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  1. HACE 9 H

    Martin Creamer talks about: Exploration boost, strong hydrogen developments

    Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses how a flow-through shares incentive scheme could solve the country’s exploration problems; South Africa positioning itself as a platinum-based hydrogen technology leader; and hydrogen becoming a broad demand, strong growth sector.

    7 min

  2. HACE 13 H

    South Africa’s State-owned IDC to convert Orion loan facility into equity

    South Africa's State-owned IDC to convert Orion loan facility into equity This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. South Africa's State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) has agreed to convert its convertible loan facility to the Sydney- and Johannesburg-listed Orion Minerals into equity. Orion is reviving the fully permitted Prieska copper/zinc mine (PCZM) in South Africa's Northern Cape, which last operated in 1991, with a mining resource of 31-million tonnes at 1.2% copper and 3.6% zinc. The equity will be in Orion's subsidiary, PCZM HoldCo, in accordance with the loan facility agreement dated February 2023 and the implementation agreement executed on Tuesday, March 31. Following completion of the equity conversion, the IDC will hold 23.8% of PCZM HoldCo, an effective interest of 16.7% in PCZM and retain a shareholder loan of R272.4-million. "With the IDC conversion agreed, we'll now focus on completing the remaining conditions precedent to the Glencore financing and offtake agreements," Orion CEO Tony Lennox stated in a media release to Mining Weekly. PCZM has a prepayment agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore for a $250-million prepayment facility linked to the sale of bulk copper and zinc concentrates from the Prieska project. The facility will fund the Uppers development and partially fund the Deeps development at Prieska, highlighted as a significant step in Orion's transition to a fully operational company. First concentrate from PCZM is now expected at the end of the first quarter of 2027. IDC executive: industry planning and project development Rian Coetzee pointed out that the take-up of an equity position in PCZM HoldCo underscored IDC's support for the development of the project and its alignment with South Africa's industrialisation and beneficiation objectives. "IDC's participation reflects our confidence in the project's fundamentals, strategic importance, and contribution to regional economic development, including job creation and supply-chain stimulation. "This equity participation is consistent with IDC's mandate to support strategically important, commercially sustainable projects that advance industrial development and long-term economic value. "The equity investment forms part of IDC's mandate to support inclusive growth and industrial capability," Coetzee explained. Also in the Northern Cape is Orion's Okiep copper project, in which the IDC has a 43.75% shareholding. Orion Minerals reported on March 19 that it had finalised the settlement of the remaining R14.74-million consideration for the acquisition of a controlling interest in the Okiep copper project. The consideration comprised R2.3-million in cash and R12.44-million in shares. Orion entered into definitive agreements in 2021 to acquire the mineral rights and associated assets held by Southern African Tantalum Mining, Nababeep Copper Company and Bulletrap Copper through its subsidiary companies New Okiep Mining Company and New Okiep Exploration Company. Minerals Council South Africa acting chief economist Bongani Motsa this week emphasised the richness of the Northern Cape this week ahead of the upcoming Northern Cape Investment and Jobs Conference 2026, which will take place in Kimberley from April 13 to 15. Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul told the collaboration session in Sandton that mining is one of the six critical pillars of the province's industrialisation and development strategy, along with infrastructure development and transport corridors to support an expanded mining sector. Saul described the Northern Cape as one of South Africa's most under-explored and underutilised yet highest potential regions and invited business and investors to reimagine the Northern Cape as a future-facing, globally competitive indus...

    4 min

  3. HACE 23 H

    South Africa's Master Drilling positioned to capitalise on bull run, CEO reports

    This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. South Africa's drilling provider across five continents, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Master Drilling, is well positioned to benefit from the commodity bull run, the shift in the market, and the global transitioning of opencast mining to underground mining in the short, medium, and long term, says Danie Pretorius, the founder and CEO of the 40-year-old original-equipment manufacturer, which has expanded beyond its initial raise boring specialisation to include comprehensive drilling services. "If you look at our pipeline order book, it's the highest it's been... so, I guess today it's a matter of execution," an upbeat Pretorius commented in an interview with Mining Weekly. (See attached Creamer Media video.) Master Drilling's 2026 pipeline order book is at the $1-billion level amid the company's record 2025 revenue of $292-million and 71.3% higher earnings per share. "If you take a step back and look at miners, they're desperate for ways to access orebodies and service providers like ourselves need to try to develop those technologies, those systems, to help these miners to get down there ... and there's a lot of opportunity," Pretorius pointed out on March 31, the day it reported a 57.2% higher operating profit of $46.5-million. Interestingly, Master Drilling is currently advancing what will be the largest and longest raise-bore hole ever drilled in the world. This is being done at Northam Platinum's Zonderiende platinum group metals (PGMs) mine in South Africa's Limpopo province. Backing up the dominant 83% raise boring business pillar of the multi-pillared Master Drilling are digitalisation and smart mining at 11%, slim drilling at 4%, and mechanical rock excavation and cutting at 2%. As mines deepen and become more complex, the autonomous technology that Master Drilling is taking steps to provide is expected to become a future differentiator. Of the next-generation machines, the blind hole machine has been mobilised to Chile and during the last year, AI has been used for predictive maintenance, fault finding and drill parameter optimisation while drilling is taking place. When Mining Weekly last spoke to Master Drilling, three major developments that have the potential to move the needle for mining, were highlighted. One of them was what you described as your "ready-made new shaft boring system, or SBS" that points to drilling a shaft to depth in half the time. Has that succeeded in moving the needle yet? We've completed phase one. We've actually commissioned the machine outside of our works on a farm, and we've hit most of those key performance indicators (KPIs). We're now moving into phase two. Most of the plan is being ordered, and we hope in the second half of the year to receive the hardware and to commission the second phase of this equipment late this year, early 2027. So, we hope to have this machine deployed on a project somewhere in 2027 if we hit all the KPIs in the next phase. But certainly exciting stuff, and a nice tool to have in the box for the miners to get quicker access to their orebodies. The second potential needle-mover mentioned was a mobile tunnel borer, or MTB, machine that was described as paving the way for the third needle-mover – a narrow-reef rock cutter that was expected to maximise extraction and minimise waste from an orebody that was currently not economically viable using conventional mining methods. How's the MTB going? We commissioned the machine the end of last year at the Bokoni site. We're doing the project in collaboration with African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), and it's early days. We're ramping up production as we speak, but, again, once we can get this fully operational, we expect a lot of interest from the industry to use the MTB-type tun...

    7 min

  4. HACE 2 DÍAS

    Proudly South African drill rigs without human intervention are on the way

    This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. South Africa's Master Drilling, the Fochville-based company which on Tuesday reported $292-million revenue record plus a nigh billion-dollar 2026 order book, is introducing autonomous drilling technology applicable raise boring which brings in more than 80% of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company's business. Operating profit increased by 57.2% to $46.5-million, earnings per share in rands were 71.3% up at 361,1 cents a share. Net cash generated from operations was $17.9-million and of the $20.6-million capital expenditure, 66% was on expansion and 34% on sustaining the existing fleet, Master Drilling CFO Andre van Deventer reported. An initiative under way is "to commission a total autonomous drilling system, and we hope to get that over the line before the end of the year", Master Drilling CEO Danie Pretorius stated during his results presentation covered by Mining Weekly. "We've developed autonomous drilling technology, which are applicable to the company's raise-boring rigs so that these rigs can operate without human intervention," Master Drilling COO Roelof Swanepoel explained. "If you look at our pipeline and an order book, obviously it's a very nice position for the business for a company of our size to go into a New Year with an order book of just on a billion dollars. We couldn't have asked for better. "Probably as important is the makeup of the order book and pipeline," said Pretorius in pointing out the overwhelming multi-country copper and the gold exposure that the pipeline highlights, with platinum group metals filling position three on the slide showing the company's diverse 15-commodity revenue generators. On Master Drilling's 2025 revenue being 7.8% higher than that of 2024, Pretorius added: "We'd like to have seen a bit more given this commodity bull run", but the exceptionally strong pipeline is set to lift business considerably higher. Raise bore hot spots around the world are being targeted amid $2.million having been invested in the development of technical and management skills across the group in 2025 – up on $1.8-million invested in 2024. The 2025 workforce of 3 294 employees is also up on the 3 112 of 2024. Backing up the dominant 83% raise boring business pillar are digitalisation and smart mining at 11%, slim drilling at 4% and mechanical rock excavation and cutting at 2%. The moderate 2% from mechanical rock excavation obscures what strategically is regarded as a very important pillar by Master Drilling, and this contribution is expected to be considerably higher in the years ahead. As mines deepen and become more complex, autonomous technology is expected to become the real differentiator in the future. Of the next generation machines, the Bluebot blind hole machine has been mobilised to Chile and during the last year, artificial intelligence (AI) has been used for predictive maintenance, fault finding and drill parameter optimisation while drilling is taking place. Major upside potential is seen for AI as it is used in many more applications beyond raise boring alone. Meanwhile, the contribution Master Drilling's digitalisation and smart mining pillar is coming mainly from its mine safety technology subsidiary A&R. "If you look at South African technology around tracking people and tracking equipment underground, South Africa's technology and legislation is leading in many ways. "A number of countries are looking to South Africa, to the technology being deployed here, and also the legislation being used by miners and our strategy is to take this technology that we have in South Africa, which is tested and proven, to the global market," Swanepoel reported amid displaying AI-powered cameras, developed by Embedded IQ, a company in which Master Drilling is ...

    5 min

  5. HACE 3 DÍAS

    Northern Cape can be South Africa's next mining hub, says Minerals Council economist

    This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. South Africa's Northern Cape province has the potential to unlock significant revenue from a revitalised and expanded mining sector, Minerals Council South Africa acting chief economist Bongani Motsa told a stakeholders' collaboration session in Sandton ahead of the upcoming Northern Cape Investment and Jobs Conference 2026, which will be hosted in Kimberley from April 13 to 15. The Northern Cape, Motsa pointed out, has significant reserves of manganese and rare earth minerals which could catalyse economic growth in the province and South Africa as a whole. In addition to Northern Cape having the potential to be South Africa's next mining hub, Motsa expressed the view that it could also be the next beneficiation centre for manganese and iron-ore. "But there must be a deliberate strategy to extract value, and planning must start now," he urged, while calling for more investment in value-addition initiatives directed at South Africa's own needs. Northern Cape Premier Dr Zamani Saul told the collaboration session that mining is one of the six critical pillars of the province's industrialisation and development strategy, along with infrastructure development and transport corridors to support an expanded mining sector. Saul described the Northern Cape as one of South Africa's most under-explored and underutilised yet highest potential regions and invited business and investors to reimagine the Northern Cape as a future-facing, globally competitive industrial hub. "Across the world, industrial advantage is shifting towards regions that offer four things: abundant green energy; proximity to natural resources; a trained skills base; and access to markets through reliable infrastructure," said Saul. "This shift is drawing value chains back towards resource locations and the Northern Cape is firmly on this trajectory. The Northern Cape offers a scale of opportunities that few in the world can match. It is a large and under-used industrial landscape with room for energy, mining, agriculture, manufacturing, logistics and tourism." Amid global demand for critical minerals such as manganese, copper, and zinc rising sharply, Saul drew attention to the Northern Cape holding globally significant deposits of these minerals, while being well positioned to become a dependable, long-term supplier to global manufacturing value chains. "We're now moving up the value chain to a new greener smelting capacity for zinc, manganese, iron-ore, copper and lime, and key investors are already deeply invested in the Northern Cape," the Premier remarked. Government, business, investors and stakeholders will meet in Kimberley next month to discuss opportunities and partnerships to stimulate the Northern Cape's industrial development plans. The Northern Cape Investment and Jobs Conference will be held at the Mittah Seperepere International Convention Centre.

    3 min

  6. HACE 6 DÍAS

    Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane on Friday reiterated South Africa’s urgent need for a coordinated cross-government policy environment directed at stimulating responsible and vigorous investment and development of South Africa’s ric

    Minerals Council CEO reiterates need for coordinated cross-govt policy environment Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane on Friday reiterated South Africa's urgent need for a coordinated cross-government policy environment directed at stimulating responsible and vigorous investment and development of South Africa's rich mineral resources. Speaking to those attending the webinar of the Junior and Emerging Miners Desk, which discussed the state of South Africa's junior mining sector, Mthenjane drew strong attention to current global energy metal needs and the ability of South Africa and Africa to help meet the needs of the global energy transition. "We're at a critical time, and there's two perspectives I want to share as an illustration of the criticality of this time in which we find ourselves. "The first one is the global energy transition and the demand for what we are calling energy metals, and the second point, from a global perspective, is the geopolitics. At times, it feels like there are too many kids in the playground with insufficient toys, if you look at the scramble for natural resources, both mineral and energy resources. This is setting as a very significant backdrop for the South African mining industry in general and exploration in particular," Mthenjane pointed out. "The second perspective is the significant need for infrastructure development, economic growth, investment and social prosperity and I think herein is the significance and importance of exploration, which is going to be critical to the confidence in the supply chains for both current and long-term mineral needs. "To be able to achieve this, I think there are two essential components that we will need to be very aware of and the first of these is coordinated policy environment. I'm referring to within the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Department and also across government departments. "The second critical element for me is that we'll need to re-educate and reinstall confidence in exploration, particularly when it comes to greenfield development. "We're all aware that the current mines in South Africa were founded more than 30 to 50 years ago, in as far as mines being developed from greenfield operations. "My hypothesis is that currently we don't have an exploration DNA as a country, which is where the research outlined during the webinar comes in and which is important to inform us of the latest developments. "I believe that we'll need to create what I call an ecosystem for the exploration boom that will be required to meet future mineral demands. "Looking ahead, we'll need a systemic change that will not only happen merely from regulatory changes or a sequence of events, but rather a multiplicity of changes which will need to happen simultaneously," Mthenjane told the webinar covered by Mining Weekly. Minerals Council acting chief economist Bongani Motsa pointed out that in 1994, mining was South Africa's second-fastest growing sector after utilities, involving mainly electricity and water, but by 2025, it had shrunk to being 11% smaller than what it was in 2025. Mining was the only sector that contracted in real terms over the 1994 to 2025 period and in the period from 2010 to 2025, in real terms, mining shrunk by 7%. "It's true that commodity markets are volatile, but the sector should respond to price increases," said Motsa, while displaying a slide showing South Africa's mining failing to respond to higher prices. "This is not normal unless there are serious bottlenecks holding the mining sector from achieving its potential. Why this is so we'll deal with later. For now, let's talk about what I consider the most important aspects of the mining value chain, which is essentially exploration. "Like they say, without exploration, there won't be new mines. Sounds cliche, but this is ever true in South Africa," Motsa told the Junior and Emerging Miners Desk webinar, which discussed challenges faced by junior miners in South Africa, ...

    4 min

  7. HACE 6 DÍAS

    Martin Creamer talks about: Omnia, Nornickel and promising uranium/gold endowment

    Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks how the Middle East crisis is highlighting the relevance of Omnia’s supply chain strength; Nornickel's Palladium Centre's long list of advancing new palladium applications; and the promising uranium/gold endowment, which spans Free Stat

    5 min

  8. 26 MAR

    Middle East crisis underlining relevance of supply strength of South Africa's Omnia

    This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. At this time of crisis in the Middle East, the supply chain strength of South Africa's Omnia is of major relevance from a mining perspective. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Omnia has a strong grasp of ammonia-based emulsion and explosives inputs as well as key detonator capability, which adds value to mines by providing appropriate fragmentation and ensures that mines have the inputs to blast when they need them, which is so relevant amid what is being faced today – Middle East supply chain disruption. "Our teams are very busy moving things around due to the situation in the Middle East, to make sure that our farmers and our mines have strong supply chains to allow them to plant and to blast," Omnia CEO Seelan Gobalsamy highlighted in an interview with Engineering News & Mining Weekly in Johannesburg on Wednesday, March 25. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) From an explosives and mining perspective, Omnia expresses the belief that it has the strongest supply chain of ammonia-based emulsion and explosives inputs and that its detonator capability and technology add value through appropriate fragmentation, and enable mines to blast and have the inputs to blast when needed – "and that's so relevant in what the world is facing today, with the crisis in the Middle East". Omnia, which is strongly rooted in South Africa, has 200 of its own ammonia rail tankers that transport as well as an ammonia storage capability. It is a 70-year-old business that began in agriculture, and over the years moved into explosives, and chemicals, and today finds itself making a profound difference in the mining and agriculture markets. Over the last five years, Omnia's mining explosives business has grown by 40% plus to the point of last year overtaking the agriculture business. Omnia is a strong provider of food security and a deeply embedded provider of mining explosives across the African continent and across the world with operations in 23 countries. "Our North Star is to be a very strong explosives provider across the world, not just in South Africa, and that's why we're investing in detonator plants, emulsion plants across the world, with partners. Our strong underpin is a business with values and a business with strategies and products that are doing what is right for the environment, not just for our generation, so that when our kids, when our grandkids, when their kids and grandkids walk the earth, it can be a better place than what it was when we walked the earth. Food can be healthier, there can be fewer chemicals being used, less water being used, and overall, the environment and the earth being better," Gobalsamy projected. The company has a market capitalisation of just under R15-billion, zero debt and has been able to expand and recruit. "We invest in a lot of young people. We hire 1% of our workforce a year as young graduates. We give them a job for a year, and then we expect them to find something in Omnia or elsewhere. "A few years ago, we also decided to give everyone in our company shares. Everybody, no matter how senior or junior, got 300 shares, and we redid that programme a year later. "Our belief is, if you do good, if you run a good business, the profit should follow. We've got a very noble purpose in enhancing life, and we believe everyone must share in that gain," Gobalsamy opined. "Omnia was started by two very entrepreneurial individuals. They started, initially trading lime, and eventually moved into fertiliser. "If I walk through the generations, in 1980 the company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Since then, the company has continued to build large plants and if I talk through some of those milestones, we have the largest nitric acid plants in the Southern Afric...

    11 min
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MiningWeekly.com provides real time news reportage through originated written & video material. Now you can listen to the top three articles on Mining Weekly at the end of each day.

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