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Diamond mining and marketing company De Beers is to collaborate with Angola on opportunities to increase diamond production, support alluvial mining sector and enhance social development for the benefit of Angola's citizens.

De Beers on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Angola's National Mineral Resource Agency, Angola's State-owned Endiama diamond company, and Angola's State-owned Sodiam diamond trading company, to support these objectives.

"Angola continues to set an example as a country that has reformed its prospects through enhanced transparency, adoption of internationally recognised best practices and a business-friendly investment environment," De Beers CEO Al Cook highlighted following the MOU signing at the Investing in African Mining Indaba under way in Cape Town.

"This is a strategic partnership with the objective of increasing diamond production in Angola to contribute towards the socio-economic development of our country," said Endiama CEO Ganga Junior.

The MOU extends the partnership of De Beers with Angola beyond the two mineral investment contracts of 2022, which were for licence areas in north-eastern Angola where exploration activities are now under way.

"I look forward to continuing to work with our partners in Angola through harnessing our collective expertise and ambition to support a thriving diamond sector," Cook added in a release to Mining Weekly.

Key areas where the parties agree to work together to consider shared initiatives include reviewing several kimberlite deposits to reassess their economic attractiveness through the application of new De Beers technologies, promoting the transparency and traceability of diamond production, and identifying opportunities to build local community capacity by leveraging the Building Forever sustainability framework of the De Beers Group.

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Noise-induced hearing loss has displaced tuberculosis (TB) and silicosis as the top priority health threat of the South African mining industry.

"I'm emphasising noise-induced hearing loss because the other diseases have gone down markedly whereas as noise-induced hearing loss has not gone down as much," Minerals Council South Africa health department head Dr Thuthula Balfour revealed on day-two of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.

The lowest number of occupational diseases reported to date was 1 924 in 2021.

The 15 years from 2008 to 2021 saw a massive upwards-of-75% decrease in occupational diseases, with the biggest fall being in TB and silicosis and a lesser fall in noise-induced hearing loss, Balfour told a Minerals Council media briefing in which CEO Mzila Mthenjane, Japie Fullard, Dushendra Naidoo and Sietse van der Woude participated.

While noise-induced hearing loss has overtaken TB and silicosis, it must be remembered that coal workers are exposed to lung disease from coal dust, Balfour pointed out at the media briefing covered by Mining Weekly.

Of concern are the significant numbers of mine employees who continue to be exposed to noise levels above 85 decibels and key interventions to eliminate noise at the source are under way.

Balfour urged that companies to desist from supplying equipment with excessive noise levels as the earmuffs meant to be worn to shield employees from loud sound tend to not be worn efficiently especially during high humidity and high temperature conditions.

The elimination of excessive noise is being driven very aggressively "and we are finding a lot of progress", Balfour disclosed.

Being targeted in particular are noisy rockdrill held close to the ear and through partnership, drills that emit far less noise are emerging.

Coincidentally, the less noisy rockdrills on offer are also considerably lighter in weight, which has opened the way for women to become rockdrill operators.

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In 2004, the year South Africa's far-reaching Mining Charter was first introduced, black ownership in South Africa's globally recognised mining industry stood at a negligible 2%.

This has now leapt nearly 20 times higher to approximately 39%, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted in his well-attended, full-house opening address on day-one of the four-day Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town which is being attended by close to 10 000 people.

"It's fitting that the 30th Mining Indaba is taking place in the year that South Africa celebrates the 30th year of its democracy," said Ramaphosa in outlining the significant transformation that South Africa's mining industry has undergone in the last three decades, after being a pillar of South African's economic strength for one and a half centuries.

Mining continues to account for about 60% of South African exports by value.

Working with industry and labour, the President outlined how democratic government had been able to transform the sector, which was notorious for labour exploitation, human rights violations, and poor health and safety standards during the apartheid era.

Today, the rights of 476 000 people employed by the mining industry are protected and a legal regime confers responsibility on mining companies to provide quality services and promote development in communities where they operate.

There are also a number of employee share ownership schemes through which mineworker participation in mining companies is being promoted.

"We are all acutely aware that we face strong headwinds, and a number of persistent challenges are impeding mining performance.

"Globally, commodity price volatility, high energy prices, geopolitical tensions and a global cost of living crisis are playing a significant role in dampening the business operating environment," said Ramaphosa.

"Domestically, the energy crisis and port and rail bottlenecks are putting serious pressure on miners' operational costs.Illicit mining, cable theft and infrastructure vandalism place a further strain on mining output and returns.

"We're committed to work hard and to work together to overcome these serious challenges," the President added at the event, covered by Mining Weekly.

Last year, the South African government outlined four objectives to develop the sector, improve its global competitiveness and harness the global drive towards sustainable development.

The first was to achieve a secure supply of electricity and several measures to improve the performance of the existing generation fleet and to add new electricity capacity have been taken through the Electricity Action Plan.

The second objective of accelerating economic reforms has resulted in the removal of the licensing threshold for embedded generation, with a third of this capacity supplying the mining load.

The third objective of tackling illegal mining and damage to infrastructure by establishing a specialised police unit, working with the defence force, has resulted in a number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of the perpetrators of this crime.

The State-owned mining technology agency Mintek has sealed 251 derelict mines and shaft and closure of a further 352 shafts is targeted over the next three years.

Criminal activity, and copper cable theft, has resulted in South Africa's freight logistics system undergoing a process of rapid and fundamental change to improve its efficiency and position it for the future.

Working with the private sector under the auspices of the National Logistics Crisis Committee, the public sector is working to overcome the challenges with ports and rail, with the recently approved Freight Logistics Roadmap guiding this process.

"By introducing competition in freight rail operations, while maintaining state ownership of the routes, we will unlock massive new investment in South Africa's rail system. This will support jo...

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The criminal syndicates that regularly bring South Africa's coal export line to a halt have been identified through the intelligence operations that are conducted by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR).

What is lacking is the ability of law-enforcement agencies to then work on information, see to convictions and ensure that the members of the syndicates are sentenced appropriately and are not released so that they are able to repeatedly resume their criminal behavior.

TFR North Corridor acting managing executive Theo Johnson emphasised this during a nineteenth Southern African Coal Conference panel discussion chaired by McCloskey Southern African Coal Report's Randy Fabi which include Grindrod CEO Xolani Mbambo, Road Freight Association CEO Gavin Kelly, Richards Bay Coal Terminal CEO Alan Waller, and Turing Insights MD Mattias Broder.

Johnson called for an end to criminal syndicate members being released so that they can return to recommit the same crimes.

He highlighted the need for all spheres of government to work together to ensure identified syndicates were meaningfully sentenced.

"Syndicates know exactly where to pounce so that the coal line comes to a standstill and it's something that's of great concern to us," Johnson told the 300 people present at the event covered by Mining Weekly.

Fabi: If you know where they're going to pounce, could you not just increase security around that area?

Johnson: They get smart. When you close one gap, they go on to another. You are not dealing with people who do not know what they are doing. They hit you during shift changes. When you close that gap, they will hit you just down the road and then you come to a standstill.

While the pattern of criminality was now known, a collective move to the next layer of prevention was now essential.

"We need the next layer to be effective so that once they are identified, they can be put away so that we can operate the system.

Fabi: I know you're slowly trying to rewire the train tracks to have less copper. Do you think that will lead to a significant decline in cable theft?

Houghton: We are rewiring. It is a massive project which has to be done while you are operating so we usually target our annual maintenance period when we close the line for about ten days and do the switching project. It's going to take quite long but the good thing is it has commenced now and critical parts of the network are being rewired so that the syndicates no longer steal copper cable from those areas. But when the Tiger wire is cut and it just gets left there, that points to sabotage and those are the incidents that we need to bring to an end.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer provides updates on the new rail corridor agreement between RBCT and Transnet; Anglo American's partnership with large Chinese recycler GEM for a research and development project; and this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, which will focus on new prospects under the disruption theme.

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Diversified miner Glencore has reported lower volumes across its key commodities for the 2023 financial year, but notes that these were all nonetheless still within the guided ranges.

The company's own-mined production for the year totalled 1.01-million tonnes of copper, reflecting a 5% year-on-year decline; 41 300 t of cobalt, marking a 6% year-on-year decrease; 918 500 t of zinc, which was 2% lower year-on-year; and 182 700 t of lead, reflecting a 5% year-on-year decrease.

Nickel production of 97 600 t was also 9% lower year-on-year; silver output of 20-million ounces 16% lower year-on-year; and ferrochrome production of 1.1-million tonnes 11% lower.

The company recorded a 13% increase in gold production from 661 000 oz in the 2022 financial year to 747 000 oz in the reporting year, as well as a 3% increase in coal output from 110-million tonnes in the prior year to 113-million tonnes in the reporting year.

Glencore CEO Gary Nagle attributes the lower copper and zinc volumes, including managed production volumes, to the disposals of the Cobar copper mine, in Australia, and various South American zinc operations in the year under review.

He adds that cobalt production was lower owing to feed plan adjustments at the Mutanda operation, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the context of an oversupplied market, while nickel volumes were impacted on by higher third-party production compared with own sourced production, as well as the planned shutdown of the Murrin Murrin operation, in Australia, for routine maintenance.

The company also had planned additional smelter downtime in the ferrochrome segment, during the three-month high-electricity demand winter season in South Africa when power prices are elevated.

As a result of the lower 2023 production, the group has adjusted its production guidance for this year to between 950 000 t and 1.01-million tonnes of copper, between 35 000 t and 40 000 t of cobalt, between 900 000 t and 950 000 t of zinc, between 80 000 t and 90 000 t of nickel, between 1.1-million and 1.2-million tonnes of ferrochrome and between 105-million and 115-million tonnes of coal.

Notably, the guidance does not take into account contributors from the Elk Valley Resources steelmaking coal assets, in Canada, which Glencore is in the process of acquiring a 77% interest in.

Moreover, Glencore expects to report earnings before interest and taxes of about $3.5-billion for the 2023 financial year.

Glencore will publish its full results for the year on February 21.

SOLAR PLANT

Meanwhile, Glencore has started construction on a 25 MW solar photovoltaic power plant at its Rhovan-managed ferroalloys mining and processing facility near Brits, in South Africa's North West province.

Once completed, the plant will produce about 30% of the operations' yearly energy demand, which should save 48 000 t/y in carbon emissions at the site.

Glencore Ferroalloys CEO Japie Fullard explains that, not only does the mine produce a range of vanadium products that can be used in applications to support a low-carbon economy, but by installing a solar plant that will supply renewable energy to the operation, Glencore is reducing the mine's overall emissions footprint.

The company plans to work alongside the Bakwena Ba-Magopa community in developing the plant, including by involving local small- and medium-sized enterprises in the project.

Commissioning of the solar plant is planned for later this year.

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Member organisation the World Gold Council's latest 'Gold Demand Trends' report, released on January 31, indicates that yearly gold demand - excluding over the counter (OTC) market demand - fell to 4 448 t in 2023, down just 5% from what the council says was a notably strong 2022.

When factoring in demand from the OTC markets and other sources, total demand climbed to a new yearly record at 4 899 t.

Investment from this more "opaque" source of demand supported last year's highest yearly average gold price on record, the council avers.

The central bank buying streak continued on from 2022 at a fast rate. Demand reached 1 037 t last year, making it the second highest on record, down just 45 t on the previous year.

In contrast to robust OTC and central bank demand, exchange-traded funds (ETF) outflows continued last year, losing 244 t in a third consecutive year of decline, with outflows in Europe dominating the picture.

In terms of bar and coin investment, demand was indicated to be subdued, down 3% as strength in some markets worked to offset weakness elsewhere.

European demand continued to plummet, down 59% year-on-year.

This decline was offset by a strong post-Covid-19 recovery in China, where yearly demand was up 28% to 280 t; combined with notable increases in India of 185 t, Turkey of 160 t and the US of 113 t.

The council highlights that the global jewellery market remained resilient amid record-high prices as demand inched up by 3 t year-on-year.

China was pivotal, recording a 17% increase in demand for gold, as it recovered from Covid-19 lockdowns, offsetting a 9% decrease in India.

Mine production was relatively flat last year, up 1% to 3 644 t, although this total fell just short of the 3 656 t record set in 2018.

After a strong first half, the council had expected the full 2023 to mark a new high for the global gold mining industry, but growth rates seen in the first two quarters were not replicated in the second half of the year.

Higher yearly output was, however, achieved in South Africa (+14 t or 15% year-on-year), where production recovered following protracted industrial action in 2022.

Recycling increased by 9%, which was lower than expected given the high gold price and drove total supply up 3%, the council points out.

"Unwavering demand from central banks has been supportive of gold demand again this year and helped offset weakness in other areas of the market, keeping 2023 demand well above the ten-year moving average.

"In addition to monetary policy, geopolitical uncertainty is often a key driver of gold demand and in 2024 we expect this to have a pronounced impact on the market. Ongoing conflicts, trade tensions and over 60 elections taking place around the world, are likely to encourage investors to turn to gold for its proven track-record as a safe haven asset," says WGC senior markets analyst Louise Street.

"We know that central banks often cite gold's performance in times of crisis as a reason to buy, which suggests demand from this sector will stay high this year and may help to offset a slowdown in consumer demand due to elevated gold prices and slowing economic growth," she adds.

OUTLOOK

This year, the council expects total investment (including OTC) will be higher, but, akin to the market behaviour last year, much of this demand could come from the less visible OTC segment - which adds a level of uncertainty.

Early continued weakness in global gold ETFs is likely to experience a turnaround by mid-year, aided by anticipated rate cuts and continued geopolitical risk, the council points out.

European ETF outflows are likely to continue until longer-maturity interest rates are on a firm path lower, but here too, regional politics, alongside geopolitics, could have an impact.

Bar and coin demand is likely to stay healthy and in line with the ten-year average, as Chinese and Indian demand strength offsets European weaknes...

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Kibali, the largest gold mine in Africa, is now also one of Africa's greenest and most impressively automated operations, which continues to stimulate local economic development and even provides ongoing funding for the reintroduction of white rhinos into a Unesco world heritage site in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

On the clean energy front, most of the electricity that drives Kibali is already supplied by its three hydropower stations and once Kibali's new 16 MW solar power plant and additional battery energy storage infrastructure are commissioned, its overall renewable electricity supply is set to increase from 81% to 85%.

Moreover, the additional battery energy storage infrastructure is designed to back up the hydropower supply during the region's dry season.

For six months of the year, its electricity demand will be met entirely by renewable energy.

"Bearing in mind that Kibali is also a leader in automation, the mine is a real role model for mining in Africa," Barrick president and chief executive Dr Mark Bristow has highlighted at a media briefing in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Built in the remote north-east of the DRC in partnership government, Kibali has opened up a new mining frontier and, in the process, it has also advanced the development of a flourishing local economy.

Total in-country investment to date in the form of royalties, taxes, dividends and payments to local suppliers amounts to $4.7-billion and the mine's community development fund contributes 0.3% of revenue to the implementation of community development projects, with 44 new projects being launched last year.

The mine's new Cahier des Charges scheme has also launched 11 projects, with seven nearing completion. Kibali funding of these over the last five years has amounted to $8.9-million.

Regulations introduced in 2018 require mines to set out a clear and financially-provisioned five-year plan for local social development - a Cahier de Charge - in consultation with local communities and stakeholders.

"We're also continuing our support for biodiversity with plans underway to introduce additional white rhinos to the Garamba National Park," Bristow enthused in a release to Mining Weekly.

Last year, 16 white rhinos were brought to Garamba with a further 60 scheduled for delivery over the next three years. An environment has been created where white rhinos can exist safely in the park, which is supported by professional staff and qualified veterinarians who regularly monitor their acclimatisation.

Garamba has more 500 full-time staff and hundreds of additional employees on contract, including law enforcement teams and dedicated community personnel.

The park supports more than 9 000 community members in entrepreneurial enterprises such as beekeeping, fish and poultry farming, as well as four hospitals with a capacity for 12 000 patients.

Operationally, Kibali achieved its production guidance for 2023, and set a new annual throughput record in the process. Gold production in 2023 was 763 000 oz.

Also on track to again replace the reserves mined during the year, Kibali is seen as a standout example of what can be achieved through commitment to partnering with host countries and local communities.

Barrick has expressed strong intent to continue to work with government to grow its investments and development projects.

The Barrick-operated mine is owned by Kibali Goldmines SA, a joint venture company owned 45% by Barrick, 45% by AngloGold Ashanti, and 10% by Société Miniére de Kilo-Moto.

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Security incidents that disrupt trains transporting coal to South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) for export to the world are in definite decline and that has certainly helped to improve performance, acting Transnet Freight Rail CE Russell Baatjies emphasised to Mining Weekly during question time at RBCT's latest media briefing.

In addition, a gradual changeout of overhead catenary copper cable that supplies electricity to locomotives using the coal line with the aluminium conductor steel reinforced (ACSR) cable alternative is being advanced.

"We replace especially hot-spot areas as fast as we can," said Baatjies.

Copper cables are routinely targeted because of copper's monetary value on the scrap metal market, with part changeout plan carried out during the annual maintenance shutdowns.

"We do it bit by bit because we cannot change it all at once," Transnet Freight Rail executive manager Moloko Matjekane pointed out.

While the ACSR cable does not have the same level of conductivity as copper, it is sufficient to keep the rail network operating and the plan is to eventually replace the cables across the entire network.

There is, however, still insufficient awareness among thieves that the new cables are no longer copper intensive and visual differentiation and signposted highlighting are likely going forward.

In addition, relay rooms and substations vulnerable to thieving are being shielded by new technology that ensures the early detection of predatory behaviour and quicker protective response.

"We've made quite a few arrests and we want to build on our intelligence side to make sure that we get better in terms of the convictions that we have.

"It's something that we've identified that we need to improve upon on our side, but certainly the teams that we have on the ground, make arrests in the instances where we do find the culprits busy," Baatjies disclosed.

Discussions to advance still further the security relationship that RBCT has had in place with Transnet for 24 months are under way amid the mutual cooperation agreement signed in November of last year already being seen as a game-changer.

Likely to be piloted soon is the monitoring capability that rail line fibre-optic cabling can do to quickly detect any tampering along the line and to dispatch response teams to investigate.

Various regulatory bodies are studying the crime-related impact on the coal line and several processes emerging from this study are poised to assist in providing intelligence.

"One of the big focus areas coming out of that process has been the judicial system, and how we can get to a great level of prosecution of these criminals so that they are not released," RBCT CEO Alan Waller told the media briefing during question time.

"That has made a difference in terms of the number of prosecutions that have been taking place and the number of people arrested.

"Part of the intelligence solution will come through that process but also, in terms of Transnet's individual contractual relationships with their service providers, they have an intelligence element within those contracts as well.

"We know from our interactions. We meet every Tuesday with the Transnet security team, together with the service providers, and information is provided in terms of what's happening at scrap metal dealerships etc., around the country.

"So, there's a big focus on that side of the business, but it's also coming from a strategic point of view," Waller added.

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South Africa-founded and Johannesburg- and London-listed Anglo American on Friday announced the launch of a research and development project in collaboration with one of China's largest battery and battery material recyclers.

The purpose of the project with Shenzhen-based GEM is to explore new and more efficient technologies for the use of existing and alternative raw materials deployed in batteries for battery electric vehicles.

The project will focus on jointly developing metal dissolving technologies, using metals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese, to facilitate a more efficient use of battery materials, from either mined or recycled routes, with the intention of improving existing processes as well as exploring the use of new materials not currently employed in the battery value chain.

GEM is a battery material producer with pioneering technology and capability to recycle batteries through the extraction of the minerals they contain.

"This collaboration marks an important step for us, as we seek to drive synergies with industry leaders such as Anglo American that participate in the critical raw materials value chain and share our commitment to advancing technological development to shape a more sustainable future for the transport sector," GEM founder and chairperson Professor Xu Kaihua stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

GEM has had more than two decades of experience in recycling batteries and electronics and has invested heavily in understanding the processes needed to recover raw materials essential for the energy transition.

Anglo's diversified portfolio includes a range of products for the decarbonisation of transport, a sector which it estimates accounts for more than 15% of global emissions.

"We are collaborating with leaders in the sector to explore new technologies that build on the physical qualities of our portfolio of products to help tackle some of the key challenges facing the industry and contribute to the sustainable scale-up of electric vehicle travel," Anglo base metals and marketing executive head Paul Ward stated.

"Our work in this space is part of our commitment to supply our customers with products tailored to their specific needs and that capitalise on the opportunities offered by ongoing technological innovation," Ward added.

China is calculated to be the world's largest electric vehicle market, with an expected eight million vehicles sold last year.

Already a key partner to the automotive industry, Anglo's platinum group metals (PGMs) enable catalytic converters to strip pollutants from car exhaust gases as emissions regulators become ever more stringent.

Anglo has also been an early supporter of the hydrogen economy, advocating for more widespread adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), a zero-emission option catalysed by the PGMs it mines.

The world-first haulage truck powered by green hydrogen was introduced by Anglo Platinum at its Mogalakwena PGMs mine in South Africa's Limpopo province.

PGM recycling is advancing strongly in China with the new BASF HERAEUS Metal Resource facility in Pinghu opening this month and 2018 seeing the opening of a PGM-recycling facility in China's Nanjing by South Africa-linked Heraeus, which is mastering the thrifting of PGMs to optimise their cost-effectiveness.

BASF HERAEUS Metal Resource GM Nancy (Ying) Ren highlighted the launch of the PGMs recycling facility in Pinghu as being pivotal for the broader context of China's industrial and environmental roadmap. This year will reportedly see a new Honda FCEV enter the automotive fray in the form of the zero-emission CR-V FCEV on Asia, where Toyota's FCEV Mirai continues to advance.

PGMS AND HYDROGEN IN SOUTH AFRICA

The hydrogen economy is an important new growth area for PGMs and, in turn, PGMs are pivotal for hydrogen production and application across a broad front.

Heraeus Precious Metals new business development ex...