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He was born in Roodepoort but never imagined that one day he would be mining gold in Roodepoort, now the site of Qala Shallows, the first new underground gold mine to be built in South Africa in 15 years.

He was convinced all the gold had been mined out. But that was the furthest thing from the truth.

The thousands of tons of gold ore that he is extracting are being turned into gold bar that is being sold at a time of high gold price, which is helping to fund ongoing development.

He is Sam Molefi, the CEO of Modi Mining, the contracting company that is mining the gold at Qala Shallows, ASX-listed West Wits Mining's Roodepoort operation, which is located a mere 15 km from Johannesburg, the City of Gold.

Molefi and his co-entrepreneur wife, Motlapele Molefi, head a business that could well be putting many more people to work in the not-too-distant future. (Also watch the attached Creamer Media video.)

"For me, contributing in a meaningful way to the livelihoods of our communities, our neighbours, is a key achievement and something that I never thought could happen," Molefi confided in his interview with Mining Weekly.

"We've already created 193 jobs, and we're ramping up to about 1 000, and more people will be sourced from the local communities. Every time I look at my birth certificate and see the word Roodepoort, it excites me."

He was raised in Dobsonville, Soweto, and used to catch a taxi from Dobsonville to Wits Technikon, where he began his mining studies.

"For me it's a blessing, and I thank God," said Molefi, who looks forward to the creation of local job opportunities for local communities.

"Every now and then, when I'm back home and can see that there is a lot of unemployment and disparities in our communities, I think this mine will come in handy to alleviate some of that."

Modi Mining's corporate social investment programme targets enterprise development and the company is already engaged in business relationships with local suppliers.

"Since we last spoke in 2022, we've been able to establish the mine. The infrastructure you see on surface and underground was installed by us."

A milestone was its ability to achieve an early supply of 10 000 t of gold ore used for West Wits' first gold pour in March.

"We're now building up to steady state mining, and a key milestone has been the safe installation of water, power and air reticulation services," Molefi reported.

Last week, when level two was intercepted, historic tons plus some reserve ore was unlocked. "The highlight of this phase was when the tons were delivered to the plant, processed, and out there, gold bars were being poured and delivered."

The completion of the 1 West Decline into this area of historic 2 Level unmined stopes transitioned the project from development ore into higher-grade production areas with established underground infrastructure already in place.

The 1 West Decline forms part of a planned optimisation of the original mine plan and is specifically designed to accelerate payback, improve capital efficiency and further strengthen the overall project business case.

Mining Weekly: What are tasks that must still be carried out by Modi on this contract?

We still need to advance the main decline to greater depth. We have advanced from level one to level two, which needs to be made safe. The team is already doing the assessments there to see how much of the backlog tons are lying in there and how many of the unmined blocks are available. Further to that, we continue developing down, because we need to go to three level, four level, and we need to scope and scale the mine, because we need to reach the steady state of about 50 000 t a month. The ramp-up to that will come with developing and advancing the declines and ens...

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.

Billions of dollars worth of gold is still being extracted illegally from Brazil's Amazon rainforest, a study by nonprofit watchdog Greenpeace found, despite efforts by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to crack down on wildcat mining.

Lula pledged upon taking office in 2023 to eliminate illegal gold mining from Indigenous lands and protected areas after years of expansion encouraged by far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. Last year, Brazil's Federal Police seized a record 447 kg (985 pounds) of illegally mined gold.

However, as gold prices hit record highs amid intense geopolitical instability, the Greenpeace study found that miners have adapted by using permits from places with no mining activity to falsify the origin of illegally mined gold.

Greenpeace analyzed 187 forest areas with gold mining permits issued by Brazilian mining agency ANM near Indigenous lands and protected areas in the Amazon and found that 98 of them showed no signs of mining.

Still, so-called "ghost permits" from those areas were used to justify the sale of 26.8 t of gold worth an estimated $3.88-billion between 2018 and March 2026.

Reuters flew over two of the permitted areas in the dataset and verified that, despite paperwork for huge output from surface mining, there was no activity to be seen. Six minutes away by air, journalists spotted a large active illegal operation in a protected area.

It was not clear where all the gold backed by so-called "ghost permits" originated, but researchers and investigators believe much of it is extracted from protected areas and Indigenous lands, such as the Kayapo people's territory in the State of Para.

Kayapo chief Megaron Txucarramae expressed frustration at the government's failure to act.

"I don't know what else is needed to solve illegal mining on Indigenous land," he said. "It destroys the land, pollutes the rivers, and Indigenous people, without realizing it, end up eating poisoned fish."

ANM said in a statement that it was monitoring the permits that Greenpeace denounced for any irregularities and added that, with thousands of permits issued, the Amazon region imposes "large-scale logistical and oversight challenges."

"As long as it is possible to launder gold using mining permits, there will be an expansion of the activity in the Amazon," said Greenpeace Brazil spokesperson Danicley Aguiar.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer notes that the Minerals Council AGM heard this week that mining can elevate South Africa’s economic development; he also discusses the urgent need for a one-stop shop for mineral right applications; and he talks about the R180-million that has

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 mining cadastre under development by South Africa's Department of Minerals and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) must be rolled out "effectively, rapidly and transparently".

That was the emphatic response of Minerals Council South Africa president Paul Dunne to Mining Weekly during question time at this week's 136th AGM of Minerals Council South Africa, which represents more than 90% of annual mineral sales for South Africa's 470 000-employee mining industry, which in 2025 contributed R477-billion to GDP, exported R816-billion worth of minerals, and generated R124-billion in taxes for the fiscus.

The DMPR is carrying out a phased implementation of a new digital mining cadastre, which enables users to identify mineral investment opportunities online.

As reported by Mining Weekly on May 15, implementation of Botswana's Department of Mines' mining cadastre portal has seen an increase in exploration activity owing to users being able to apply for an exploration licence from anywhere in the world.

Botswana's portal provides mining licence holders, prospectors and mining right seekers with an electronic platform that enables them to engage directly with Botswana's Ministry of Minerals and Energy.

Once registered, users of the Botswana cadastre can manage the complete process of handling representation, including requests, approval and cancellations of person, company or syndicate representation.

In addition to this, users can manage and submit licence applications through the portal to ensure the accurate reporting of all exploration data, while being able to submit payments, reports and documents for review, including the necessary approvals and feedback, online.

Moreover, to promote transparency in governance, the portal provides the public with access to searchable licence records, enhancing engagement and communication. Users can also rely on interactive maps to visualise cadastre data and validate spatial information in real-time.

In all, this enables users to manage their licences through streamlined processes, ensuring compliance, while facilitating the easy tracking of renewals and audits.

In his response to Mining Weekly on the expectations surrounding South Africa's upcoming systems, Dunne positioned cadastres at the same ultrahigh level as that occupied by policy certainty – "right at the top" of the attractiveness or otherwise of mining investment destinations, which is why it is essential that South Africa's new cadastre system is effective.

Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane added that South Africa's DMPR had been asked to come and present an update of implementation progress of its cadastre last seen being demonstrated to Parliament.

"But that did not give us an opportunity to be able to be interactive in terms of asking questions, so we continue to inquire with the DMPR to come and engage directly with ourselves, so that we can get a real understanding of the nature of the success that they report in terms of where they've implemented in the Western Cape.

"That'll give us a good basis to understand potential challenges when they roll out the cadastre in the more complex mining regions," said Mthenjane, who had earlier outlined the Mineral Council's encouragement at the nature of the engagements with the DMPR since the draft Mineral Resources Development Bill and spoken of the possibility of "greater exploration and mine development".

"We must seize this opportunity to unlock the potential inherent in South Africa's unique mineral endowment to catalyse economic and industrial investment, growth, and, of vital importance, to create jobs to lift South Africans out of poverty," Mthenjane urged.

PLATINUM GROUP METALS

The Minerals Council was also subjected to a question on the...

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

Another round of tariff impacts are in store for copper, a Reuters columnist reports, as the deadline for a US decision on whether to impose tariffs on refined copper imports looms at the end of June. The market reaction is a widening in the arbitrage between the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's (CME's) US duty-paid copper contract and the London Metal Exchange's (LME) international price.

The rising premium for US delivery is drawing more metal into the US tightening up availability everywhere else in the world.

The copper market was in exactly the same state of nervous anticipation this time last year.

US President Donald Trump ended up confounding expectations by imposing tariffs on copper products but not on refined metal.

Left on the table was the option of phasing in refined copper tariffs from next year. A decision is due by the end of June.

MINDING THE VOLATILE GAP

The CME premium over the LME price is smaller than this time last year, because back then traders were pricing in import tariffs of 50% to match those already imposed on aluminium and steel.

Trump's July decision to exempt refined metal upended the trade. The CME premium imploded and the arbitrage eventually inverted, with LME even commanding a premium in the early months of 2026.

Now, the CME premium is back and widening once again.

The spot premium is a modest 3% of the LME price. But the March 2027 forward premium is close to $1 000/t, equivalent to 7% of the LME price.

Given that the US administration has flagged the potential for phased tariffs of 15% from the start of 2027 and 30% from the start of 2028, there is clearly further upside to the CME premium.

RENEWED TARIFF PULL

Not that it matters too much for physical traders. Reuters says the differential on the forward months is more than enough to cover the costs of shipping to the US.

US imports dropped sharply in the closing months of 2025 as the tariff trade unwound.

However, these imports have bounced back strongly so far in 2026. Inbound shipments more than doubled year-on-year to 533 000 t in the first quarter, according to the World Bureau of Metal Statistics, which collects data from official customs figures.

More is on its way, judging by the renewed upward momentum in CME stocks, which now total 577 385 t, accounting for 44% of global exchange inventory.

Even that tells only part of the story. LME copper stocks have also been migrating to the US with 222 000 t sitting at US ports in a combination of registered and off-warrant inventory.

Last week's cancellation of 33 275 t at New Orleans suggests metal is being prepared for customs clearance as the arbitrage yawns wider again.

STRATEGIC STOCKPILE

The US has over the last year or so built up its own strategic copper reserve thanks to the on-again, off-again threat of tariffs.

Including metal that is being stored off exchange, the stockpile is now likely more than one-million tons, which is not as large as that held by China's State stockpile manager but bigger than any other country's reserves.

Does the US need any more, Reuters questions, saying probably not but it is not clear how the stock build will figure in Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's thinking when he reports back to Trump at the end of June.

As with other metals tariffs, the stated aim is to reinvigorate US production capacity and in that regard the country still has only two primary copper smelters with no signs of that changing any time soon.

Thanks to last year's import surge, the country's import dependency rose to 57% from 45% in 2024, according to the US Geological Survey.

On those metrics the case for tariffs looks strong given the parameters of the Section 232 national security investigation.

But as the copper market has found out to its co...