Mintek Report Underscores South Africa's Critical Minerals Potential

03 Feb 2025|

Cape Town, South Africa – A comprehensive report by Mintek, presented by CEO Dr. Molefi Motuku, took centre stage at the South Africa Investment Forum at the 2025 Investing in African Mining Indaba, highlighting South Africa's vast potential in the critical minerals sector.

The report's findings, coupled with the announcement of Giga-Africa 1, a landmark battery gigafactory project, underscored the country's strategic move towards a mineral-driven manufacturing economy.

Dr. Motuku's presentation detailed South Africa's world-leading reserves of key critical minerals, including Platinum Group Metals (PGMs) - 88% global market share, manganese - 80% global market share, and that chromium and vermiculite also share impressive market ratios.

He emphasised the need to leverage these resources, estimated to be worth over US$2.5 trillion, to drive economic growth and industrial development. "South Africa is uniquely positioned to benefit from the global energy transition," stated Dr. Motuku, "but we must act strategically to develop the necessary infrastructure and downstream industries."

The Mintek report also highlighted the concerning decline in mineral exploration investment, falling from R6.2 billion in 2008 to R1.2 billion in 2023. This represents a significant drop from over 5% of the global exploration budget to below 1%, emphasising the urgent need for policy interventions and investment incentives to revitalise this crucial sector.

Following the Mintek presentation, a panel discussion featuring key government officials and industry leaders explored an integrated approach to growing the mining industry. The panel included Hon. Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Dr. Nobuhle Nkabane, Minister of Higher Education, Mzila Mthenjane, CEO, Mineral Council of South Africa, and Bernard Swanepoel, Executive Chairman, Manganese Metal Company.

Minister Mantashe emphasised the government's commitment to creating a conducive environment for investment. "We are working to streamline regulations and provide the necessary support to attract both local and international investors," he stated. Dr. Nkabane highlighted the importance of skills development and education to support the growing critical minerals sector. "We need to invest in training and education to ensure that we have the skilled workforce required to meet the demands of this rapidly evolving industry," she said.

Mzila Mthenjane, representing the mining industry, stressed the need for collaboration between government, industry, and communities. "We need to work together to ensure that the benefits of mining are shared equitably and that we develop a sustainable and responsible mining sector," he stated. Bernard Swanepoel echoed this sentiment, adding, "The development of downstream industries is crucial to maximising the value of our mineral resources and creating long-term economic opportunities."

The announcement of Giga-Africa 1, a joint venture between Megamillion and Chinese battery expert Dr. Henry Mao, served as a tangible example of the growing investor interest in South Africa's critical minerals sector. The gigafactory, with a planned capacity of 32GWh, will focus on the production of lithium-ion batteries, key components for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. "Our vision of manufacturing lithium-ion cells and electrodes on African soil is finally becoming a reality," stated Megamillion CEO Nechan Naicker.

These developments represent a decisive shift towards a more diversified South African mining sector, poised to capitalise on the global demand for green energy technologies.

SEOULTECH researchers develop autonomous geological assessment tool

Carrieann Stocks 

Researchers at Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SEOULTECH) have developed a machine learning-based method to improve geological assessments of rock faces.

The technique, called Roughness-CANUPO-Dip-Facet (R-C-D-F), enhances the accuracy of measuring dip angles and directions by identifying joint embedment points, key features in rock structures. This fully autonomous approach could improve precision and safety in large-scale construction projects, including tunnels and mines.

Machine learning has been increasingly applied across scientific disciplines, including geological engineering. Determining the dip angle and direction of rock facets is essential for ensuring structural stability in underground construction. However, current machine learning models often struggle to differentiate between joint bands – broader, less distinct areas within rock – and joint embedment points, which are more precise indicators of surface orientation.

To address this issue, a SEOULTECH team led by Professor Hyungjoon Seo developed the R-C-D-F method. The multistep process uses filtration techniques to remove joint bands while retaining joint embedment points, improving measurement accuracy. The research was published in Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology.

The method begins with a roughness analysis of a 3D point cloud from the rock surface, removing minor irregularities and noise. Next, the CANUPO algorithm classifies geometric characteristics to isolate key features. A further filtration step eliminates connecting rock segments based on dip angles, ensuring precise measurement of each rock section’s orientation.

Tests on real tunnel face images showed accuracy rates between 97% and 99.4%, with 100% of joint bands successfully removed while preserving 81% of joint embedment points. The method operates without human intervention. “By automating the process of filtering and segmenting rock features, it reduces human error and computational inefficiencies, making it ideal for modern infrastructure projects that demand high accuracy and reliability,” said Prof. Seo.

The researchers believe the R-C-D-F method could have broad applications in structural and geological engineering.

“The R-C-D-F method’s integration of ML and deep learning ensures reliable and accurate geological data processing, which can directly improve the safety of large-scale engineering projects like tunnels and underground structures,” Prof. Seo added. “It could also enable the development of smarter and faster geological analysis tools, reducing costs and improving efficiency in industries reliant on subsurface exploration and infrastructure development.”

NGOs ask EU to cancel mineral pact with Rwanda over Congo war

Bloomberg News | February 4, 2025 |

M23 troops in Bunagana, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Credit: Al Jazeera English, Wikimedia Commons

A group of 64 organizations mainly from the Democratic Republic of Congo sent a letter asking the European Union to cancel a critical minerals partnership with Rwanda because of its support for a rebel group in eastern Congo.


Rwanda-backed M23 rebels took the Congolese trading hub of Goma last week, leaving thousands dead and wounded and raising concerns of a regional war. Congo and United Nations experts say M23 has been smuggling Congolese minerals to Rwanda to help pay for their rebellion.

“The EU must urgently reassess any mining project involving Rwanda, or risk legitimizing the illegal exploitation of DRC resources and indirectly financing war crimes, human rights violations, and regional instability,” according to the letter which was signed by 64 NGOs and sent to EU commissioners and members of parliament Tuesday.

The EU signed a memorandum of understanding last February to support governance, transparency, and infrastructure for mineral processing and refining in Rwanda. The EU and its member states also plan to invest more than €900 million ($934 million) in the country under their Global Gateway program, including funding for critical mineral, health and climate initiatives.

Rwanda exports minerals including tungsten, tin and gold. The International Monetary Fund estimates it exported $1.3 billion worth of gold last year and could ship nearly $1.9 billion in 2025. The nation is also the world’s second-largest source of tantalum, used in most portable electronics.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame told CNN in an interview broadcast Monday that he didn’t know about mineral smuggling from Congo to Rwanda.

“People who are benefitting from minerals of Congo more than anybody else are South Africa and these other Europeans who are making noise about it,” Kagame said.

Kagame also denies supporting the rebels or sending troops to eastern Congo, which has suffered three decades of conflict since the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

M23 says it’s protecting the rights of Tutsis and the speakers of the Rwandan language in Congo. Kagame blames the conflict on Congo’s inability to govern its mineral-rich eastern provinces, where more than 100 armed groups are active.

M23 currently controls mines in eastern Congo that are among the largest sources of tantalum in the world. The group makes more than $800,000 a month taxing the trade from the mines, according to a report by UN experts released last month.

(By Michael J. Kavanagh)

NexGen nears deals to sell uranium to US utilities despite trade tensions

Bloomberg News | February 5, 2025 |

NexGen’s Rook I project. Credit: NexGen Energy

Canada’s NexGen Energy Ltd. says it’s in advanced talks with several US nuclear utilities to sell more uranium from a $1.6 billion mine it plans to build in Saskatchewan despite escalating trade tensions between the neighboring nations.


Chief executive officer Leigh Curyer said he’s nearing offtake agreements with a number of US utilities in the coming months, adding to supply deals NexGen struck two months ago. The Vancouver-based company said in December it was awarded its first contracts to supply 5 million pounds of uranium to multiple US nuclear utility companies.

NexGen is one of several firms racing to develop projects in northern Saskatchewan’s uranium-rich Athabasca region, which has become a hub of uranium mining activity as the world warms to nuclear power. Only a handful of companies operate mines for the metal used to fuel reactors. NexGen’s Rook I, one of the area’s biggest projects, would account for about 13% of the world’s uranium supply, according to Bank of Nova Scotia.

Trade tensions between the US and Canada, which threaten to levy steep tariffs on metals including uranium, have not deterred the company’s progress on discussions with US buyers, Curyer said.

“During our first round of agreements there were the same threats of trade wars occurring, and that didn’t impact our negotiations,” the CEO said in a Tuesday interview. “Overall demand for electricity is far greater than what the overall impacts of tariffs can be for nuclear fuel.”

The company is awaiting its final permit from the Canadian government to start building Rook I later this year.

(By Jacob Lorinc)

Chinese firms control around 75% of Indonesian nickel capacity, report finds

Reuters | February 5, 2025 | 

Nickel smelter in Sorowako, Indonesia. (Image by Marcelo Coelho, courtesy of Vale).

Chinese firms control about 75% of Indonesia’s nickel refining capacity, raising concern over supply chain control and environmental risks, Washington-based global security nonprofit C4ADS has said in a report.


According to the report, Indonesia’s 8 million metric ton refining capacity was distributed across 33 companies, but ownership tracing showed shareholder overlap, and ultimately Chinese companies controlled about three-quarters of smelting capacity as of 2023.

“As Indonesia aims to use the nickel industry for economic growth, this substantial foreign influence could limit its ability to control and shape the industry for its benefit,” said the report, released on Tuesday.

The reliance on Chinese-controlled nickel production also places US and European automakers at a competitive disadvantage in the global EV market amid increasingly restrictive policies against trade with China, the report said. Nickel is a key battery component.

Indonesia’s mining ministry did not immediately comment.

An Indonesian official said last year that Chinese companies were approaching Indonesian and South Korean firms for potential partnerships to reduce their stakes in smelters and make their product more accessible to the US market.

President Prabowo Subianto formed a task force to develop the downstream mineral industry with domestic financing to “gradually reduce perception that foreigners got the most benefits,” Mining Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said last month.

The C4ADS report found that two Chinese companies, Tsingshan Holding Group and Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co Ltd, accounted for more than 70% of Indonesia’s refining capacity as of 2023.

The two were among the earliest investors when Indonesia started a push for domestic processing of nickel ore – a move that has made it the world’s dominant producer.

Last year, a court in Central Sulawesi sentenced two workers at Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel to seven months jail for negligence that led to a fire and deaths at a Tsingshan facility in December 2023. In early 2023, two workers were killed in clashes at the PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry smelter in North Morowali owned by Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry.

Tsingshan’s unit Eternal Tsingshan and Jiangsu Delong’s joint-venture Obsidian Stainless Steel did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Jiangsu Delong could not immediately be reached for comment.

Tsingshan has been selling stakes in some of its smelters, including an October deal with Indonesian state miner Aneka Tambang for 30% of PT Jiu Long Metal Industry.

(By Fransiska Nangoy and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Tony Munroe and Gerry Doyle)

Mali’s new mines law needs review to win back investors, gold mine CEOs say

Reuters | February 5, 2025 |

The Syama gold complex in Mali. (Photo by Philip Mostert | Resolute Mining.)

A new mining law in Mali that raises taxes and seeks to hand over big stakes in assets to the state and local investors will need to be loosened up if gold companies are to invest in new projects there, company CEOs told Reuters.


The new rules compel companies operating in Africa’s second biggest gold producer to divest a 35% share of new projects to Malian investors – up from 20% previously – and raise royalty taxes to 10.5% from around 6%.

Speaking on the sidelines of the annual African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, three gold mining CEOs with operations in West Africa said the new rules make it uneconomic to invest in new mines or buy operations in the country.

Gold, which accounted for 80% of Mali’s exports in 2023, has hit successive record highs over the past year, but the state’s interest and the higher royalty tax are “too much to encourage investment”, one gold mining CEO told Reuters.

“From my conversations with some in the government, there is a growing realization that the mining code is too harsh, they need to loosen some of the royalty (tax) requirements,” he said.

“The danger is that, as the taxes become too high and hurt the level of investment in the country, as gold companies, because we have choices, we can take our money elsewhere,” a second CEO said.

Mali’s junta-led government has proved aggressive in implementing the new rules, souring relations with top investors, including world no. 2 gold miner Barrick Gold.

Barrick shuttered its Loulo-Gounkoto operation last month after authorities seized its gold reserves by helicopter and arrested several of its employees in a dispute related to the new mining law.

On top of a series of executive arrests and the potential loss of some $245 million in bullion, Barrick CEO Mark Bristow also faces an arrest warrant in Mali.

Mali’s mines ministry declined to comment. It said when the review of the previous code was announced in 2023 that an internal audit had shown it was not receiving a fair slice of profits from the mining sector while granting too many tax breaks.
‘We are talking’

Jorge Ganoza, the CEO for Fortuna Mining, a Canadian miner seeking to expand in West Africa, said he would not consider Mali as a potential destination for investment. He said he expects producers’ focus to shift to rich deposits in Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Burkina Faso.

The lack of investment in new mines and exploration activities could shorten the lifespan of existing mines in Mali, he said. “Do you think Resolute or Barrick today is looking to expand investments in the country? No,” Ganoza said.

Resolute Mining, whose CEO was arrested by Mali authorities last year due to disagreements over the mining rules, said on Jan. 30 the royalty tax will add about $250 per ounce of gold to the all-in sustaining costs of its Syama mine in the country.

The CEOs, who spoke to Reuters separately, cited another Canadian miner, Robex, as an example of a company looking to pull out of Mali. Robex, which is struggling to find buyers for its Nampala mine in the country, said on its website it was shifting focus to Guinea.

Still, some mining groups are continuing to talk to Mali’s junta on how they can keep working in the country.

Resolute, which agreed to pay $160 million for the release of its CEO and senior executives who had been arrested in Bamako last year, said it was continuing discussions on the long-term future of its mine in the country and migration of its assets to the new code.

Barrick CEO Bristow told mining investors in Cape Town on Monday that it had some “challenges” in Mali because of “certain individuals that… promised more to the junta-led transitional government”.

But, he said, “the important thing is, we are talking”.

(By Felix Njini and Wendell Roelf; Editing by Jan Harvey)

Harmony Gold reports five deaths at two mines

Reuters | February 5, 2025 | 

Doornkop mine. Credit: Harmony Gold

Five people were killed in incidents at two of Harmony Gold’s South African mines, the company reported on Wednesday.


Three employees died on Tuesday after a collapse at the Joel mine in the Free State province, about 290 km (180 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, Harmony said in a statement.

Two other employees died in another incident on Tuesday morning at the Doornkop mine, 30 km (19 miles) west of Johannesburg, the company said.

Harmony, South Africa’s top gold producer, said the causes of the two incidents were being investigated.

South Africa’s mining industry reported 42 deaths last year, the lowest number to date and a 24% improvement on the previous year, according to official statistics released last month.

In January, the bodies of 78 miners were pulled from an illegal gold mine after a heavily-criticized police operation lasting several months that tried to force them to the surface.

(By Nelson Banya; Editing by Ros Russell)

China’s central bank buys more gold as prices hit record

Bloomberg News | February 7, 2025 |

China’s central bank. Credit: Adobe Stock

China’s central bank expanded its gold reserves for a third month in January, even as the precious metal kept rallying to a record high.


Bullion held by the People’s Bank of China rose by 0.16 million troy ounces last month, according to data released Friday. The central bank resumed adding gold reserves in November after a six-month halt that followed an 18-month buying spree.

The move shows the PBOC’s commitment to diversify reserves even with gold at historically high levels, and it joins a slew of other central banks adding gold to their holdings amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties. The precious metal has set successive records this week, supported by haven demand.

“The PBOC will likely continue to diversify its reserves in the longer term, given the rising geopolitical uncertainty,” said David Qu, an economist at Bloomberg Economics. Politics may be the key reason behind the move as the central bank resumed buying after Donald Trump was elected, he said.

Buying gold for jewelry buying remains subdued in China due to tepid economic growth.

(By Yihui Xie)

London sees record gold outflow in January in race to ship to US

Bloomberg News | February 7, 2025 

Gold bullion.

 (Image by the London Bullion Market Association, Instagram.)

The amount of gold stored in London vaults fell by 4.9 million troy ounces in January, the largest monthly decline since records began in 2016, as traders rushed to ship the precious metal to the US to avoid tariff risks and capture premium prices.


London is the world’s largest hub for gold trading, with about $800 billion worth stored in vaults underneath the capital. Worries that President Donald Trump will impose tariffs affecting gold sent US prices soaring past those in London last month, offering a lucrative arbitrage opportunity for owners able to fly their holdings across the Atlantic.

The outflows, worth nearly $14 billion, reduced January stocks by 1.7% from December’s levels, according the data collected by the London Bullion Market Association, a trade group.

That includes holdings in commercial vaults owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Brink’s Co, among others, as well as gold accounts in the Bank of England’s vault.

“The monthly decline in gold stocks reflects the well-documented market dynamics at present,” the LBMA said. “Given the flow of metal from London to New York, a 151 tonne decline in stocks in January is unsurprising.”

The one-month lease rate for gold, which reflects the short-term cost of borrowing it, jumped to the highest in decades in January. Long lines to withdraw the metal formed at the BOE’s vault, leading to unusually large discounts for gold stored there compared with the wider market.

Silver stocks also saw the biggest outflow on record following the emergence of a similar New York premium. That premium hasn’t closed yet, though the spread in gold narrowed significantly this week.

“Like gold, silver’s outflow is directly linked to the movement of metal from London to NY due to tariff concerns,” the LBMA said.

So far, the White House hasn’t given any indication as to whether precious metals will be targeted by any potential tariffs.

The premium between New York and London markets on Wednesday implied a roughly 20% chance that Trump will include gold in a 10% blanket tariff on all US imports, analysts with Citigroup Inc said.

(By Jack Ryan)

BOE says tariff premium is fueling clamor to withdraw gold

Bloomberg News | February 6, 2025 | 

Bank of England headquarters in London. Credit: Wikipedia

The rush to ship gold from London to the US to take advantage of premium prices is fueling strong demand for slots to withdraw metal from the Bank of England’s vault, an official said.


Worries that US President Donald Trump will impose tariffs affecting gold has led to premiums in the New York market and weeks-long queues to withdraw metal from the BOE. Bars at the central bank’s vault have also been trading at a discount to the wider market this week, as withdrawal delays make the gold at the BOE less attractive than bullion held in more accessible commercial vaults.

As commercial gold holders look to take advantage of the price differential, there has been robust demand for delivery slots, BOE Deputy Governor Dave Ramsden said at a press conference on Thursday.

“All of those bodies who ship the gold, they’ve all got the delivery slots they need over the next few weeks,” Ramsden said. “If you were coming in new to us, you might have to wait a bit longer because all the existing slots are booked up. But this is a very orderly process.”

Long delays to withdraw bullion — which is trading near a record high — are all the more problematic for traders at the moment, as they seek to avoid the risk of tariffs and capture premium prices by shipping their gold to the US.

The BOE plays a crucial role in the London gold market, the world’s largest bullion-trading hub. It maintains accounts for other central banks, which favor storing their gold in London where it can easily be lent out or sold. The BOE also allows selected commercial operators to hold gold accounts, to provide liquidity to central banks.

Ramsden said gold inventories held in the bank’s vault had only declined about 2% since the end of December.

“It’s an obvious point, but gold is a physical asset, so there are real logistical constraints and security constraints. You know getting into the bank for me this morning was a bit trickier because there was a lorry in the bullion yard,” he said. “It takes time and the stuff is also quite heavy as you know.”

(By Jack Ryan)

Citi sees gold soaring to $3,000 on tensions triggered by Trump
Bloomberg News | February 6, 2025 |

Image courtesy of the Trump Statue Initiative.

Citigroup Inc. expects gold prices to hit a record $3,000 an ounce within three months, with geopolitical tensions and trade wars stoked by US President Donald Trump boosting demand for safe-haven assets.


Trump jolted markets with the prospect of tariffs that could slow economic growth, reignite inflation and disrupt global commerce. Investors will continue to seek bullion’s security and central banks are likely to keep building out their reserves, analysts including Kenny Hu wrote in a report.

“The gold bull market looks set to continue under Trump 2.0,” the Citi analysts said, citing risks such as slower growth and high interest rates.

Gold hit successive records in the past few days as concerns about the tug of war between the US and China, as well as the possibility Trump will impose duties on other nations, support bullion’s role as a store of value in uncertain times.

Citi upgraded its three-month price target for gold from $2,800 an ounce, which the precious metal has already surpassed. Spot gold slipped as much as 1.2% to $2,834.26 an ounce on Thursday.

The bank also said that an appreciating US dollar will increase the incentive for central banks from emerging economies to boost gold holdings in order to support their own currencies, while investors will turn both to physical gold and exchange-traded funds.

Trade-war fears have also led dealers in London to shift metal to the US, fearing the possibility that bullion won’t be excluded from potential tariffs. Premiums as of Wednesday implied a roughly 20% chance of Trump including gold in a 10% blanket global tariff, Citi said.


“A Russia/Ukraine peace deal, and confirmation of whether gold would be exempt from broad tariffs (or not), could provide a buying opportunity over the next 2-3 months,” the Citi analysts said.

The bank raised its average price target for the year by $100 to $2,900 an ounce, while leaving its 6 to 12 month price target of $3,000 unchanged.

Silver and palladium edged lower, while platinum rose. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.

Bullion rose earlier in the week after President Donald Trump said the US could take over Gaza, a comment that his aides sought to tone down, and that he wants to start working on a new nuclear deal with Iran. Washington is also expected to present a plan to end Russia’s war on Ukraine next week.

(By Jack Ryan)

Russians’ hunt to shield savings pushes gold purchases to record

Bloomberg News | February 5, 2025 |

(Image from Vladimir Putin’s website)

Russians bought a record amount of gold last year as they sought to protect their savings amid sanctions, obtaining the equivalent of about a fourth of the country’s annual output.


Consumers purchased 75.6 metric tons (2.7 million ounces) of the yellow metal in bullion, coins and jewelery in 2024, the fifth biggest figure among all nations, according to World Gold Council data published Wednesday. That’s an increase of 6% on the previous year and more than 60% since President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine almost three years ago.




Russia is the world’s second-biggest gold producer, mining over 300 tons of the precious metal a year. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian gold has been shunned in the West, with flows to trading hubs like London and New York drying up. Russia’s central bank, once the biggest gold buyer globally, also hasn’t resumed purchases at significant volumes.

Retail gold demand shifted upward after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine as Russians started to find alternative ways of securing their savings instead of traditional investments in dollars or euros. Western sanctions last year intensified cross-border payment difficulties and led to some foreign currency shortages, while the ruble also fell to historic lows.

To spur gold sales, Russia canceled value-added tax on retail purchases of the metal right after the invasion following more than a decade of discussing such a move.

Gold price hits fresh record on haven demand

Bloomberg News | February 5, 2025 

Gold’s hot run continues. Stock image.

Gold pared gains from a new all-time high, as trade-war worries bolstered haven demand and there were continued signs of short-term tightness in the market.


Bullion rallied as much as 1.4% to exceed $2,882.36 an ounce before paring some gains after Bloomberg reported that US allies expect President Donald Trump’s administration to present a long-awaited plan to end Russia’s war on Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference in Germany next week.


Bullion prices still held at elevated levels, supported by concerns about the fallout of trade wars, particularly between the US and China. Markets are also waiting to see if there are any ripple effects for US monetary policy if tariffs reignite inflation.

There are indications of increased demand for gold as major dealers seek to shift metal to the US before any tariffs are imposed. One month so-called lease rates in London have jumped to about 4.7%, far above previous levels of close to zero. The rate reflects the return that holders of bullion in London’s vaults can get by loaning their metal out to other buyers on a short-term basis.

Bloomberg last week reported that the rush for gold has led to weekslong queues to withdraw bullion from the Bank of England — where many central banks around the world hold reserves — to deposit with private banks. Gold has also been flowing into depositories of New York’s Comex exchange.

That has added to tightness in the market, according to Rhona O’Connell, head of market analysis for EMEA and Asia at StoneX Group Inc.

The typical 400-ounce bars that are traded in London aren’t suited for the Comex market, where traders must deliver 100-ounce or kilobars, but they can be refined in places like Switzerland.

“Metal is still going into Comex warehouses and elsewhere in the States,” said O’Connell. Authorities could possibly even intervene by lending out gold if the situation became drastic enough, she said.

“If it gets much tighter or threatens to become disorderly I would not be surprised if the official sector injected liquidity, because one thing that central banks won’t tolerate is a disorderly gold market.”

The dollar extended losses, following a US jobs report on Tuesday that pointed to a gradual slowdown in the labor market. A weaker greenback makes commodities like gold cheaper for most buyers.

Spot gold gained 1% to $2,873.69 an ounce as of 12:40 p.m. in New York. Silver, platinum and palladium also rose.

(By Sybilla Gross and Jack Ryan)

Column: Trump or BRICS? The quandary for Africa’s miners and governments

Reuters | February 5, 2025 |

US President Donald Trump. Credit: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Beyond the short-term volatility and uncertainty created by US President Donald Trump’s tariff machinations, it’s likely that the longer-term trend of the world splitting into two trading blocs is accelerating.


Stripping away Trump’s bluster and often contradictory actions, the message seems to be fairly clear. Trump’s view of the world is that you are either with the United States or against it


That presents a dilemma for Africa’s mineral rich countries as they want to develop their resources to provide them with the maximum benefit, but they also want to stay largely neutral.

But it’s increasingly likely that at some level African countries will have to decide whether they are more in the Trump camp, or whether they prefer to do business with the China-led BRICS group.

There are risks and rewards under both scenarios, and the circumstances of each African country may cause to lean one way or another.

Much of the debate at this weeks Investing in African Mining Conference in Cape Town has effectively been about the best path forward for Africa’s miners and governments.

The continent is already a major producer of minerals, but it’s untapped reserves are the major prize in coming decades, especially if the energy transition accelerates.

Africa is richly endowed, with an estimated 20% of global copper reserves, about the same for aluminum raw materials, 50% of manganese and cobalt, 90% of platinum group metals, 36% of chromium, as well as reserves of lithium, uranium, gold and rare earths.

But developing its mineral resources has been often too challenging, given political instability and corruption, poor infrastructure, lack of capital and legal frameworks that make long-term investments hard to justify.

However, the increasing appetite of the world for minerals, especially to enable the energy transition, is likely to set off a new scramble for Africa, this time Africans will have more say in how it unfolds.

Finding the right partners is the challenge for African countries.

On the one hand the Western world still offers deep capital reserves, sophisticated equity markets and investors and skills and experience in mining and engineering.

But Trump is undermining these advantages with his tariffs and threats to withhold aid and other funding, as well as his habit of turning on traditional allies and flip-flopping policies.

The main issue with Trump is his apparent transactional view of the world, in which there must always be a winner and a loser, and he always wants to be the winner.

This means getting a mutually beneficial deal from the United States is going to be more difficult while Trump is in office.

Not beggars

It was perhaps this frustration that boiled over in the remarks at the Investing in African Mining event, on Monday when South Africa’s Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe said Africa should withhold minerals from the United States if Trump cuts aid.

“If they don’t give us money, let’s not give them minerals. We are not just beggars,” Mantashe told the conference, which is also known as Mining Indaba.

“We cannot continue to debate these minerals based on the dictates of some developed nations as if we have no aspirations to accelerate Africa’s industrialization and close the development deficit,” Mantashe said.

These comments may be unwise in that they may serve to antagonize Trump, but they may also sharpen some thinking in the West on how best to get access to Africa’s minerals.

Should Africa be looking more toward China and the rest of the BRICS nations, as the best option to unlock its mineral wealth?

The experience here has been somewhat mixed. While China has been willing to develop mines in Africa, it tends to want to do it mainly using its own people and processes, and it wants to export raw ores and beneficiate them in China.

This has limited the benefits to African countries, but there may be an option to use legislation to copy what Indonesia has done in forcing companies to commit to domestic downstream operations as part of access to raw materials.

(The views expressed here are those of the author, Clyde Russell, a columnist for Reuters.)

(Editing by Kim Coghill)

Savannah suspends some lithium prospecting in Portugal after injunction

Reuters | February 6, 2025 | 

The Mina do Barroso project is set to be Europe’s first significant producer of spodumene. 

(Image courtesy of Savannah Resources.)

London-based Savannah Resources has suspended prospecting works at some sites of its lithium project in northern Portugal due to a precautionary injunction filed in a court by some landowners, the company said on Thursday.


The injunction only covers land that is not owned by the company.

Savannah said in a statement it was notified by the Mirandela Administrative Court of the injunction, which aims to reverse the government’s authorization in December for the company to access land belonging to others to do more prospecting.

“We were expecting it and we accepted it as normal … teams on the ground have already temporarily stopped the work they have been doing for the last two months,” it said.

The company has said Barroso’s spodumene deposit is the most significant in Europe and the latest prospecting results point to a larger deposit than the previously estimated 28 million metric tons of high-grade lithium for batteries. It plans to start commercial output in 2027.

It requires around 840 hectares for its four-mine project, but Savannah has just a fraction of that.

Private owners hold around 24% of the land needed, while 75% is made up of communal land.

Savannah was granted access to over 520 hectares of land, which it does not own, for a year.

The project has put the European Union’s ambition to reduce dependence on countries such as China for strategic raw materials to the test as it faces opposition from local residents and environmentalists.

“With serenity, we will treat this process like the many others already attempted by the same opposition group, and we hope to return to work quickly,” Savannah said.

(By Sergio Goncalves; Editing by Mark Potter)