MiningWeekly.com Audio Articles

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer tell us how the new elution circuit and smelt house facility at DRDGOLD's Far West Gold Recoveries is performing; he discusses the R964m that is to be spent at Sibanye-Stillwater's K4 platinum group metals shaft; and he notes that Mintek is tar

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Electricians maintaining diversified miner BHP's high-voltage power network in Western Australia's Pilbara region have overwhelmingly backed strike action, the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) said on Friday, escalating labour unrest less than a day after hundreds of workers at the miner's Port Hedland iron-ore operations walked off the job.

The union said 97.5% of the electricians voted in favour of work stoppages ranging from 30 minutes to 24 hours.

"High voltage workers are seeking transparent classifications, clear criteria for promotion, pay parity for employees performing the same work, and enforceable wages and conditions secured through a collective agreement," ETU said in a statement.

The vote follows months of limited industrial action, including overtime bans, and comes after more than a year of unsuccessful negotiations with BHP, the union said.

The ETU represents more than 70 000 electricians, apprentices and electrical workers around Australia, according to its website.

"With further bargaining meetings scheduled for Port Operations next Tuesday involving the Fair Work Commission as an independent facilitator, and high voltage workers next Thursday, our focus remains on making constructive progress towards fair and reasonable agreements," BHP told Reuters in an email.

The miner said the involvement of the workplace tribunal, the Fair Work Commission, was "the most constructive way to achieve the best outcome".

Hundreds of workers at BHP's Port Hedland iron-ore operations held an eight-hour strike on Thursday after the parties failed to reach an agreement on terms for a four-year labour deal.

Port Hedland is a major artery through which BHP routes around $80-million of iron-ore a day, and the action represents the largest at BHP's operations in at least three decades, as unions look to secure a toehold in Australia's iron-ore regions.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Chrome is a growing value contributor to the revenue base of Sibanye-Stillwater's South Africa platinum group metals (PGM) portfolio, delivering margins, resilience and project support.

Chrome has also been a stable income generator for Sibanye-Stillwater during periods of low PGMs pricing. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

In 2025, chrome contributed 8% of the revenue of Sibanye-Stillwater's South Africa PGM operations and it has been an enabler of project feasibilities and an extender of the life of tailings facilities.

"We're on the path to be a chrome producer to be reckoned with. We currently do 10% of South Africa's chrome production, 5% worldwide. If we achieve the chrome growth that is projected, we will exceed that 10% by quite a significant amount," Sibanye-Stillwater VP chrome and base metals Babsie Crane commented during Sibanye-Stillwater's Capital Markets Day covered by Mining Weekly.

The chrome management agreement that Sibanye-Stillwater signed with Glencore Merafe Chrome Venture in 2025 repositions the commercial terms of legacy contracts and attracts considerable value earlier.

The agreement creates an opportunity to join technology forces as it relates to fine chrome along with operational synergies through the combined asset footprint, taking in infrastructure, laboratory training, research and development capability, as well as processing capacity.

In addition, chrome recovery infrastructure maximises value from upper group two (UG2) tailings.

Sibanye-Stillwater owns six of the 12 chrome recovery plants on its footprint and Glencore five, making way for synergies to be unlocked.

Expansion plans are pointing to a 75% increase in chrome volumes, which will enhance Sibanye's domestic and global market positions and attract market-related prices, for both surface as well as underground.

From a chrome production level of one million tons of chrome a year in 2016, the company is expected to produce chrome at a rate of 2.3-million tons a year until 2033.

Major global chrome producers are South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, India, and Turkey.

South Africa's production this year of 26-million tons is going to be roughly 61% of global supply.

Around 13% of this is used in South Africa to produce ferrochrome, and the rest is exported largely to China and Indonesia, which lead demand growth.

Around 95% of chrome ore is used in ferrochrome production, which then goes into stainless steels and alloys, with the remainder used in various specialty applications such as chemicals for leather tanning, foundry sands and refractories.

This year the market is expected to be fairly finely balanced. Supply is expected to grow by about 5.8% year-on-year to meet the 44-million tons of demand.

"It's a very fragile balance and as you look out to 2034, the deficit is growing substantially," Sibanye-Stillwater executive VP sales and marketing Kleantha Pillay pointed out.

The current spot price for South African chrome ore of 40% to 42% concentrate is about $295/t taking in cost, insurance and freight to China. For higher 42% to 44% concentrate grades, the price ranges from $310/t to $320/t.

Interestingly, the production cost for UG2 byproduct chrome ore is around 60% of primary chrome production in South Africa.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

Global diversified miner BHP produced nearly two-million tonnes of copper and record iron-ore production for the financial year ended June 30, but has substantially lowered its copper production guidance for the 2027 financial year, mainly as a result of a decline in grades at the Escondida mine, in Chile.

The company's copper mines produced 1.95-million tonnes in the 2026 financial year, in line with guidance of 1.9-million to two-million tonnes. Iron-ore output, meanwhile, increased by 1% year-on-year to a record 265-million tonnes, in line with guidance of 258-million to 269-million tonnes.

"We finished the year strongly, delivering safe and reliable operations while setting several performance records across the business.

"For the second consecutive year, we produced around two-million tonnes of copper and delivered record iron-ore production, demonstrating the power of a disciplined operating system and world-class assets.

"We achieved this against a backdrop of stronger realised prices for both copper and iron-ore, with copper prices around 35% higher than a year ago. Cost control was particularly strong, with every asset expected to be within unit cost guidance despite headwinds from inflation, higher diesel prices and global supply chain disruptions," says CEO Brandon Craig.

He adds that the group is also continuing to build the next phase of growth. During the year under review, it progressed applications to restart Cerro Colorado, in Chile, defined development pathways for Copper South Australia, Escondida and Spence, and expanded its future copper options in the US through progress at Resolution and its investment in Faraday, while Vicuña, in Argentina, received Incentive Regime for Large Investments approval.

"In Canada, Jansen is on track to begin potash production next year, adding a new commodity and further diversifying our portfolio.

"We enter the new year with momentum and significant opportunities to accelerate improvements in safety, productivity and reliability through our operating system and the adoption of technology," Craig comments.

COPPER BHP has set its copper guidance for the 2027 financial year at between 1.65-million and 1.8-million tonnes – a year-on-year decrease of about 15%.

For the year ended June 30, the Escondida mine produced 1.26-million tonnes of copper, a 3% year-on-year decline as a result of a planned lower concentrator feed grade of 0.90%, compared with 1.02% the year before.

Concentrator feed grade for the 2027 financial year is expected to be about 0.70% and Escondida is expected to produce between one-million and 1.1-million tonnes of copper for the financial year.

Meanwhile, BHP's Pampa Norte operations, which include the Spence and Cerro Colorado mines, produced 213 000 t of copper for the 2026 financial year – a 21% year-on-year decrease.

Output at the Spence mine decreased as a result of ongoing challenges with processing complex ore at the concentrator and the planned decline in stacked feed grade at the cathode plant.

The Spence Concentrator Upgrade Recovery project, which upgrades the flotation circuit to increase residence time and improve recoveries, was sanctioned in June, with first production expected during the 2028 financial year.

"Once commissioned, we expect the project will allow us to more effectively manage Spence's ore complexity and variability," BHP reports.

The group in June also sanctioned the Spence Chalcopyrite Leaching project, which will include the implementation of BHP's sulphide leaching technology, Simple Approach to Leaching 2, to enable processing of hypogene ores and to use latent capacity in the cathode infrastructure. First production expected in the 2028 calendar year.

Spence is expected to produce between 21...

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

The new elusion circuit and smelt house facility at DRDGOLD's Far West Gold Recoveries is performing to specification.

"The initial capital estimate was met, and we came in on time and within budget," DRDGOLD CEO Niël Pretorius reported during a webinar in which DRDGOLD CFO Henriette Hooijer and DRDGOLD COO Jaco Schoeman also participated to provide an update on the progress of Vision 2028, DRDGOLD's five-project programme involving a capital expenditure of R10-billion. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The new facility was commissioned on Tuesday, July 14, when the first doré gold bar was poured.

A doré bar is a semi-pure, unrefined alloy of gold produced directly at a mine site.

Once fully ramped up, the new facility will increase monthly plant throughput to 1.2-million tons a month and contribute 16 years of mine life at that rate.

Over the next few weeks – and in the months to follow before the rest of the Far West Gold Recoveries infrastructure is commissioned – the plan is to commence material processing and treating material at the new carbon-in-leach circuit, while concurrently conducting a full service of the existing circuit that has been in operation since 2018.

Up to now, Far West Gold Recoveries personnel have had to send away their output without ever seeing its conversion to gold.

But all that changed this week when a beaming plant manager held aloft gold what weighed just over 17 kg – and the appreciative workforce witnessed end product being produced before their eyes.

"It was a good event for us," an upbeat Pretorius remarked during the webinar covered by Mining Weekly.

After the smelt, the gold bar was whisked away by helicopter, roughly four minutes after the above picture was taken, which is the nature of the gold transportation logistics being deployed.

The helipad next to the smelt house is also fully walled, which means that security, logistics and the flow of material played a big part in the facility's design and construction.

Four years ago, DRDGOLD, as part of its ongoing commitment to optimising its portfolio of assets, initiated a capital investment programme aimed at structurally reconfiguring the cost provide of the cost profile of Ergo, the gold-from-waste operation on Gauteng's East Rand, and developing the infrastructure required to extend its life of mine, while increasing both throughput and production capacity.

It was a two-part programme, the first involving the construction of a 60 MW solar plant and a 187 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at Ergo.

Construction started in financial year (FY) 2022 and the project was commissioned in FY 2025.

This investment has fundamentally reset Ergo's cost profile, strengthening energy security, reducing its carbon footprint, and demonstrating how investment in strategic infrastructure can improve both operational resilience and financial performance.

Currently, the solar and BESS plant supplies around 47% of Ergo's electricity requirements for around 12 hours a day.

The second part, the R10-billion capital infrastructure investment programme involving the five projects, was aimed at establishing tailings storage and plant throughput capacity capable of lifting combined throughput from the company's two operations, Ergo and Far West Gold Recoveries from around 2.15-million tonnes a month to three-million tonnes a month and grow annual gold production to six tonnes by 2028, the programme dubbed Vision 2028, on which construction started in FY 2024.

Now, that vision is being realised with its first major milestone being the resumption of deposition on to the Daggafontein tailings storage facility (TSF).

On June 25, water was first pumped to the facility and the first deposition of tailings followed on Jul...