Manganese ore prices stayed under pressure through 2025 and into 2026 as oversupply, driven partly by strong South African and Gabonese exports, left about six million tonnes stockpiled at Chinese ports.
Vedanta Resources launched CopperTech Metals, a US-domiciled company to own and operate Zambia's Konkola Copper Mines, on 7 November 2025, alongside plans for a $1.5bn investment and an 11.9% stake sale worth about $372m.
Assmang has permanently closed its Beeshoek iron ore mine near Postmasburg and begun retrenching 622 employees, after ArcelorMittal South Africa ended the offtake agreement that kept the mine viable.
Ivanhoe Mines' third-quarter profit fell to $31m, down two-thirds year-on-year, as seismic-related flooding continued to depress copper output at Kamoa-Kakula.
De Beers grew rough diamond production 38% in the third quarter of 2025, selling into a weak market at discounted margins as Anglo American pressed on with the group's sale.
RMB Morgan Stanley has warned that South African iron ore exporters could lose some of the pricing premium that has cushioned them, as freight costs rise and Chinese steelmakers favour pellets over lumpy ore.
Harmony Gold finalised its US$1.01bn acquisition of MAC Copper on 24 October 2025, taking full ownership of the CSA copper mine in New South Wales and adding copper to its production mix for the first time at scale.
Wholesale lab-grown diamond prices have crashed as much as 96% since 2018, prompting Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and the DRC to fund a joint marketing push for natural stones.
Newmont said on 23 October 2025 that its new Ahafo North mine had reached commercial production, expecting 275,000-325,000oz a year over an initial 13-year mine life.
Mining has resumed at Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto complex in Mali after a nine-month suspension, with a court-appointed administrator overseeing the restart while the ownership dispute remains unresolved.
Construction at the Karo Platinum project in Zimbabwe progressed with ball mills being installed and a dam expansion under way, as the Tharisa-backed mine works towards planned output of 190,000 oz a year.
The US Defense Logistics Agency cancelled a tender for up to 7,500 tonnes of cobalt worth as much as $500m, its first attempt to buy the metal since 1990, citing unresolved issues with the contract's terms.
The Democratic Republic of Congo formally lifted its cobalt export ban on 16 October 2025, moving to a quota system after eight months of suspension that had roiled global battery-metal markets.
Tharisa set FY2026 guidance of 145,000 to 165,000 oz of PGMs and 1.5 to 1.65 million tonnes of chrome concentrate, building on a strong fourth quarter at its South African mine.
Tharisa has guided FY2026 production of 145,000 to 165,000 ounces of platinum group metals and up to 1.65-million tonnes of chrome concentrate, building on a strong fourth quarter at its South African mine.
Kenmare Resources has begun commissioning an upgraded Wet Concentrator Plant A at its Moma mine in Mozambique, a step toward mining the giant Nataka ore zone that holds about 70% of the mine's mineral resources.
The International Copper Study Group forecast a 2025 surplus giving way to a 150,000-tonne deficit in 2026, a call that anticipated the tight market later blamed for record prices.
Ivanhoe Mines reported record quarterly zinc output at Kipushi and copper production in line with guidance at Kamoa-Kakula, as recovery from May's flooding gathered pace.
As the DRC's quota system approached, Chinese cobalt refiners began dissolving cobalt metal into sulphate instead of using scarce hydroxide feedstock, even though the process is slower and less efficient.
The Junior Mining Exploration Fund grew to R1 billion after Anglo American added R600 million to government's R400 million, with applications opening on 30 September 2025.
Ivanhoe Mines closed a $500m strategic private placement with the Qatar Investment Authority on 29 September 2025, giving the sovereign wealth fund roughly 4% of the company behind the Kamoa-Kakula and Kipushi mines.
An industry opinion piece published as the DRC's cobalt quota system took shape argued that South Africa's own critical minerals strategy should introduce a 'balanced export strategy' limiting unprocessed cobalt exports.
An ICSID arbitration tribunal has ordered Niger not to sell or transfer uranium produced at the nationalised Somaïr mine, siding with French group Orano in a dispute over roughly 1,500 tonnes of yellowcake.
Congo's regulator announced on 22 September 2025 that cobalt exports would be capped at 96,600 tonnes a year in 2026 and 2027, with 18,125 tonnes permitted for the rest of 2025.
