Coal company to take over mines of another raw material

• South African mining company Exxaro Resources has struck a deal worth 11.67 billion rand ($640 million) to acquire a controlling interest in two manganese mines.
• This is an important step in diversifying the raw material portfolio.
• The move is expected to give Exxaro a majority stake in the Tshipi Borwa and Mokala mines in South Africa’s Kalahari manganese field, home to the world’s largest onshore manganese deposit, with more than 4.2 billion tonnes of recoverable high-grade ore.

Exxaro will hold a 60.1% stake in Tshipi and a 51% stake in Mokala. Tshipi, the country’s largest manganese mine and a major exporter of the ore, has a production capacity of up to 3.5 million tonnes of manganese ore per year. The Mokala mine can produce up to 1.5 million tonnes per year.

Both mines have long-term contracts with customers in China and India, where Exxaro already sells coal.

The agreement with Ntsimbintle Holdings and OM Holdings gives Exxaro a strategic position in manganese, which is used primarily in steelmaking and increasingly in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. As Mining.com points out, both mines have long-term contracts with customers in China and India, markets to which Exxaro already sells coal.

A key player in the transaction is Ntsimbintle Holdings, which is the majority shareholder in Tshipi and also has other mining and trading interests included in the transaction.

Exxaro’s new CEO Ben Magara, who took over in April, said the acquisition was in line with Exxaro’s “minerals for the future” strategy, while also reaffirming the company’s commitment to coal . Exxaro is one of South Africa’s largest coal producers.

"Coal remains our priority"

“Coal remains a priority for us and is critical to South Africa’s economy and energy needs,” Ben Magara said, adding that the company expects to complete the acquisition by early 2026.

Exxaro has expanded beyond coal in the past two years , moving into iron ore and renewables. More than two-thirds of global manganese production comes from South Africa, Gabon and Australia.