South Africa's high-carbon ferrochrome exports fell 20.8% in July 2026 as Chinese purchases dropped 27.2% month on month, while Japan's imports jumped to overtake Italy and South Korea as the second-largest buyer.
Kumba Iron Ore will supply iron ore to steel mills in the China Mineral Resources Group network from April 2026 to March 2027, under a contract Bloomberg estimates could cover 8 to 10 million tonnes.
The People's Bank of China added 20 tonnes of gold to reserves in July 2026, its largest monthly addition since late 2023, World Gold Council data published on 14 August showed.
The Manono lithium project in the DRC, controlled by China's Zijin Mining, received certification for its first export batch in July 2026, making the country a lithium producer for the first time.
Namibia and China signed nine cooperation agreements during President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah's state visit to Beijing in July 2026, including a green minerals agreement naming uranium, lithium and rare earths as strategic priorities.
Iron ore prices in China stood at $109.43 a tonne in June 2026, with record port stockpiles and weak construction demand offsetting stronger manufacturing steel use.
Guinea's Ministry of Mines and Geology on 18 June reviewed a feasibility study from Simfer and China Baowu Steel for a pellet plant with capacity of 2 million tonnes a year, meeting a Simandou co-development commitment.
Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt agreed on 7 May 2026 to acquire Atlantic Lithium for about $210m in cash, months after Atlantic Lithium's board rejected an earlier takeover proposal it judged undervalued its Ewoyaa project in Ghana.
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.
Chinese copper producers CMOC and Zijin have taken equity stakes in the venture rebuilding TAZARA, the railway linking Zambia's copperbelt to Dar es Salaam, under a $1.24bn, 30-year concession.
Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group began construction of a $200m lithium-sulfate plant at its Kamativi joint venture in Zimbabwe on 27 February 2026, the third such Chinese-built processing plant in the country.
China Baowu Steel Group completed an increase of its stake in the operator of Simandou's Blocks 1 and 2 to 51% on 30 January 2026, taking formal control weeks after the first iron ore shipments left Guinea for China.
Zijin Gold International agreed on 26 January 2026 to buy Allied Gold for C$44 a share, valuing the company at about C$5.5bn and adding three African gold operations to Zijin's fast-growing overseas portfolio.
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.
Kodal Minerals received a $21.3m payment from Hainan Mining in December 2025 after Bougouni's maiden 28,950-tonne spodumene shipment departed Cote d'Ivoire's San Pedro port for China on 30 November 2025.
Newmont finalised its $1bn sale of the Akyem gold mine in Ghana to China's Zijin Mining Group in August 2025, receiving the last $100m instalment after Ghana's Parliament ratified the mine's extended lease.
