Operations, deal-making, policy and markets across African mining — every story, newest first.
With PGM prices and producer share prices both sharply higher, South African platinum executives said they remain focused on debt reduction and brownfields projects rather than new mine investment.
Envusa Energy's 240MW Mooi Plaats solar plant has begun commercial operation, supplying wheeled renewable power to Anglo American-linked miners Kumba Iron Ore, De Beers and Valterra Platinum.
Gem Diamonds wrote down the carrying value of its Letseng mine in Lesotho by $77.5m and posted a $104m annual loss as revenue fell 36% amid the diamond market downturn.
Lucara Diamond recovered a 36.92-carat Type IIb blue diamond from stockpiled ore at its Karowe mine in Botswana, only the second such find since operations began.
West Wits Mining achieved its maiden gold pour from the Qala Shallows project on 17 March 2026, marking South Africa's first new underground gold mine in 15 years.
South32 has placed its Mozal aluminium smelter in Mozambique on care and maintenance from 15 March 2026, after failing to agree an affordable power deal with Eskom and Cahora Bassa's HCB.
S&P cut Botswana's credit rating to BBB- from BBB, warning that structural weakness in the diamond market would weigh on the economy for longer than previously expected.
Ethiopia has granted a commercial-scale potash mining licence over 365 square kilometres of the Danakil Depression to sovereign wealth fund Ethiopian Investment Holdings.
Senegal's government said it would take back the assets of phosphate producer ICS, ending Indorama Ventures' licence and alleging almost $1.88bn in lost state revenue over the concession's history.
Zimplats reported after-tax profit of $143.7m for the six months to December 2025, a 3,376% jump, as 6E production rose 13% and average metal prices increased 66%.
Anglo American has cut De Beers's carrying value to $2.3bn from $4.1bn and is now considering selling the business in separate parts to different buyers.
African Rainbow Minerals has joined a consortium of manganese producers bidding to build and run a new 16Mtpa export terminal at Ngqura, replacing the ageing Port Elizabeth facility.
The US announced a countervailing duty of 109.10% on Russian palladium, on top of a proposed 132.83% anti-dumping duty, after Sibanye-Stillwater and the United Steelworkers alleged dumping had hurt American producers.
Samancor Chrome issued a Section 189 retrenchment notice in March 2026 covering the majority of its 2,403 smelter and corporate employees, blaming unsustainable electricity costs across six South African smelters.
Impala Platinum's headline earnings rose 402% in its December half, prompting an interim dividend of R3.7bn that ran to 60% of adjusted free cash flow, double the group's normal payout policy.
Ivanhoe Mines' Robert Friedland warned that African copper production faces serious disruption if the Iran conflict persists, given the region's reliance on Middle Eastern sulphur for acid production.
Implats is exploring a combined structure for its Eastern Limb platinum mines, arguing that assets north of the Dwarsrivier Fault have rarely been economically attractive on their own.
World Gold Council data published on 3 March 2026 showed central bank gold buying momentum easing in January even as the base of participating countries continued to broaden.
Rio Tinto approved a $473m expansion of Richards Bay Minerals on 3 March 2026, restarting the long-stalled Zulti South project despite an ongoing group-wide review that could still see the South African mineral sands operation sold.
Lucara Diamond's 2025 revenue fell 22% to $159.7m and profit dropped 35% to $26.1m, as a shortage of very large stones offset resilient prices at Botswana's Karowe mine.
Fitch Solutions' BMI says Zimbabwe's sudden halt to lithium concentrate exports will tighten the market until at least mid-to-late 2027, and has raised its 2026 lithium price forecasts in response.
Flooding brought down the Kakoso bridge on the Zambian road to Kasumbalesa, cutting off a route that carries roughly a third of the DRC's copper cathode exports and forcing trucks onto detours.
Anchor Capital's February 2026 local market commentary said the JSE's continued outperformance was driven largely by a precious-metals rally following gold and platinum's January records.
Rio Tinto has approved a $473m investment in the Zulti South mineral sands project at Richards Bay Minerals, lifting a suspension in place since January 2020 and extending the mine's life to 2050.
