JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – In a 60-page resources and reserves publication, diversified mining and marketing company Glencore has outlined its copper, zinc, nickel, ferroalloys, aluminium, coal and oil reserves spread across Africa, Australia and Americas.

Large-scale copper operating assets and development projects in Africa and the Americas take up nine pages, which reflects the London- and Johannesburg-listed Glencore’s growing copper portfolio.

On the South African front, mineral resources and ore reserves are provided for four ferroalloys operating complexes as well as for coal.

Among the ferroalloys complexes are Western Chrome Mines and Eastern Chrome Mines chromite complexes, the Rhovan vanadium operation, and the Mokala manganese mine in the Kalahari Manganese Field (KMF). These collectively mine stratiform chromitite and vanadiferous magnetite deposits within the Bushveld Complex, a layered mafic intrusion that hosts chrome, vanadium, and platinum group element mineralisation.

The Western Chrome Mines mining complex has the operating Kroondal mine and the resource areas of Waterval and Klipfonten. Kroondal is an underground mine that exploits laterally continuous chromitite layers, primarily the LG6 seams, which occur as shallow-dipping tabular orebodies. Chrome ore mineralisation is hosted in discrete, solid chromitite layers with sharp contacts, characterised by regional grade consistency and continuity.

The Eastern Chrome Mines consist of three operating underground mines focused on regionally extensive chromitite seams of the MG1 and MG2 packages, mined from shallow-dipping tabular orebodies in the eastern limb of the intrusion. Solid chromitite layers have consistent grades and thickness across the mining areas.

Mining Weekly can report that South Africa’s Electricity Regulator has approved an application by Eskom to extend temporary tariff relief to ferrochrome producers Samancor Chrome and the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture for a period of 12 months. Eskom made an application to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa to supply electricity to smelters owned by the two entities at a temporary tariff of 87.74c/kWh, representing a 35% reduction when compared with the 135.82c/kWh tariff, after Samancor Chrome and the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture expressed hardship under the existing tariff and terms included in negotiated pricing agreements (NPAs) approved in 2023 and implemented from 2024. The temporary tariff would "help safeguard critical industrial capacity, preserve thousands of direct and indirect jobs, support local beneficiation and mitigate broader negative economic and social impacts on affected communities and the national economy.

Rhovan, an opencast vanadium operation, mines vanadium-bearing magnetite deposits within the Bushveld Complex.

The mineral lease area is situated on gabbroic rock formations that host layered magnetite seams in the upper zone of the intrusion, forming shallow-dipping stratified magnetite orebodies at angles of six degrees to 25°.

The ore consists of magnetite horizons enriched in vanadium, with several ore zones distinguished based on magnetite and V₂O₅ content within the layered sequence.

Rhovan’s 2025 ore reserve depletion was 2.5-millon tons and life-of-mine based on the declared ore reserves is seven years with a mining right expiring in 2027.

Mokala, an opencast manganese operation near Hotazel in South Africa’s Northern Cape, within the KMF, has three stratiform upper, middle, and lower orebodies within the Hotazel Manganese formation. The high-grade mineralisation is in laterally continuous stratiform orebodies that vary in thickness from a few metres to more than 20 m, dipping gently up to about 12° to the west.

Mokala’s ore reserve depletion during 2025 in the ore reserves was 1.3-million tons. Based on the declared ore reserves Mokala’s life-of-mine is 11 years.

Glencore’s South African coal assets are in the Mpumalanga province’s coalfields taking in the Witbank, Highveld and Ermelo coalfields, which are part of the broader Karoo Basin coal measures on the Highveld. The coalfield extends about 180 km in an east–west direction between the towns of Belfast and Springs.

Tweefontein, Goedgevonden, iMpunzi, which are active opencast mining operations, are situated near the town of Ogies within the Witbank coalfield.

Oogiesfontein and Nooitgedacht are extension projects associated with Tweefontein, Goedgevonden, and iMpunzi. These assets are not yet operational with mining planned to comprise underground operations.

Zonnebloem, located east of Middelburg in Mpumalanga province within the Witbank Coalfield, is currently non-operational, with mining planned for opencast operations.

Paardekop, in southern Mpumalanga within the Highveld coalfield, is currently in prefeasibility.

In Africa, KCC in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has metasedimentary copper/cobalt mineralisation occurring as both oxide and sulphide. Oxide ore is processed via whole-of-ore leaching followed by solvent extraction and electrowinning (SX–EW), with cobalt precipitated as cobalt hydroxide concentrate. Sulphide ore is treated by grinding and flotation, with subsequent oxidation and leaching and SX–EW to produce copper cathode, with cobalt recovered as a concentrate.

The Mutanda operation, also in the DRC, has metasedimentary copper/cobalt mineralisation occurring as oxide and sulphide ore, and copper/gold deposits with zones of skarn-type mineralisation, with mineralisation occurring as both sulphide and oxide ore.

Sulphide ore is treated using grinding and flotation to produce copper concentrates, while oxide ore is treated by heap leaching and SX–EW to produce copper cathode. Mining is opencast.