Stronger together: Progress through partnerships C hina just delivered a masterclass in How to Win Friends with its announcement that starting May 1, 2026, it will implement a zero- tariff policy on 100% of tariff lines for imports around logistics as well as beneficiation. “Whether it’s the Tazara Railway or the Lobito Corridor, we need to focus not just on transport, but on what we are transporting,” he said. “We
need a shared vision for beneficiation that moves beyond the port-to-pit approach.” Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, South Africa, echoed the theme of the symposium, “Banking on Africa: Mobilising capital through partnership,” encouraging collaboration between the public and private sectors, investors, and communities to unlock the full potential of Africa’s critical minerals for its people. “Mobilising capital at the scale required for exploration, responsible mining, and value-addition closer to the point of production cannot be achieved by governments or the private sector operating in isolation,” he said. “It requires partnership.” Duncan Wanblad (CEO, Anglo American), focused on the responsibility of the mining sector to act as a driver for human progress, not just a supplier of materials. The key takeaway from his speech was that mining success relies on connecting production, infrastructure,
from 53 African nations. This major initiative expands previous limited duty-free access, aiming to balance trade deficits, boost African exports, and enhance economic partnerships. The key takeaways from Dale Carnegie’s book: How to Win Friends and Influence People is that aggressive, unilateral trade actions (tariffs) destroy long-term relationships and trust, whereas sustainable influence requires negotiation and mutual respect. US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariffs on trading partners aimed at advancing an "America First" agenda., has, in many instances, not delivered the desired results with nations announcing reciprocal tariffs, withholding key minerals (China), boycotting US products (Canada) or actively seeking other trading partners. The US is in dire need of critical minerals used to develop its cache of military
and defence armament and technology sectors – key commodities widely available on the African continent. Africa possesses a significant portion
and people. He noted that being a champion means taking shared responsibility and working in partnership. It means translating the value beneath the ground into opportunity above it through infrastructure, skills, jobs and stronger economies.
Mobilising capital at the scale required for exploration, responsible mining, and value- addition closer to the point of production cannot be achieved by governments or the private sector operating in isolation
of the world's critical mineral reserves-estimated at approximately 30%- which includes cobalt, rare earth elements,
Nelendhre Moodley.
titanium, coltan/tantalum, platinum group metals, manganese, chromium, bauxite/ aluminium, lithium, uranium and vanadium. Mining Indaba 2026 On the topic of Stronger together: Progress through partnerships – the theme for this year’s Mining Indaba permeated much of the keynote addresses delivered at Africa's largest and most influential mining event, held annually in Cape Town. The 2026 Mining Indaba reaffirmed that while Africa has significant mineral wealth, unlocking it requires moving from extractive, siloed operations to collaborative, sustainable partnerships. Hakainde Hichilema, President of Zambia, opened the conference by highlighting Zambia's role as a major copper producer and advocating for strategic partnerships to unlock Africa's resources. He said the countries of Africa needed to build regional value chains
In this edition Our cover story for this edition, AZMET Technology & Projects, is focused on redefining gold processing economics. In partnership with AZTEC Mining, it is delivering innovative gold recovery products and technologies (pg 8). With gold trading at record highs of $5000 /oz, extracting every ounce from gold processing is a sharp focus for miners. On the topic of precious metals, Southern Palladium is targeting first concentrate production from its Bengwenyama project in 2028 (pg 14). Also of note, is insight from Tom Price of Panmure Liberum on the thermal coal market. “Right now, the outlook for South Africa’s US$5bn, 60 mtpa thermal coal export industry – source of 5% of the global trade – depends heavily on the outcome of an evolving point of mostly supply-side conflict between Indonesia and China.”
Editor: Nelendhre Moodley e-mail: mining@crown.co.za Advertising Manager: Rynette Joubert
e-mail: rynettej@crown.co.za Design & Layout: Ano Shumba Publisher: Karen Grant
Deputy Publisher: Wilhelm du Plessis Circulation: Brenda Grossmann and Shaun Smith Published monthly by: Crown Publications (Pty) Ltd P O Box 140, Bedfordview, 2008 Tel: (+27 11) 622-4770 Fax: (+27 11) 615-6108 e-mail: mining@crown.co.za www.modernminingmagazine.co.za
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2 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | March 2026
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