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Anglo American has been looking for partners for its fertiliser project in North Yorkshire for around six months, CE Duncan Wanblad told Reuters, reiterating the business will be one of three pillars of the revamped miner, even as work there stalls. The London-listed miner outlined a radical plan on Tuesday to shrink by divesting less profitable coal, nickel, diamond and platinum businesses, as it moves to fend off BHP Group’s $43-billion takeover offer.

The US government is open to easing sanctions on billionaire mining magnate Dan Gertler if he gives up his business operations and assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Washington’s interest in critical minerals has run up against his problematic royalties ownership. The Treasury Department is willing to grant limited sanctions relief to Gertler, an Israeli citizen, as a way to incentivize his complete exit from Congo, including relinquishing his royalty streams on three strategic projects, according to two US officials, who asked not to be identified as the talks are ongoing.

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has approved the Electricity Regulation Amendment (ERA) Bill, which has far-reaching implications for the future structure and operation of an electricity supply industry that has hitherto been dominated by Eskom. The Bill received support from all provinces besides the Free State, which lacked a mandate to vote, and the Western Cape, which argued that there had been insufficient time for provinces to consult their residents on the contents of the Bill.

ASX-listed Jupiter Mines continues to advance environment, social and governance (ESG) initiatives at its 49.9%-owned Tshipi manganese mine, in South Africa, alongside its partner Ntsimbintle Mining. Jupiter CEO and MD Brad Rogers says ESG for the company is about real sustainability, genuine actions and continuing in a credible way the great work that is already occurring at the Tshipi mine.

In a ward where South Africa’s governing African National Congress won handily in local elections three years ago, party campaign worker Poppy Vilakazi has been getting a decidedly frosty reception lately. “Mostly they are angry,” she told Reuters, speaking in Komati, a village in the shadow of a shuttered power plant in Mpumalanga province, an ANC stronghold in the country’s coal belt. “They feel the ANC let them down by allowing this power station to close.” South Africa’s creaky power sector and the economic fallout from State utility Eskom’s struggle to keep the lights on are top issues in a May 29 election that polls predict could see the ANC lose its 30-year parliamentary majority. But as President Cyril Ramaphosa seeks to balance the need to boost energy output against dwindling funding for coal – which generates 80% of the country’s power – and global demands that South Africa decarbonise, the issue is dividing his party. Nowhere is that more evident than in Komati, where the conversion of a 60-year-old, 1 000-megawatt coal power plant has triggered a local and national backlash.

The latest Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies has found that various African countries, including Niger, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Senegal, have ranked among the lowest for investment attractiveness for mining exploration.

Africa is unfortunately ranked as the region with the most jurisdictions towards the bottom of the overall Investment Attractiveness Index.

During its financial year to February 29, midtier mining and materials company Afrimat invested considerably in projects that are expected to yield fruitful returns and further strengthen diversity and competitive advantage, group CEO Andries van Heerden said. One such project was the Nkomati anthracite mine, which he said delivered a healthy return.

The production of green hydrogen, which is most effectively generated when catalysed by platinum group metals (PGMs), has profound economic and social implications, including job creation, skills development, and the fostering of new industries along a multifaceted mining, manufacturing and agricultural value chain. Encouragingly, the South African government representatives at this week’s Green Hydrogen Roundtable at the Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) head office in Sandton, were able to report that Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande has identified the skills needed for the hydrogen economy and is taking all-embracing steps to accelerate green hydrogen know-how.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has assured the National Council of Provinces that the Jagersfontein house rebuilding project is well under way. This project follows the collapse of a tailings dam wall at the Jagersfontein diamond mine, in the Free State, on September 11, 2022, resulting in a mud slide which damaged infrastructure and homes in the vicinity.

The Democratic Republic of Congo called for an international embargo of metal exports from neighboring Rwanda, whose government it accuses of using rebel groups to steal its natural resources. All mining products from Rwanda should be considered “blood minerals,” because their sale allegedly supports conflict in eastern Congo, Mines Minister Antoinette N’Samba Kalambayi said in a May 8 statement released on Tuesday. “All stakeholders, including end consumers of mining products,” should commit to a responsible supply chain, and “an embargo be decreed against Rwanda,” she said.