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Circularity is already practised at many mine sites, which use circular principles to reduce waste and conserve water.

But to achieve full circularity for products - from production to consumption to reuse - requires collaboration between designers, policymakers and industry, the FT Mining Summit heard this week. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

As the circular economy grows in importance, many miners are also starting to look more closely at recycling operations, it was stated during a panel discussion covered by Mining Weekly.

Financial Times commodities correspondent Harry Dempsey, who moderated, referred to the apparent exponential rise of recycling and the circular economy as demand for critical minerals rises for the global energy transition.

Panel participants were Glencore global recycling head Kunal Sinha, Norsk Hydro EVP corporate development Trond Olaf Christophersen, International Copper Association material stewardship global director Louise Assem, and Circular CEO Douglas Johnson-Poensgen.

Cross-portfolio upcoming demand for critical minerals is roughly calculated to be six times greater than current supply, pointing to the need for as much responsible mining production as possible between now and 2050.

"Even if you ramp up all the responsible production you can between now and 2050, we think there's still a gap. It's hard to quantify, but there's still a gap. So, how you meet that gap is through what we would like to think of as responsible consumption, which essentially your circular economy," said Sinha.

"The circular economy is not just recycling. It's product life extension, repair, reuse, all of that, and the very last step is recycling, so it's not a competition with primary mining because you need as much mining as you can responsibly do, but you also need to consume more responsibly and have a circular ecosystem.

"Every mining company is different. Your portfolio is different. I can only speak for Glencore. From my point of view, our vantage point comes down to three things from our portfolio. Once is assets. We have two types of assets. We have assets that have been recycling for a long time. These are very complex metallurgical assets, so what you can do is operate at a massive scale where you blend both the primary feeds and the recycled feeds, very difficult to process materials," said Sinha, who added that Glencore also has other built assets that can be repurposed, exemplified by lead refinery outside London, parts of which are being repurposed for electronics recycling and potentially also battery recycling.

"So, instead of building greenfield, you can pivot and use these existing assets to do it much faster," Sinha noted.

Then there is risk management: "From our experience to do recycling properly, the risk is very high. To manage that risk, you need the same skills as commodity trading because you're not sitting on a deposit of copper and know exactly what it is in there and you're mining it and you have a plan. You have to buy this feed across hundreds of suppliers. You don't really know what you're getting, so you have all kinds of risks in terms of financial risk, counter-party risk, a lot of these risks, which is the same as in commodity trading, so our trading DNA helps with the recycling.

"In a world where you have a lot of primary production into the energy transition, as we have, and a history of recycling, you can easily combine those two to close the loop," added Sinha.

ALUMINIUM

When it comes to aluminium, Christophersen reported that the circular economy is already in place, with roughly one third of the total aluminum metal supply being recycled material.

In more mature markets such as in Europe and the US, 40% to 45% of the total metal production is based on aluminium scrap.

"A significant share of the total metal supply is secondary aluminium and part of the circular economy," Christopher...

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If the 5 066 outstanding mining and exploration permits were approved, South Africa could begin to see a shift in the economy within 12 to 18 months, new Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane told this week's Joburg Indaba.

In response to questions put to him by ENSafrica COO Otsile Matlou during a panel discussion on reviving South Africa's shrinking mining industry, Mthenjane highlighted the importance of the implementation of a solid economic plan for the overall benefit of South Africa and its people. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Expressing both the unhappiness of the South African mining sector as well as its hope, Mthenjane said: "We are unhappy about the state of the nation. We are unhappy about the conditions under which we operate, and, as an industry, we receive a lot of demands from various directions.

"But that unhappiness is coupled with hope because if you look at the suggestions coming through and the actions that are being taken, it's not just whinging and sitting back, but it's actually doing something about it," Mthenjane said, citing participation in the National Electricity Crisis Committee and the National Logistics Crisis Committee initiatives as indications that the mining industry has not given up, despite the challenges.

"But I think it is important that we express ourselves in really normal terms about unhappiness, in terms of the state of the economy. That's our agenda as an industry in so far as engaging with society is concerned," he explained.

Regarding the need for well-functioning infrastructure, he recounted South Africa's witnessing of high demand for its mined materials during demand upcycles.

"We've seen how the mining industry goes into a boom when China is hungry for materials. Well, infrastructure provision is something we've got to do for ourselves, as an Africa continent and as South Africa, in terms of our economic plan.

"It's not infrastructure for its own sake, it's infrastructure because we need it. We need the roads and railways, and we need to encourage more in terms of the green transition such as fuel cell electric vehicles that are going to have an impact on platinum group metals demand.

"The whole green transition is going to have a huge drive for our own mining but also for the rest of the African continent.

BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT ALIGNMENT

Mthenjane emphasised the importance of initial overall economic alignment between business and government, and then, within that, the provision of "a very special and specific location for mining", to facilitate South Africa's short-term economic advancement.

"I'd like to call it a low-hanging fruit and easy pickings, because within 12 to 18 months, you could begin to see the shift in the economy if we had an approval of the outstanding 5 066 mining and exploration permits," he stated during the panel discussion covered by Mining Weekly.

A summary of Fraser Institute issues was also provided. "We did quite an in-depth assessment of the most recent report of the Fraser Institute for our members and key takeaways for me are that the 15 elements of the Fraser Institute cut across environment, social and governance, as well as economic issues.

"Secondly, the 15 elements are rated in such a way that participants will rate an issue as either encouraging investment or deterring investment. What's interesting is, of the 15 elements, the top nine are the most critical issues that we must solve - security and infrastructure, amongst others.

"Interestingly, the issue of a geological database and the cadastre system comes in the bottom half, so it's not a major issue and solving that is not going to solve all the problems in terms of what we need to do to encourage mining.

"But the most important ones are administration, interpretation and enforcement to remove uncertainty. An exploration company has a budget that has to take care of administrat...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses Anglo American CEO's belief that South Africa still has untapped potential that it is under-explored. What did he have to say about exploration; Jane Goodall's warning that a business-as-usual approach to conservation will doom the planet; and Southern Palladium’s submission of a mining right application for its 70%-owned Bengwenyama PGMs project.

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South Africa, with its incredible mineral's endowment and extraordinary untapped potential, is definitely under-explored, Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad said in response to questions after virtually presenting on day-two of the Joburg Indaba.

Wanblad was responding to a question posed by Joburg Indaba chairperson Bernard Swanepoel on what the London- and Johannesburg-listed Anglo can do to revive exploration in South Africa. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

"Anglo, as many of our majors, have abandoned exploration in South Africa. I'll point a finger and say all our major mining companies have used the opportunity to internationalise, to go to other jurisdictions, perfectly legitimately. Have you contributed as Anglo to the fact that there has been zero exploration in South Africa, and I'm overstating, in the last 20 years?

"Are you part of the problem and what can an Anglo do to revive exploration in South Africa?"

Wanblad conceded that statistics show that not a lot of exploration has been done in South Africa and that Anglo had not prioritised exploration in South Africa for a while, not because of South Africa as such but because of prioritisation of areas most prospective for commodities being sought.

"We also have to structurally look at the way the system is set up for exploration in South Africa. It doesn't feel to me that exploration in South Africa is in any way incentivised, so I'm not sure that any one company is to blame for the current situation.

"But perhaps more systemically, if we wanted exploration to occur and ultimately be able to exploit the resource base that was there, South Africa would have to set up an environment that was more accommodative of investment into exploration, which is a multi-year investment.

"It takes an extraordinary long time and a lot of money to get to the point of understanding the security of the resources you would have, what the level of ownership is of the resource, and I think these are things that would need to be solved," said Wanblad.

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World-renowned conservationist Jane Goodall reminded hundreds of scientists present at the twelfth Oppenheimer Research Conference in Midrand that if the world carries on with a business-as-usual approach to conservation, the planet is doomed.

"Forests, wetlands, peatlands, grasslands, all of which store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, are being destroyed, and habitats lost or fragmented," Goodall told the conference covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

"Humanity is standing at the precipice. Given the crisis of climate change as well as the loss of biodiversity and escalating pollution, our environment is being destroyed and this threatens the sustainability of our planet," International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor commented.

Oppenheimer Generations chairperson and former De Beers and Anglo American mining luminary Nicky Oppenheimer emphasised the need for a new way forward to be found amid these sobering clarion calls.

It would appear from this year's G20 meeting that the world is going to see beyond $80-billion made available for responses to climate change.

"So, we're coming close to that $100-billion target, yet it's not a sufficient response to what we need to do. All our ambitious targets will be meaningless if they're not backed with enabling means of implementation, particularly for developing countries and more especially for mega-diverse developing countries such as ours," said Pandor.

Strong pleas were made for the world to take on the global climate crisis in tandem with science.

"Progress is being made in many countries but we can't afford to be complacent. We need to do much more. We need to collaborate and form partnerships so that together we can be even more effective in creating positive change," added Goodall.

"Despite the huge amounts of money being thrown into conservation, the relationship between humankind and nature, in my view, is broken and my hope is out of this conference will come the beginning of a new answer," said Oppenheimer.

Pandor spoke of the South African government confronting the policy questions related to the conservation domain.

"We're working hard at finalising the Draft White Paper on the conservation and sustainable use of South Africa's biodiversity. We're very worried that our biodiversity is threatened not just by climate change but by habitat loss, invasive alien species, over-harvesting and illegal harvesting.

"We must take action that will secure ecological sustainability into the future and promote justifiable economic and social development to reduce poverty, inequality and unemployment, particularly for our rural communities," said Pandor.

Over the dozen years of the conference, there has been a clear nexus between community development, sustainable responses, and action on research in the conservation area.

"As we address matters of sustainability, if we can find a way of addressing these triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment simultaneously, it will be a significant contribution to world development," said Pandor.

The Draft White Paper, she added, emphasised the need for targeted research to address knowledge gaps and rapid biodiversity assessments.

"The White Paper gives emphasis to the importance of research and partnerships that highlight the value of indigenous and traditional knowledge and practices, providing localized solutions to biodiversity conservation.

"I'm really thrilled that the White Paper has recognised that science should inform policy and I think this is a very important inclusion," said the former Science and Technology Minister.

South Africa's foreign policy approach at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and as a signatory of ensuing Multilateral Environment Agreements is that solutions to share the challenges should be collective, based on equity and involve the best av...

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The past year has seen a regression in performance and shareholder returns for South Africa mining companies, professional services firm PwC South Africa's '2023 SA Mine: Adapt to thrive' report states.

This fall off from record levels experienced since the post-Covid-19 economic rebound is owing to several changes across the industry, including productivity and infrastructure constraints, decreases in the prices of certain minerals and increases in input costs.

"The amalgamation of these factors has resulted in a decrease in profits and operating cash flows experienced by South African mining companies. However, strong balance sheets have enabled miners to increase investment into operations and pay dividends," PwC Africa Energy, Utilities and Resources leader Andries Rossouw says.

Revenue in rand terms decreased by 5% between June 2022 and June this year.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) continued to be the biggest contributor to the total industry revenue, followed by coal. PGMs revenue decreased by 33%, followed by iron-ore, which decreased by 22% and coal by 12%. Chrome experienced a good year with a 38% increase in revenue.

The results of PGM producers have been adversely impacted on by feed and yield problems, as well as the fact that PGM prices are under pressure.

The South African mining industry failed to maintain production levels from the previous year as the government searched for a solution to the country's persistent power shortages. Year-on-year, overall production dropped by 5.4%.

Total market capitalisation decreased to R1.09-billion from R1.31-billion as at June 30, 2022. This was mainly attributable to the decrease in market capitalisation of companies within the coal and PGM sectors.

Outlining the results of the report in a virtual briefing on October 3, Rossouw averred that the weak rand provided bolstered revenue for mining companies, adding that, without this, the challenges facing the industry would have resulted in mining companies being in severe strife.

However, he pointed out that the weak rand did negatively affect input costs of key chemicals, materials and equipment required for operations.

Operating expenses, excluding metal purchases, increased by 11%, reflecting the above-inflation increases in energy costs (electricity and fuel), as well as chemicals and labour costs.

As plans and executions towards net zero unfold, PwC South Africa Energy, Utilities and Resources partner Vuyiswa Khutlang pointed out that there was concern by certain mining companies about the viability and sustainability of their operations.

However, she noted that, for South Africa, the opportunities could be found in the greater emphasis on securing critical minerals for global decarbonisation efforts.

"Southern Africa has some of the critical metals needed, and it is important for the region to look at opportunities and take advantage of them. To take advantage of these opportunities will require significant cooperation between public and private stakeholders," she emphasised.

The report shows that the global economy's pursuit of carbon neutrality hinges on specific minerals such as copper, PGMs, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earths.

The rising demand for these 'Big Six' energy metals poses a supply challenge on a global scale. To mitigate this risk, increasing the production of critical energy metals in Southern Africa can enhance global supply diversity, while growing the local and regional economy, PwC said.

Rossouw added that beneficiation held opportunities for the country, with the value to be derived from this considerably higher than that of only mining the input materials used in the production of finished products.

However, he pointed out that this was also challenging, as it required electricity and the requisite skills.

Therefore, this also required partnerships to unlock the value, he noted.

Other important points from the re...

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Johannesburg- and Sydney-listed platinum group metals (PGMs) development company Southern Palladium has submitted a mining right application for its 70%-owned Bengwenyama PGM project, on the eastern limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex, which contains more than 70% of the world's known PGM resources.

"This application marks our transition from a pure exploration to a development-focused company," Southern Palladium MD Johan Odendaal stated in a Johannesburg Stock Exchange news service announcement.

The project is described as being particularly rich in palladium and rhodium. Previous exploration efforts have yielded a compliant inferred mineral resource of 25.12-million ounces within two ore horizons - the Upper Group Two chromitite reef horizon and Merensky Reef horizon.

The exploration tenement is 100% held by Miracle Upon Miracle Investments, in which the company holds a 70% interest. The total application area over the two farms measures 5 280 ha.

Primary focus is on delivering a prefeasibility study, as well as overseeing the completion of the diamond drill programme initiated more than a year ago, along with several other concurrent technical studies.

The social and environmental phases of permitting will commence on acceptance by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy. These studies will evaluate the potential impacts of proposed operational activities.

Resource modelling incorporating results of the ongoing drill programme has started. A second interim resource update on the existing 25.11-million ounces of compliant resource is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of this year, Mining Weekly can report.

In addition to PGMs, the mining right application is for gold, copper, chrome, cobalt, silver and nickel over the full extent of the farms Nooitverwacht 324 KT and Eerstegeluk 327 KT, both of which are in Limpopo.

Expected to conclude this month is a geotechnical study critical for the detailed mine designs and scoping prefeasibility study planning.

Due in the fourth quarter is metallurgical test work, encompassing flotation efficiency tests and determinations of the bond ball mill work index .

The eastern side of the Eerstegeluk farm is receiving special drilling focus with the objective of converting Inferred resources to measured resources and Indicated resources, with a second interim resource update planned in quarter-four.

Completion of the second interim resource update should allow the finalisation of an updated project scoping study in the first quarter of 2024, with work on the prefeasibility study expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2024.

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It is too early to expect the start of a new sustaining upcycle for commodities, Macquarie states in its latest quarterly outlook for global commodity markets.

In a nigh 100-page commodities compendium, the commodity trading group states that despite a narrative of under-investment, underlying production is not currently constrained and the expectation is that most markets will be in physical surplus for 2024, amid individual commodity outlooks being increasingly nuanced.

Another key point is that the taming of inflation should set the scene for strong cyclical commodities price performance, along with significant demand divergence between those commodities which are beneficiaries of the energy transition and those that are not.

Among the medium-term winners cited are electrification metals, driven by the energy transition, led by battery electric vehicle penetration and the build-out of solar generation capacity.

Palladium is among the medium-term strugglers cited, owing to its falling internal combustion engine market share.

Bearishness on iron-ore is put down to the likelihood of fourth-quarter commercial or policy-driven steel production cuts, while bearishness on lead is based on apparent long investor positioning not being supported by fundamentals.

Most preferred in the next six to nine months are precious metals and lithium - precious metals owing to slower global growth setting the scene for a return of financial inflows, and lithium on the basis of the destocking cycle having run its course.

California carbon bullishness was expressed, based on the view that policy reform should support expectations for a tighter market outlook.

The combination of moderating core inflation, struggling growth, and softening labour markets likely mean that central bank hiking cycles are drawing to a close. Despite this, still-elevated core inflation is likely to keep policy constrained in coming months and limit the chance of rate cuts until 2024, the report to Mining Weekly states.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses Manganese Metal Co which is putting South Africa in pole position amid a battery demand; Morgan Stanley analysts' belief that Glencore’s growth potential from the circular economy is very significant; and Nedbank Manufacturing providing a much-needed fillip to local manufacturing businesses.

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On the face of it, South Africa could do a lot more to speed up critical mineral mining development in South Africa.

An example of doing so that catches the eye is the extra mile the government of Malawi is going to assist with permitting.

This is highlighted by Australian mining company Sovereign Metals Limited, which outlines the strong support it is receiving from the Malawi government in an 84-page report released on Thursday, September 28. The report is focused on the single project it is developing to yield graphite and rutile, two critical minerals the modern world is demanding.

Targeted is production of 244 00 t/y of graphite and 222 000 t/y of rutile and Malawi has gone to the trouble of constituting an inter-ministerial project development committee to work alongside Sovereign to assist in the permitting processes - and that comes a month after the government of Malawi applauded the investment by Rio Tinto and marked it as a milestone towards realising the country's aspirations of growing the mining sector as a priority industry.

This is an example of a government rolling out the red carpet to investors rather than rolling out red tape - and that approach creates jobs, reduces inequality and fights poverty.

Mining has not only been declared as a key pillar for growth under Malawi's economic development strategy, but that declaration has come with direct action to speed up Sovereign's Kasiya project because of its national significance. In July 2023, global mining major Rio Tinto made an investment in Sovereign resulting in an initial 15% shareholding and options expiring within 12 months of initial investment to increase their position to 19.99%.

Under the Investment Agreement, Rio Tinto will provide assistance and advice on technical and marketing aspects of Kasiya including with respect to Sovereign's graphite co-product, with a primary focus on spherical purified graphite for the lithium-ion battery anode market.

"The project has excellent surrounding infrastructure including sealed roads, a high-quality rail line connecting to the deep-water port of Nacala on the Indian Ocean and hydro-sourced grid electricity," Sovereign states in its release to Mining Weekly.

For the duration of the operation, graphite and rutile products will be railed directly from a purpose-built rail dry port at the mine site eastward through the Nacala logistics corridor to the port of Nacala - the kind of infrastructure South Africa is battling to protect from disruption.

Important is that modern mining companies bring green, renewable energy with them and Sovereign's objective is to develop a sustainable power solution for Kasiya. In addition to access to hydro-generated grid power, conditions for a solar power system are favourable. Moreover, the independent power producer appointed to design a solution for Kasiya recently commissioned two solar projects in Malawi.

Malawians will be employed predominantly from the Kasiya area and the capital city of Lilongwe.

During construction, Kasiya expects to employ 995 people and during steady state operations more than 1 000. As is always the case with mining, for every person employed directly in the project a significant multiplier of people will be employed in indirect jobs supporting the project.

Sovereign has structured training and skills transfer programmes covering on-the-job training for full-time employees, as well as programmes for local graduates and interns. The programmes focus on building skills capacity in the surrounding community.

The company is an equal opportunity employer with a gender diverse workforce. Currently, 30% of Sovereign's professional Malawian staff and at least 50% of its regular interns are female.

Rehabilitation is designed to return land to the original agricultural use, and potentially increase land utilisation by introducing modernised farming techniques post rehabilitation.