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This asset adds scale to our smelting portfolio in a way that is expected to be cash flow accretive immediately, Alcoa Corporation President and CEO William (Bill) F Oplinger said of South Africa's Hillside Aluminium smelting business during a conference call following the NYSE-listed company's announcement of the aluminium-linked assets of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed South32.

"We think we're acquiring fantastic long-term assets at a really reasonable price," Oplinger said during question time in reply to Citi Investment Research analyst Alex Hacking.

In addition to Hillside and the idled Bayside smelter property in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, Alcoa will acquire South32's interests in the Boddington bauxite mine and the Worsley alumina refinery in Western Australia; and the Mineração Rio do Norte bauxite mine and the Alumar alumina refinery and aluminium smelter in Brazil.

In 2025, Hillside generated about $2-billion of revenue and $200-million of earnings before tax depreciation and amortisation, and in the current pricing environment is delivering strong cash generation, Oplinger added during the call covered by Mining Weekly.

"Hillside does introduce a new geography for Alcoa, but from a technical standpoint, it uses the same AP 30 smelting technology that we've operated for decades at two of our smelters," Oplinger pointed out.

Through Hillside, Alcoa is adding "meaningful volume and cash flow generation" and expanding its Africa footprint.

The smelter's production has been stable and predictable over the past five years, which the Pittsburgh-based Alcoa views as an important indicator of operational reliability and downside resilience.

In response to Hacking and also to Independent Research analyst John Tomaso regarding Hillside's electricity contract and its duration, Oplinger expressed strong positivity.

"The Hillside power contract runs through to 2031 so it's got a strong power contract today. We're confident that we'll be able to repower the Hillside smelter very effectively, and clearly, we'll start working on that towards the end of the decade."

In January, Mining Weekly reported that studies being undertaken on Hillside's future power source beyond 2031 have been taking place amid awareness of the different energy levers that can potentially be pulled.

The current power agreement is providing useful time to scrutinise power options during a period when various studies encompass the changing nature of the South African electricity transmission grid as well as the prospect of more renewables coming online.

As the Southern Hemisphere's largest aluminium smelter and the supplier of a significant percentage of primary aluminium for South Africa's value-adding secondary aluminium product producers, Hillside draws 1 140 MW virtually every minute of the day, every day of the week, every week of the year.

Close to a third of Hillside's aluminium, which is produced by 3 650 direct and indirect employees, is sent downstream to businesses that support a further 27 000-plus indirect employment opportunities.

Regarding collaboration with South Africa's State-owned power utility Eskom on the post-2031 energy arrangement, a number of different levers are available in an area that also has wind, sun and sea energy potential amid the 'greening' of South Africa's aluminium having considerable potential price benefit.

Hillside contributes nearly R10-billion to South Africa's GDP and a public–private effort could ensure that the aluminium produced benefits from the green price premium being paid for aluminium that is not carbon heavy.

Alcoa has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire South32 aluminium-linked assets for an upfront consideration of $4.1-billion. The transact...

South Africa-headquartered Harmony Gold Mining Company expects copper to account for 40% of its production within the next decade as the company builds a diversified portfolio designed to capitalise on growing demand for the red metal.

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.

Northern Star Resources said on Thursday that Suresh Vadnagra would be its next CEO as it reported preliminary gold sales that met guidance, and as activist investor Elliott reiterated the miner's need for a strategic review.

Australia's biggest gold miner was the target of a move in June by Elliott Investment Management, which amassed an over A$1-billion ($690-million) stake and called on Northern Star to immediately restore shareholder value by changing its leadership, citing severe underperformance.

Vadnagra, who will take over as CEO effective October 5, is head of Glencore's nickel and zinc industrial assets based in Switzerland. He has more than 25 years of mining experience including with gold miner Newcrest and Hong Kong-listed MMG.

Northern Star also said deputy chairperson Michael Ashforth would succeed Michael Chaney as chairperson after the company's AGM in November. Chaney had confirmed in June that the current term would be his last.

Elliott noted the leadership changes in a statement and said it remained committed to seeing the company "realize its full potential".

"The need for substantial board enhancement and a comprehensive strategic review has not diminished, and we look forward to engaging with Northern Star's new leadership on these topics and delivering the value that shareholders deserve," Elliott said.

Northern Star did not have an immediate comment on Elliott's statement.

Northern Star released preliminary gold sales at 1.5-million ounces for the year ended in June, meeting revised guidance of more than 1.5-million ounces. The sales figures were 2% higher than consensus, according to figures from broker Ord Minnett.

"This is a slight positive (production beat/succession plan) and in combination with overnight gold price movements should see the name move slightly higher," said broker Ord Minnett in a note.

Northern Star shares were up 3.3% at A$19.42 by 02:15 GMT on Thursday.

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.

In its latest gold appraisal, industry body the World Gold Council says the performance of the gold price in the first half of this year has underscored a sensitivity to shifting macroeconomic conditions, geopolitical risk and investor sentiment, while highlighting the growing influence of global, particularly Asian, demand.

In the council's 'Gold Mid-Year Outlook 2026: Point break' report, authors Juan Carlos Artigas, Taylor Burnette and Dr Fergus O'Connor have highlighted that the price of gold soared to record highs in January, crossing above $5 500/oz before dipping to below $4 000/oz in late June. Down roughly 7% since January, gold nonetheless ranks among the top commodity performers over the past year.

At current levels, the authors add, the gold price is broadly in line with the global backdrop of moderate growth, with elevated inflation and expectations of further, albeit limited, central bank tightening.

Under these conditions, they note that gold will likely stay relatively within range at about 5% but they remark that the stage is set for a possible breakout.

On the upside, clear catalysts, including a worsening economy, renewed geopolitical shocks, a shift towards lower interest rate expectations, or a wave of dip buying could reignite gold's momentum and lift it back towards $4 500/oz or above.

Meanwhile, the authors also state that enduring central bank demand and policy shifts in key markets such as India are additional "wildcards" that could subtly influence gold's path in the second half of this year.

The authors also highlight that the price of gold is currently down by 7% year-to-date, adding that the modest drop could mask a time of drastic changes.

Building on last year's positive price momentum, gold set 12 all-time highs, surpassing $5 500/oz in late January amid heightened geopolitical risks and elevated options activity, before falling towards and briefly dipping below $4 000/oz in late June.

"The sharp price swing pushed realised volatility to more than 50%, alongside a broader rise in cross-asset volatility at the onset of the US-Iran conflict. Gold's volatility has since come down below 30%, although it remains above its 20-year average of 17%.

"Despite the recent price pullback, gold is still one of the best perfroming assets of the last 12 months, with other assets playing catch-up," the authors explain.

They also highlight the main drivers of the gold price performance being economic expansion, risk and uncertainty, opportunity cost and momentum.

In this regard, the authors explain that economic expansion supports gold jewellery buying, technology demand and long-term savings, risk and uncertainty increases the demand for gold as a hedge and a portfolio diversifier, opportunity cost makes gold more attractive as bond yields or currencies depreciate, and that momentum captures the impact of short term investment flows.

However, factors such as the strength of the dollar and interest rates rising beyond the current expectations, investor risk-on sentiment and other technical factors could bring further headwinds for the price of gold.

"In this context, our macro-based scenario analysis suggests that gold could resume its upward trend around $4 500/oz, but only a strong, clear signal may push it sustainably towards $5 000/oz," the authors highlight.

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As a global producer of materials across the aluminium value chain, Alcoa Corporation is well positioned to operate South Africa's Hillside Aluminium business into the future, South32 COO Africa Noel Pillay stated categorically on Wednesday, July 1, when the diversified Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining company South32 announced the signing of a binding conditional agreement to sell Hillside Aluminium to New York-listed Alcoa for up to $5.6-billion.

In addition to the Hillside aluminium smelter and the idled Bayside smelter property in South Africa, Alcoa will also acquire South32's interests in Australia's Boddington bauxite mine and the Worsley alumina refinery, as well as the Mineração Rio do Norte bauxite mine and the Alumar alumina refinery and aluminium smelter in Brazil.

South Africa's Hillside, Pillay stated, would be operated by "a dedicated aluminium producer", who would bring the benefits of "deep aluminium value chain experience" to the province of KwaZulu-Natal, where it would support local jobs, host communities, and the South African economy as a whole.

"We expect this contribution to continue under Alcoa's ownership," added Pillay, who, during Hillside's thirtieth anniversary celebration earlier this year, highlighted Hillside's meaningful contribution to South Africa's social and economic development, as well as the smelter's important role in underpinning South Africa's important value-adding downstream aluminium activity.

Interestingly, the transaction strengthens Alcoa's position as a pure-play upstream aluminium company while repositioning South32 as an upstream-focused base metals company that will maintain a South African presence through manganese mining in South Africa's Northern Cape.

At the same time, the transaction establishes a far-reaching South African presence for Pittsburgh-headquartered Alcoa, which will benefit from the unlocking of synergistic value.

Importantly, in a release to Mining Weekly, Alcoa described itself as an organisation with a deep understanding of the central role it plays within the communities where it operates.

Meanwhile, what is crucial at Hillside is the discovery of a viable, low-carbon energy solution from 2031, when the aluminium-price-based electricity contract with South Africa's State-owned electricity utility Eskom expires.

What is encouraging is the value that Eskom places on its longstanding partnership with what is the southern hemisphere's largest aluminium business.

Moreover, Alcoa president and CEO William F Oplinger highlighted the investment opportunity as one which underscored Alcoa's commitment to supply security and the responsible delivery of a product that was essential to the global economy.

Hillside's "high-quality, globally relevant assets", Oplinger added, had a strong strategic fit within Alcoa's portfolio and was directly aligned with Alcoa's pure-play upstream aluminium status.

It can be pointed out that part of the Bayside smelter has been recommissioned to take some of the liquid aluminium metal to businesses that have established themselves on Bayside's footprint, entrepreneurship that South32 endorsed, and this forms part of the transaction with Alcoa.

The overall transaction is expected to come with immediate cash flow benefits for Alcoa as it absorbs attractive long-term assets at an asking price perceived as reasonable.