MINING
Life after Anglo American: giving mining assets a second life
- Deon Smith
DIAMONDS
How Anglo American squandered De Beers’ brand power
QUESTION: What would you call a company valued at $18bn in 2001, $12.75bn in 2011, that is now finding no buyers at $1bn? Something to ponder. Allow me to take a step back. Around the turn of the century, I…
GOLD FIELDS
Northam Platinum finally secures “rock star” status
IT has taken some 40 years but Northam Platinum has finally achieved the “rock star” status that the former Gold Fields of South Africa envisaged when it decided to develop the Zondereinde mine in 1986. That…
GOLD
From gold to gas: reclaiming SA’s resource advantage
OVER the course of the past two decades, South Africa has been in a form of economic drift, at times forgetting its economic roots. The foundations on which this country was built and the industries that…
GOLD
A spat over share buy-backs a happy problem for gold investors
ANGLOGOLD Ashanti on July 13 urged shareholders to support a resolution to buy back up to $2bn worth of its own shares after proxy advisory ISS questioned the tactic. “Given the ‘Aggregate Cap’ ($2bn), the…
COAL
South32-Alcoa deal exposes beneficiation myth
THERE are few words in South African economic policy more seductive than “beneficiation”. It has everything: moral uplift, industrial ambition, a pleasingly muscular rhythm and the promise that somewhere,…
FERROCHROME
How long before miners call on Eskom for their rebates?
ESKOM will invite the attention of its mining clients in yet stronger terms if it agrees to cut its tariff for Transalloys, the manganese smelting business currently heading for closure. According to a report…
GOLD
Even gold’s biggest backer is hedging its bets
GOLD’S first half of 2026 has been a study in contrasts. The metal set 12 record highs during the first six weeks of the year, peaking at $5,500/oz intraday in late January, before retreating sharply to…
TRANSNET
BEE’s gaming problem, not racism, is driving a backlash
AT the Nedbank Top Empowerment Conference in Sandton last month, trade, industry & competition minister Parks Tau addressed the criticism that broad-based BEE (BBBEE) has “failed” because huge “gaps” remain.…
INFLATION
When it comes to gold, look past the obvious
EVERYBODY is asking me about gold. Specifically, why isn’t gold running higher? It started the year at $4,300 and went on a mad rush to a peak of $5,600 in late January. In dollars, gold is up 33.5% over the…
GOLD PRODUCTION
Why Pan African has outshone its golden rivals
TO paraphrase Warren Buffett, superior long-term wealth is often built by owning the goose that lays the golden eggs, rather than the golden egg itself. Pan African Resources has been a golden goose for Allan…
ENERGY
Afrimat is a victim of failed industrial policy in SA
AFRIMAT is one of those companies that is surviving despite the chaos of industrial policy. But how long can these companies remain afloat? Afrimat’s recently published full-year results look, at first blush,…
SOUTH AFRICA
Comrade Gwede, BEE isn’t worth the scrap paper it was written on
THE mining industry is waiting apprehensively for the chairperson of the African National Cosa Nostra and sometimes minerals and petroleum Minister, Comrade Gwede, to gazette another round of BEE for the…
SOUTH AFRICA
Can SA take Govt’s $121bn trains strategy seriously?
LATE last month, South Africa’s department of transport released for public comment its draft national master plan to revitalise, modernise and expand South Africa’s rail system, covering freight rail,…
INFLATION
Will BHP really bet on South African mining again?
SOUTH African mining is at one of those rare moments when its trajectory could tilt either way. There is talk of hope and renewal, encompassing an overdue honesty about Eskom and Transnet, the glimmers of…
ZAMBIA
Transnet reform critical if SA wants role in SADC metals flow
THE century-old Benguela railway is back in business. Running from the copper belt of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through Zambia to Angola’s deep-water port of Lobito, it is emerging as one of…