MiningWeekly.com Audio Articles

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer says there is a call for South Africa to attract capital investment into exploration; he discusses the benefits of carbon offsets for mining competitiveness and rural development; and the benefits of mine hydropower.

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.

Resolution Copper Mining, a joint venture between Australia-headquartered miners Rio Tinto and BHP, has approved a $144-million investment in the next phase of development at the Resolution Copper project, in Arizona, in the US – one of the world's largest untapped copper deposits and a potential major new source of domestically produced copper for the US.

The investment builds on the completion of the historic land exchange in March, which unlocked the project's next phase. It is additional to about $500-million of preliminary spending announced at that time.

The latest investment will fund feasibility studies and final design engineering for the installation of development and production-level materials handling equipment in both shafts and new water treatment facilities. It will also support ongoing exploration drilling, the purchase of underground development and production equipment as well as long-lead electrical equipment.

Rio Tinto explains that 50 additional roles will be created across mining, geotechnical and geological disciplines, engineering and project services.

"Resolution Copper has the potential to supply up to 25% of America's copper demand for decades, strengthen domestic supply chains and deliver significant economic benefits for Arizona.

"Following completion of the historic land exchange in March, this investment is another important step in advancing the project. These funds will accelerate underground development, create additional skilled roles and ensure Resolution Copper is well positioned for its next investment decision, while maintaining safe underground operations and construction," says Rio Tinto Copper CE Katie Jackson.

Rio Tinto says Resolution Copper has the potential to become one of the largest copper mines in the US, create thousands of direct and indirect jobs and contribute about $1-billion a year to Arizona's economy.

"This investment builds on the momentum created by the historic land exchange and marks another important step towards unlocking Resolution Copper's potential.

"We are moving forward with urgency and discipline. This programme will accelerate underground development and our path towards first copper production while maintaining safe underground operations and construction, positioning the project strongly for its next investment decision," comments Resolution Copper Mining president Vicky Peacey.

Rio Tinto, which holds a 55% interest in Resolution Copper Mining, will contribute about $79-million of the $144-million investment.

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.

AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon reported on Thursday, November 5, that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company is well positioned to deliver a strong final quarter to achieve full-year gold production targets while advancing the company's long-term, high-margin project pipeline.

Full-year gold production guidance of 2 800 000 oz to 3 170 000 oz is reaffirmed. Production for the first nine months hit the 2 164 000 oz mark.

Third-quarter (Q3) gold production of 696 000 oz reflected anticipated grade sequencing across key openpits and short-term operating challenges that have since normalised.

Five assets expanded production year-on-year compared with Q3 2025, led by Siguiri (+49%), Sunrise Dam (+6%), Kibali (+6%), Cuiabá (+4%), and Cerro Vanguardia (+2%).

Year-on-year production decreases were recorded at Tropicana (-15%), Iduapriem (-43%), Obuasi (-26%), Sukari (-21%), and Geita (-4%) in Q3 2026.

This year's lower $722-million third-quarter free cash flow, down from the $920-million in the third quarter of last year, was impacted mainly by lower ounces sold as well as:

• a 45% increase in total capital expenditure (capex) to $497-million funding critical waste stripping campaigns, fleet upgrades, and the continued advancement of the North Bullfrog and Arthur Gold projects in Nevada.

• net cash taxes paid increasing to $174-million in Q3 2026, from $75-million in Q3 2025.

• working capital absorption mainly from lower payables and higher receivables, and higher operating costs.

The group ended Q3 2026 in a net cash position of $1 256-million, with overall liquidity of around $4.5-billion, providing headroom to fund organic growth.

Through a planned period of intensive reinvestment in growth and mine life extension projects, AngloGold lifted net cash to $1.26-billion and supported an interim Q3 dividend of $361-million.

Dewatering at Iduapriem following flooding from a neighbouring mine earlier this year has restored full access to high-grade mining blocks, opencast waste-stripping at Sukari is unlocking higher-grade ore and underground stopes at Obuasi are returning to their operational ramp-up following a fatality earlier this year.

Brownfield expansions targeted at Geita, Siguiri, and Cuiabá, as well as the ongoing ramp-up at Obuasi are designed to leverage existing infrastructure and operational footprints to reduce execution risk and optimise capital intensity.

Total forecast capex for the growth projects at Geita, Siguiri and Cuiabá is estimated at $750-million to $900-million over a three-year period, which is projected to provide incremental production from a 2025 base of 300 000 oz to 450 000 oz by the end of the decade.

At steady state, these projects are expected to maintain or improve real operational costs.

In Nevada, the Arthur Gold project feasibility study and North Bullfrog permitting activities are advancing on schedule, with the aim to establish the company's next Tier 1 production centre.

On November 3, the board approved funding for the execution phase of the North Bullfrog project, subject to receipt of federal and state-level permits.

Total third-quarter cash costs per ounce were $1 534/oz, versus $1 480/oz in Q2 2026 and $1 225/oz in Q3 2025.

All-in sustaining costs per ounce in Q3 were $2 170/oz from $1 720/oz in Q3 2025, with most of the increase stemming from exogenous market-related factors.

This performance also reflects planned annual sustaining capex and volume-sensitive fixed cost absorption during the lowest-production quarter of the year, the company stated.

Exogenous, market-driven factors accounted for $189/oz (61%) of the year-on-year increase in total cash costs per ounce in Q3 2026, and $201/oz (83%) of the year-on-year increase across the firs...

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.

Metals company Freeport McMoRan's board has approved a $4.5-billion expansion and modernisation programme for its Bagdad copper and molybdenum operation, in north-west Arizona, in the US.

"We are pleased to proceed with the Bagdad expansion, an important step in advancing Freeport's US copper growth strategy. This low-risk brownfield project builds on Bagdad's substantial reserve base, long operating history, existing infrastructure and experienced workforce to deliver new US copper and molybdenum production and further strengthen Freeport's position as 'America's copper champion'," comments Freeport president and CEO Kathleen Quirk.

The metals miner points out that the expansion project is expected to more than double the Bagdad operation's mining and milling rates and position the mine as the second-largest copper mine in the US.

Copper output from Bagdad is slated to increase by about 225-million pounds a year to more than 400-million pounds a year, while molybdenum production is expected to increase by about 12-million pounds a year to more than 20-million pounds a year.

The Bagdad mine has been in operation since 1945 and, in 2025, became the first major US mine to operate a fully autonomous haulage fleet.

The expansion and modernisation programme will include investment in expanded processing capacity; new concentrator facilities to provide about 115 000 t a day of incremental processing capacity; and supporting infrastructure, including a new primary crusher, overland conveyor, water pipeline, power line, mining equipment and related facilities.

Construction of the new infrastructure will take about three-and-a-half years to complete, with initial production targeted for mid-2030. The project is expected to create more than 4 000 direct and indirect jobs during construction.

The expanded operation is also expected to create thousands of long-term employment opportunities, while also reducing long-term unit net cash costs by about 20%.

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 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed Merafe's attributable ferrochrome production from the Glencore Merafe Chrome Venture of 61 000 t was 46% down in the nine months ended September 30 compared with the corresponding nine months of 2025.

The decline in production was primarily attributable to the suspension of production at the venture's Boshoek smelter from May 1 last year and at Wonderkop smelter from May 31 last year, Merafe outlined in a release to Mining Weekly.

Following the conclusion of new electricity pricing agreements with South Africa's State-owned electricity utility Eskom in June, there was a September restart of operations at Boshoek and an October restart at Wonderkop.

Now, the ramp-up of production at both smelters is expected to continue through the end of the fourth quarter on December 31.

The negotiated pricing agreements with Eskom have given full effect to the 62c/kWh tariff approved by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa for the venture, as well as for Samancor Chrome.

The revised negotiated pricing agreements' three-year electricity pricing framework is said to be enabling greater operational stability and flexibility.

A ferroalloy composed of iron and chromium, ferrochrome is produced by smelting chromite ore with carbon coal and coke sources in electric arc furnaces.

More than 80% of ferrochrome is used to give stainless steel resistance to rust, oxidation and wear.

Most of the global output of ferrochrome is produced in South Africa, Kazakhstan and India, countries with domestic chromite resources.

Meanwhile, Merafe's attributable chrome ore production from the venture for the nine months ended September 30 amounted to 658 000 t, representing a 7% decrease, mainly owing to lower run-of-mine production and a lower feed from upper-group-two reef concentrators.

Merafe's attributable platinum group metals concentrate production from the venture during the period amounted to an 8%-lower 10 200 oz owing to lower primary mine production and feed mix.