Copper 360 has awarded a R874 million contract for underground development and long-hole open stoping at Rietberg Mine in Northern Cape to leading African underground mining contractor Cementation Africa.
The contract for the next 15 months follows many months of negotiation and technical due diligence, Copper 360’s directors said in an update to the market on Tuesday. The revival of historical Northern Cape copper deposits has become viable in recent years again due to global electrification and modern mining technologies.
The contract is structured as a strategic alliance under an open-book, cost-plus-fee model with a pain/gain incentive mechanism, aligning both parties on cost, schedule and delivery.
“We have secured not merely a contractor but a true expert partner. Cementation Africa’s track record speaks for itself, and the alliance structure ensures we are aligned on every metre developed and every ton mined. Their commitment gives me every confidence in the delivery of our multi-mine in-situ mining programme,” said Copper 360’s COO and transitional CEO Gordon Thompson.
Mobilisation commenced on July 1, 2026 at Rietberg Mine, with production scheduled from September 1, 2026. Copper 360 has 12 historical mines and 60 copper prospects, housing an estimated 377Mt of copper mineralisation and 2Mt of contained copper.
“The appointment of a contractor of Cementation Africa’s calibre and their independent technical due diligence process provides strong validation of Copper 360’s potential and its multi-mine strategy,” the group directors said.
“The onboarding of an experienced underground contractor in Cementation reduces ramp-up execution risk, thereby fast-tracking the potential of Rietberg and potential future mines thereafter,” they said.
Copper 360 envisages using an outsourcing strategy to de-risk and unlock its future mining assets. Rietberg is the first mine to be brought into production under a multi-mine model, establishing a scalable contracting platform that can be replicated across the company’s portfolio as further mines are developed.
The contract award marks the first mine-level implementation of Copper 360’s multi-mine strategy, The 12 historical mines and 60 copper prospects within its mining right area are planned to be progressively returned to production.
Cementation Africa’s track record spans decades of shaft sinking, mine development and contract mining for major mining houses across Southern Africa.
Cementation Africa has already been active on site, having constructed a workshop under a separate contract “which was executed excellently,” giving the company first-hand experience of the contractor’s delivery capability, Copper 360’s directors said.
The contract has been deliberately structured as a strategic alliance rather than a conventional arm’s-length contracting arrangement. The parties will collaborate under an open-book, cost-plus-fee model, jointly managed through a steering committee, joint project team and operations team drawn from both organisations.
A pain/gain mechanism aligns Cementation Africa’s commercial outcomes with the achievement of the mine development plan, ensuring that both parties share in the benefits of outperformance and the consequences of underperformance.
The contract term comprises two months of mobilisation from July 1, 2026, and 48 months of production from September 1, 2026, to August 30, 2030. The operation will run continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Cementation Africa’s scope covers the full underground mining cycle at Rietberg 400 level, including waste and ore development, long-hole open stoping, slot and raise drilling, and glory hole loading, delivering run-of-mine ore to the Rietberg ore pad for processing through the company’s pre-concentration and flotation circuits at its Nababeep central processing facility.
Production will ramp up from initial volumes of about 12,000 tons of ore per month to a steady state of 35,000 tons per month, mining the Rietberg orebody which hosts a “Proven and Probable Reserve” of about 2.48Mt at 1.38% copper.
Benefits to Copper 360 of the contract include Cementation Africa’s proven delivery capability, safety leadership, specialist expertise in long-hole open stoping, raise drilling and mechanised development; aligned incentives; skills development and local employment and a partner with the capacity to grow with the company as its multi-mine in-situ mining program is rolled out.
Thompson said Copper 360’s portfolio provides “a long runway of organic growth from assets already held within the company’s mining right. The alliance establishes a delivery platform that can be extended to future mines as the programme advances.”
Cementation Africa’s CEO, Japie du Plessis, said they had developed a strong appreciation for Copper 360’s vision, technical capability and commitment to redefining copper mining in South Africa.
“Our extensive experience, combined with Copper 360’s approach and deep understanding of its assets, provides a strong foundation for success,” said du Plessis.
Copper 360’s share price gained 2.63% to 39 cents per share on Friday – the price has fallen steadily from R1.47 a year ago
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Edward West
iol.co.za
