Johannesburg-listed Copper 360 has announced the restart of underground mining at the Rietberg mine in South Africa‘s Northern Cape province. This marks the first copper extraction from the O’Kiep district in over forty years, reviving activity in the oldest formal mining area in the country.
The Rietberg mine, with a history dating back to the early 20th century, still contains substantial reserves. The current resource estimate is nearly 4.8 million tonnes, with a grade of 1.27% copper, totaling 60,800 tonnes of copper metal.
The reopening of the Rietberg mine also represents a historic milestone in South Africa’s mining sector, returning copper mining to an area that saw the first mineral discovery in the country in 1661. The mine operated until 1983 before its recent revival.
Copper 360 aims to achieve an initial production target of 12,000 tonnes per month, with copper grades of 1.6% in situ. The ore will be processed at its newly acquired Nama modular flotation plant, targeting plant recoveries of 75%-85%, with previous tests showing recoveries as high as 92%.
Production is set to increase to 45,000 tonnes over four months as a second modular flotation plant, currently under construction, becomes operational in the next two months.
CEO Jan Nelson expressed enthusiasm about the restart, noting it marks a significant moment for Copper 360 and the Northern Cape region. He emphasized that this transition will shift the company’s focus from copper plate production to predominantly copper concentrate production.
Nelson highlighted that copper concentrate will generate 80% of the company’s revenue, greatly enhancing its cash margin. This development is part of Copper 360’s strategy to revive several historically dormant mines in the area, originally developed by Newmont and Gold Fields, which feature defined orebodies and established underground infrastructure.
Currently, Copper 360 holds mining rights over 19,000 hectares, identifying 12 mines and 60 historical prospects, giving it a significant presence in the Northern Cape copper belt, with claims to approximately 70% of the region’s copper resources.
