South Africa's government has proposed a 25% export tax on raw chrome ore and new permitting requirements, aiming to revive a ferrochrome smelting industry that has shrunk from 66 furnaces to just 11.
Transnet Port Terminals has finished testing a new R4bn tippler at Saldanha Bay, the terminal that handles about 96% of South Africa's iron-ore exports, with full handover due in September 2026.
South Africa's energy regulator Nersa has approved a concessionary 62c/kWh electricity tariff for ten ferrochrome smelters run by Samancor and Glencore-Merafe, a 75% discount to Eskom's standard rate.
South Africa's energy regulator has approved a concessionary 62c/kWh Eskom tariff for Samancor Chrome and Glencore-Merafe's ferrochrome smelters, aimed at halting further plant shutdowns.
Elcora Advanced Materials signed a binding agreement on 27 May 2026 to acquire the Eldorado gold mine and tailings in South Africa's Barberton Greenstone Belt for $2m in cash plus shares, marking its entry into gold mine ownership.
South Africa's Reserve Bank raised its repo rate by 25 basis points to 7% on 28 May 2026, a move that supports the rand but raises borrowing costs across the mining sector.
The Minerals Council South Africa's 2026 AGM revealed the sector contributed R477bn, or 6.2% of GDP, in 2025, employed 470,457 people and paid R200bn in wages.
A Centre for Environmental Rights report launched in Johannesburg finds South Africa has at least 400 abandoned coal mines and that Mpumalanga has properly closed none of them.
Orion Minerals is advancing a $250m Glencore prepayment and offtake agreement alongside a roughly R180m share placement, completed around 28 May 2026, to fund redevelopment of its Prieska and Okiep copper projects in South Africa's Northern Cape.
South African mineral sales rose 30.2% year-on-year in March 2026, with PGM sales up 113.5% and gold sales up 51.7%, even as physical production grew just 2.5%.
Harmony Gold is expanding its Sungazer solar programme with a 100MW plant under construction at Moab Khotsong, part of a roughly R2bn plan to add wind, solar and PPA capacity across its South African mines.
Ivanhoe Mines reached financial close on 30 April 2026 on a $700m senior project finance facility, arranged with Societe Generale, Absa and Nedbank, to fund Phase 2 of its Platreef mine in South Africa's Limpopo province.
South Africa has appointed six consortia to modernise Beitbridge, Lebombo and four other border posts under a R12.5bn PPP, targeting congestion that slows mineral and general trade with the region.
The US International Development Finance Corporation confirmed in April 2026 it was proceeding with a $50m equity investment in Rainbow Rare Earths' Phalaborwa project, despite a sharp deterioration in US-South Africa relations.
South African mining production rose 9.7% year-on-year in February 2026, with PGM output up 52.3%, though the Minerals Council warned much of the gain reflected base effects.
South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed Eskom's bid to keep its coal and diesel supply contracts secret, upholding a High Court order that the utility disclose them.
Thungela Resources reported a R7.1bn net loss for 2025 after taking an R8.8bn asset impairment, as export coal prices fell 20% in South Africa and 17% at its Australian Ensham mine.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Exxaro Resources closed its acquisition of key manganese mining and marketing interests from Ntsimbintle Holdings and OM Holdings on 27 February 2026, after South Africa's Competition Tribunal approved the deal in December 2025.
South Africa's mineral resources portfolio committee received an update from the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure on measures to combat illegal mining, formalising a multi-agency policy response.
Chinese buyers imported a record 12.5-million tonnes of South African chrome ore across 2025, up 23.8% year on year, as South Africa's total chrome ore exports rose 15.7% to 23.77-million tonnes.
