mine · South Africa

Hotazel Manganese

Operations in the Kalahari Manganese Field, the largest manganese resource on earth.

OperatingProductionProject score 73
Operator
Independent
Country
South Africa
Mine life
40 yrs
Capex
Profile

Resource, economics and jurisdiction

Resource
Very large high-grade manganese ore resource.
Production
A major share of global seaborne manganese ore supply.
Economics
Grade advantage partly offset by logistics bottlenecks.
Infrastructure
Rail to Port Elizabeth; capacity constraints limit throughput.
Jurisdiction
Moderate risk
Ownership
South32 and joint venture partners
Region
Northern Cape
Overview

What this asset is

Operations in the Kalahari Manganese Field, the largest manganese resource on earth.

Methodology

Earthern Project Score 73

Version v0.1

Resource Quality
79 (weight 1.2) — Grade, continuity and metallurgical complexity of the resource.
Project Scale
72 (weight 1) — Annual output potential relative to the global market for its primary mineral.
Development Stage
70 (weight 0.9) — How far the asset has advanced toward or through production.
Jurisdiction
77 (weight 1.1) — Political stability, permitting predictability and rule of law.
Infrastructure
69 (weight 0.9) — Access to power, water, transport and processing capacity.
Economics
70 (weight 1.2) — Cost position and margin resilience through the price cycle.
Strategic Importance
82 (weight 1) — Relevance to national critical mineral strategies and allied supply chains.
Supply-Chain Value
82 (weight 1) — Whether the asset relieves a genuine downstream bottleneck.
Sustainability
68 (weight 0.9) — Carbon intensity, water use, tailings approach and community standing.
Execution Risk
73 (weight 1) — Technical, financing and schedule risk to reaching nameplate output. Higher is lower risk.
Materials

Minerals produced