnes a year over the next decade to meet rising consumption.

"To bridge this gap, we estimate the cumulative cost to be a quarter of a trillion dollars. This is a formidable challenge that will require significantly more investment globally than what we have seen over the previous decade," says Udd, reflecting on the findings of BHP's latest copper report.

In 'BHP Insights: How Copper Will Shape our Future', the company forecasts that copper demand will reach more than 50-million tonnes a year by 2050, with an average growth rate of 2% a year.

The period leading up to 2035 will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.5% - up from a 1.9% CAGR in the past 15 years. In absolute terms, this translates to an additional one-million tonnes of copper demand, every year, until 2035 - double the 0.5-million-tonne-a-year growth volume of the past 15 years.

The growth will not only come from advanced economies, but also from emerging markets. Unlike the staggered adoption of cars, electricity, and consumer electronics across different regions in the twentieth century, the twenty-first century will be marked by the concurrent adoption of copper-intensive technologies - such as electric vehicles, renewables, and data centres - in high-, middle- and lower-income economies.

However, mounting demand presents supply challenges. BHP acknowledges that while global copper production has doubled over the past 30 years to reach about 22-million tonnes a year, mainly owing to expansion in Latin America, the Asia-Pacific region, and Africa, replicating the supply growth will be much harder. The industry has to achieve similar supply growth in less than half the time.

Despite optimistic forecasts for new projects, BHP notes a significant gap between expected supply and future demand, even when accounting for a positive outlook on copper scrap recovery.

Many existing copper mines are ageing and their output is expected to decline by around 15% by 2035. These mature mines will require substantial capital investment to maintain production levels, with upgrades to infrastructure becoming increasingly necessary.

Adding to the pressure is the ongoing decline of ore grades, which have fallen by about 40% since 1991. While advances in processing technologies have helped offset some of the impact, the trend highlights the need for reinvestment across the sector to sustain supply.

BHP warns that there are fewer "easy" projects available to replace dwindling supply. The projects that are available face escalating challenges, from regulatory hurdles to higher costs, which will inevitably impact the price of copper.

The company predicts that future supply will likely be sourced from either lower-grade brownfield expansions in well-established jurisdictions or higher-grade greenfield projects in riskier, emerging markets. Neither option, however, will come cheaply or quickly, BHP warns.

Blyvoor Gold Mine on Johannesburg's West Rand has sold 16% more gold to the end of August, Aurous Gold stated in a mid-year release on Monday.

Gold production for the for fiscal 2025 half-year to the end of August totalled 10 934 oz ounces of gold on the back of record gold prices.

The expectation to ramp gold production to an initial 80 000 oz within three years, and to a steady state level of 150 000 oz by year six has been reaffirmed, following the close of its transaction with Rigel and simultaneous receipt of private investment in public equity capital.

Key operating highlights for the company include a 28% increase in milled tonnes, 12% increase in gold mined, and a 16% increase in gold sold over the period.

The company, headed by CEO Richard Floyd, is continuing to implement what it described as "its updated yet conservative plan" to build a solid operating foundation for future growth.

"Our merger with Rigel will provide the anticipated capital injection, which we expect will greatly improve operational flexibility to grow the planned high-margin productive capacity safely and consistently," Floyd stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

Aurous COO Izak Marais described mitigation of seismic risk as remaining a non-negotiable as underground rock engineering support methods are implemented.

"We're also pleased to announce the conclusion in September of a 30-month wage agreement with the Blyvoor Workers Union, which provides us with greater certainty around inflation of our largest cost driver, being labour," Marais added.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses African Rainbow Minerals spotlighting 'Grade is King', as well as the company’s war on waste; Petra's belief that diamond prices will stabilise through to the end of this year with some improvement expected in 2025; and the US grant to South32’s Hermosa project, highlighting Manganese battery opportunity.

The relationship that vanadium development company Vanadium Resources (VR8) is striking up with China Energy International Group could give the Steelpoortdrift project developer an answer to many of the downstream opportunities it would be considering.

This would be particularly so within the ambit of electrolyte production and potential vanadium flow battery involvement.

"Something that's different for vanadium, that's not so with other resource companies, is that with vanadium, you have the possibility of owning the resource even after you have effectively dispossessed yourself of it, in the form of electrolyte being in a battery that you rent out, get back again, and can then resell, which is unusual for mining companies," VR8 founder and chairperson Jurie Wessels highlighted in a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

China Energy, which already has abundant vanadium, is looking to tie up with a resource that, at this stage, is the largest in the world, and probably the highest grade, and then looking at the future and tying that in with what is unfolding within the vanadium flow battery space and mass energy storage.

"That's the thematic, I think, that might unfold here, which is quite exciting," added Wessels.

Amid this potential far-reaching business horizon, China Energy and VR8 have signed a memorandum of understanding for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, which with financial assistance becomes an EPCF, for the Steelpoortdrift vanadium project that the Australia-listed VR8 is planning to establish in South Africa's Limpopo province.

Interestingly, the engineering division of China Energy, which a major corporation probably 20 or 30 times bigger than Eskom, has developed numerous projects worldwide, not only in power, but also in mining, and this division will be doing the EPCF for VR8 should negotiations culminate in an agreement.

Already involved in the Northern Cape's upcoming 283 MW Mooiplaats solar power plant, China Energy brings with it a strong balance sheet to attract the right kind of funding.

Moreover, vanadium offtake as well as vanadium flow battery deployment at the Mooiplaats solar plant could be synergies that follow.

Another possibility is production of vanadium electrolyte for sale into China or elsewhere for use in vanadium flow batteries.

"There's quite a lot that could happen with the relationship that's unfolding," an upbeat Wessels commented, in estimating the capital cost of the vanadium project VR8 is developing at "about $300-million".

The Steelpoortdrift project, where a concentrator plant and salt roast leach plant are planned, is located not far from mature operations such as Mapochs and Vantech's Kennedy's Vale in the eastern Bushveld Complex.

To be mined will be three layers of the upper zone of the Bushveld Complex, where the magnetites reside.

Unlike past producers, VR8 be mining the so-called massive pure magnetite part of the orebody. The concentrator plant, through which the material will pass, will have a three-stage crushing circuit to remove the gangue to avoid having a messy product entering the milling circuit.

Once milled, water-based magnetic separation and filtration will provide a concentrate containing about 2.1% of vanadium pentoxide, which would then go into a salt roast leach plant.

There, sodium sulphates would be mixed with the concentrate ahead of being heated in a kiln and thereafter leached with water.

Desilication would then offer the option of further processing through two production circuits, an A circuit and a B circuit - one a batch circuit, and the other continuous, with the focus on two different products, the batch circuit producing a vanadium oxide V205 powder, which carries a premium for being particularly suited to vanadium flow batteries, and the other V205.

"Those are the end products that we would be producing, but we could also just stop at the A and B productionand sell that, if that...

Two acronyms were drummed into new mining entrants in the days of yore - GIK and WAR.

GIK is short for 'grade is king' and at the opposite end of the scale, everyone was urged to declare war on WAR, which is short for 'waste as reef'.

Putting 'grade is king' on the highest of pedestals can elevate mining operations to the highest of performance levels - and if war is not declared on WAR, waste as reef can kill a mine stone dead, particularly in the current low-priced environment.

Interestingly, one major company that is spotlighting GIK with the brightest of bright lights is the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed diversified mining company African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), headed by executive chairperson Dr Patrice Motsepe.

To drive GIK with all the force at its disposal and significantly flatten WAR in the process, ARM is implementing innovative reef boring technology developed with its two partners, Herrenknecht, a German company known for its excellence in designing and manufacturing tunnel boring machines worldwide, and Master Drilling, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed South African company that specialises in reef boring solutions.

Three overlapping cut heads in one frame innovated by Herrenknecht provide three times the volume of rock per metre plus consistent fragmentation, which simplifies and reduces downstream materials handling infrastructure requirements.

Moreover, the rectangular cut profile provided by Master Drilling maximises upper group two (UG2) extraction, minimises waste and helps to achieve the highest grade possible.

Both of the inventive concepts crown grade as king and summon waste to the lowest rung of hell and ARMs Bokoni platinum group metals (PGMs) mine is seem as the ideal location.

"We're implementing it as we stand here today, and hopefully in six months, we can give you an update on that," was the comment of an upbeat Mike Schmidt, ARM executive of growth and strategic development in the executive chairperson's office, in response to Mining Weekly during the company's latest results presentation.

ARM explored various mining methods and ultimately chose reef boring as the best solution in that it not only optimises GIK and declares war on WAR, but shows convincing promise of achieving the same productivity, safety and cost performance as a mechanised, low profile board-and-pillar operation in a narrow tabular orebody.

Bokoni PGM mine's UG2 is being grasped as the opportunity to rollout what is perceived to be a paradigm shifter that will take people out of the stopes, open the way for explosion-free mining, lift grade sky high and even shrink tailings requirements.

Complete remote operation will mean that there will be no need for employees to be at the rockface, which offers major safety advantages.

The reef boring method has the potential to deliver PGM grades of up to 60% better than with a conventional mine by maximising the UG2 reef extraction while minimising the inclusion of the low PGM content waste from the hanging wall and footwall.

But beyond just improving grades, this technology is also well suited for mechanisation and then ultimately to automation, which can lead to further improvements in productivity and lower mining cost per ton.

When the higher PGM grades are combined with the lower cost per ton, a major improvement in cost per PGM ounce comes forth.

The key challenge, however, is obtaining necessary monthly production volumes, and ARM will be verifying achieving of essential production targets as it deploys this game-changer at Bokoni.

In addition, the high grade of the reef mining justifies the cost of placing backfill underground into previously mined stopes, which increases the extraction percentage of the orebody to greater than 90%, extends the life of mine, improves the stoping to development ratio, which then enhances the run of mine grades, and reduces the amount of mining development required.

In turn, the ability to place tailings underground, combined with mo...

Diamond mining company Petra believes that diamond prices will stabilise through to the end of this year with some improvement expected in 2025.

The average diamond price realised by Petra in financial year (FY24) - the 12 months to June30 - was $116/ct, down 17% from $139/ct in FY23, owing mainly to a 12.4% decline in like-for-like prices, with the balance attributed to product mix movements.

An adjusted net loss of $46-million was recorded, compared with $2-million for FY23.

Headed by CEO Richard Duffy, the London-listed Africa-operating diamond mining company has responded to the weaker diamond pricing environment via expansion programme deferral, cost-base reduction and a $75-million cut in planned cash expenditure.

In South Africa's Northern Cape province, Petra's Finsch diamond mine has transitioned from being a producer of 2.8-million tons a year to one with an output of 2.2-million tons a year and greater emphasis being placed on planning and maintenance.

Despite pulling in its horns in this way, Petra remains confident of meeting FY25 guidance amid incipient access to fresh ore from newly developed South African mine project areas and full production being back at the Willamson mine in Tanzania.

Moreover, free cash flow generation is now also being targeted on a smoothed capital profile and $44-million lower annual operating costs going forward, made up of a $30-million reduction at South Africa's operations and a $14-million reduction at Williamson.

To assist in rebalancing inventory across the pipeline, ongoing discipline by producers is anticipated.

"We continue to see supportive market fundamentals in the medium and longer term," Duffy commented in a release to Mining Weekly.

TRACEABILITY TECHNOLOGY

Traceability technology is being implemented to enable Petra's South African operations to trace gem-quality diamonds bigger than 0.5 ct from mine-to-finger and provide provenance, origin assurance and verification along with sustainability credential information. Social and community projects supported through the purchases of Petra diamonds will be highlighted

"We believe traceability technologies will further differentiate natural diamonds through highlighting their rarity, uniqueness and benefits to stakeholders," said Duffy.

Through an open market repurchase programme, Petra has, to date, repurchased and cancelled $12-million of its 2026 2L Notes at a cost of $9-million, resulting in future interest savings of $1.2-million a year.

In the 12 months to June 30, Petra generated revenue of $367-million, up on last year's $325-million.

Total on-mine cash costs increased 11% compared to FY23 largely owing to the ramp-up at Williamson and cost inflation.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) - that is, profit from mining activities less adjusted corporate overhead - fell to $66-million at an Ebitda margin of 18%, down on the 35% of last year.

Consolidated net debt decreased from $212-million at 31 December 2023 to $201-million.

Metals producer Jubilee has taken a significant step towards securing stable electricity for its Zambian operations by signing a power purchase agreement with Lunsemfwa Hydro Power Company.

The agreement, which came into effect last week, ensures uninterrupted power for the company's processing plants, with 100% of the electricity sourced from renewable energy.

Power stability is critical as Zambia faces severe electricity constraints, with ongoing supply challenges threatening the country's economy.

For Jubilee, securing consistent power supply is a crucial factor for successfully executing its Zambian copper strategy, which targets an initial processing capacity of 25 000 t/y of copper. The strategy is anchored by two key operational sites: the integrated Sable refinery and the upgraded Roan concentrator.

The company aims to fully use this capacity by bringing its secured copper resources into production through openpit mining operations and the reprocessing of surface waste.

The Roan front-end module has now achieved design capacity, and operations have been handed over to the Roan operational team.

Further, the Munkoyo openpit operation has started ramping up, targeting 15 000 t/m of run-of-mine ore. This includes 5 000 t of 3% high-grade copper ore being delivered directly to the Sable refinery, while the sub-1% lower-grade copper ore is being stockpiled at site for further processing.

Jubilee is also advancing its large waste rock project, with more than 260-million tonnes of surface rock available for reprocessing. A commercial trial of 15 000 t will be processed through Roan's front-end module in November as part of the final due diligence review.

"The frequent rolling outages posed an ongoing risk to the stability of our operations, so I am grateful that we have now secured a reliable, continuous power source. This has been a critical factor in achieving design throughput at our new Roan front-end module," said CEO Leon Coetzer.

He added that the company was well-positioned to meet its copper production goals. "With upgrades at our Roan concentrator and Sable refinery, we are well-positioned to achieve our initial target processing capacity of 25 000 t of copper per year. The recent milestones, including the ramp-up of our Munkoyo openpit operation, and near completion of our due diligence of Project G, which if successful will be brought into operation within four months, ensure a continued upward drive in our copper output."

Coetzer stated that discussions to secure a further two openpit opportunities were progressing well. "I am confident in our ability to secure further similar opportunities."