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.
Legal analysis of South Africa's draft mining law amendments found the bill's ministerial consent requirement for changes of control was so broadly worded it could apply to routine JSE share trades.
South Africa's Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources received a briefing on the implementation of the new mining licensing system, formally tracking a project that has already slipped several deadlines.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Vedanta's R7bn Phase II expansion of the Gamsberg zinc mine in South Africa's Northern Cape was 75% complete in the first quarter of its 2026 financial year, on track to double the mine's ore capacity.
The Junior Mining Exploration Fund has allocated its first R120 million to six projects, but data show South Africa's exploration spending has collapsed even as the sector's economic footprint stays large.
The Minerals Council South Africa said engagement sessions on the MPRDA amendment bill were too high-level to be useful, and that its key recommendation on prospecting rights was ignored.
Minister Gwede Mantashe released South Africa's Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy, prioritising beneficiation and industrialisation around a shortlist of minerals judged most important to the economy.
The Minerals Council South Africa says the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources is unhappy with a court ruling that protects existing empowerment deals, and may use MPRDA amendments to undo it.
