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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Glencore began exploring the sale of a majority stake in its Kamoto Copper Company operation in the DRC, holding talks with Orion Resource Partners amid the prolonged cobalt export suspension.
B2Gold approved development of the Antelope underground deposit at its Otjikoto mine in Namibia on 15 September 2025, after cutting the pre-production capital estimate to $105m from $129m.
Human Rights Watch says residents affected by the February 2025 Sino-Metals acid spill in Zambia continue to report health problems and is calling for a comprehensive, independent health investigation.
Pan African Resources reported record annual profit for the year to June 2025 and guided to a near-40% rise in production for FY2026, while confirming plans to shift its primary listing to London.
Peabody Energy terminated its agreement to buy Anglo American's steelmaking coal portfolio for up to $3.8bn on 19 August 2025, prompting Anglo to launch arbitration over the collapsed deal a month later.
A US customs ruling that 1kg and 100oz gold bars from Switzerland were subject to tariffs briefly unsettled bullion markets, until Trump said gold would not be tariffed.
Petra Diamonds secured a refinancing deal pushing out its debt maturities and raising $25m in new equity, sending its shares up sharply.
A Sierra Leone court extended a freezing order on Koidu Limited's assets after the diamond miner went into care and maintenance amid a strike and a long-running community lawsuit.
President Trump's proclamation of a 50% tariff on semi-finished copper imports, effective 1 August 2025, triggered a scramble to ship metal into the US and tightened supply elsewhere.
Resolute Mining has published an initial resource of 266,000oz at its Bantaco prospect near the Mako gold mine, as it looks to extend gold production in Senegal by five to ten years.
Managem is building a $100m cobalt-sulphate refinery near Marrakech to process material from its century-old Bou Azzer mine, positioning Morocco as an alternative cobalt source to the DRC.
