Pan African Resources achieves record gold production while significantly reducing debt
Pan African Resources on Wednesday reported record second-half gold production and a sharp reduction in debt for the 2025 financial year, as the miner looks to ramp up output by more than 40% in the coming year.
The announcement, however, was overshadowed by a fatal accident at its Barberton operation earlier this month.
The South Africa-focused gold producer said one employee lost their life at the Sheba Mine on June 6. The company said it will continue efforts to achieve 'zero harm' across its operations.
Despite the tragedy, operationally the company ended the fiscal year on a strong note. Gold production for the second half of 2025 is estimated at approximately 112 000 ounces, a 32% increase from the first half (84 705 ounces), driven by improved grades, stronger performance from underground operations, and the ramp-up of tailings retreatment projects. Full-year production is expected at about 197 000 ounces, a 6% increase year-on-year.
Cobus Loots, Pan African's CEO, said, "I believe the Group has never been better positioned to take advantage of record gold prices, with record second half gold production being testament to that achievement. Increased cashflow generation and de-gearing is allowing our business to continue to invest and grow, whilst also increasing cash returns to shareholders. The share buy back programme approved by our board demonstrates our confidence in the Group and its prospects."
Loots said the commissioning during May 2025 of the processing plant at Tennant Mines in Australia is a significant achievement for the group and maintains its track record of delivering new mining projects on time and within budget.
"We have also now demonstrated our ability to commission large scale projects outside of South Africa," he said.
In addition to a notable immediate increase in Pan African's production capacity, Loots said Pan African's investment in Tennant also provides for exciting growth in a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction, with some 1700 square kilometres of prospective exploration ground, and our newly established processing plant at Tennant Mines being the only such facility in the region.
Debt Falls Sharply, Share Buyback Announced
Pan African reduced its net debt by 32% to approximately $155 million (R2.8 billion) as of June 30, 2025, from $228.5m at the end of December. The company expects to be fully degeared during 2026 at current gold prices. The miner also plans to be fully unhedged from July, having exited its final zero-cost collar positions and synthetic forward contracts.
In a move to return value to shareholders, Pan African's board has approved a share buyback programme of up to ZAR200 million, starting June 17.
"The board believes that at the current share price, the company's shares offer significant value, given the quality and profitability of the group's existing operations and growth projects. The board has, therefore, taken the decision to implement the programme as part of the company's broader strategy to deliver value to shareholders," it said.
Cost Guidance Rises
The company acknowledged that full-year output fell short of guidance primarily due to slower-than-expected commissioning at two key projects: the Evander sub-vertical shaft and the tailings filter press section at the new Tennant Mines plant. Tennant, which achieved its first gold pour in May, is expected to reach steady-state production of around 50 000 ounces per annum by the first quarter of 2026.
Pan African's all-in sustaining costs (AISC) for the second half of 2025 are now forecast between $1 525 and $1 550 per ounce, above prior guidance. For the full year, AISC is expected to range between $1 550 and $1 575/oz, impacted by lower-than-planned production and a $25/oz loss from expired hedge positions.
Looking ahead, the company projects 2026 gold production between 275,000 and 292000 ounces - a 40% year-on-year increase - with group AISC expected to fall to between $1 475 and $1 525/oz. Growth will be supported by full-year contributions from the Mogale Tailings Retreatment (MTR) plant, higher production at Evander and Tennant Mines, and improved operating efficiencies at Barberton following a recent restructuring.
At midday the share price was up 0.99% at R11.26 on the JSE.
BUSINESS REPORT
Visit: https://businessreport.co.za/
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald
2 hours ago
- The Herald
School's out, but you don't need to pull your hair out — here's why
School's out, moms get a break from packing lunch boxes, and the long-awaited June-July holidays are officially here! While the kids are planning how to spend every second of their hard-earned break, parents might be scrambling to fill those calendar blocks with more than just screen time and snack raids. Fear not — there's a treasure trove of fun, creative and even entrepreneurial activities lined up for the little legends of Gqeberha. Encouraging entrepreneurial skills in children, a pop up market for the kids — by the kids — will take place every Friday from 4-8pm at Col's Family Cafe at Moffett on Main Lifestyle Centre. The eatery with a large play area is calling on all young CEOs to join the kids' entrepreneur market where big ideas start small. Support the Gqeberha community's youngest business minds as they showcase their creativity while getting down to the hustle. Limited stands are available at a R50 booking fee. Email danielle@ to book your little business guru's spot. You can also get the creative juices flowing by bringing your kids along this Saturday for some painting fun at Sollertia Arts and Crafts at Brookes on the Bay for an all-inclusive workshop that starts at 10am. Bookings are essential, via 084-809-1228. While the kids might be on a three-week sugar rush-filled break from school, many parents might be tearing their hair out wondering what to do with their children while they are at the office or stuck behind a laptop. Luckily, there are a variety of educational and safe options around with various holiday club offerings. Ignite the love of sport in the little ones from a young age at Pewees holiday camp between June 30 to July 6, from 8am to 12 midday weekdays. Boys in grade 00 to grade 4 are welcome. A range of activities will take place at Grey Junior School, including tag rugby, soccer, cricket, dodge ball and much more. The cost is R150 per day. To sign your son up, WhatsApp his name, grade and school to Mike Howe on 078-800-0725. The Harvest Christian Church holiday club will run between July 1 and 4. Visit their website for further details. Hosted by Ebenezer International in Algoa Park, the 'Mission Impossible' themed holiday club is a fun-filled, educational, and uplifting week designed for children in the area. It will be held from July 8 to 11, and is open to all primary school-aged children. 'We annually host children from our church, the Algoa Park area, as well as children from underprivileged communities such as Missionvale, extension 6, and many more,' children's ministry leader Amy Taylor Joggom said. 'This has become an important and necessary service to families who may struggle with child care during the holiday.' She said 2025's programme would include dynamic lessons, creative crafts, energetic games, community involvement, and interactive career day sessions featuring local professionals. 'Our goal is not only to entertain children during their school break but to also empower them with positive values and a sense of purpose.' For the outdoorsy child, saddle up for a day of fun at the Pegasus Equestrian Centre in Theescombe. There will be pony rides, grooming and horse care, educational games and activities, a treasure hunt and more. Activities, price and age groups vary on each day. Contact 082-770-5914 to book your spot. You can also build your perfect holiday at Young Engineers in Walmer with a holiday club designed for curious minds aged between four and 16. Children can immerse themselves in exciting engineering projects, creative building challenges, fun Stem experiments, Lego robotics and more between July 7 and 18. There are one-hour (R140) and two-hour (R240) sessions available. Space is limited so book your spot by calling Louise on 063-782-8688. From chocolate cookies to brownies, pizza and chicken doughnuts, children can be whisked away to a warm kitchen with fun and laughter at the Pikanini Chefs winter holiday club in Walmer. The activities and prices vary on each day so visit the Pikanini Chefs PE Facebook page for further details. The Herald
Mail & Guardian
16 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
The privatisation agenda will not save South Africa
For the many who rightly feel abandoned by the government, and are sick of the state's failures, the private sector stepping in to solve problems with energy, water and logistics might appear rational and necessary. (John McCann/MG) The World Bank has approved a $1.5 billion loan to South Africa. The Does this new loan not contradict and undermine the government's stated efforts to practice fiscal responsibility and restrained government spending? For the past several years, the treasury has nourished Since 2010, the government has taken on As irrational as treasury's loan agreements with the World Bank might seem to the public, it operates within a logic that justifies the broader agenda being pursued by the government of national unity (GNU). Behind the curtain of political theatre surrounding debates on education, land reform and black economic empowerment (BEE), the GNU is united by an unwavering commitment to a series of structural reforms that will extend an exploitative, undemocratic and costly dependence on private investment for public infrastructure development and operation. For the many who rightly feel abandoned by the government, and are sick of the state's failures, the private sector stepping in to solve problems with energy, water and logistics might appear rational and necessary. The idea that private sector firms, and the capitalists who run them, are inherently more efficient, less corrupt and unburdened by political ideology is so pervasive an assumption that it barely receives any interrogation. Perhaps the most potent illusion this unexamined assumption instills is that what is best for big business is best for people. In reality, maintaining profitability, cutting operational costs, minimising risk to investors, maximising shareholder value, ensuring returns on investment, remaining competitive and being exposed to the fluctuation of markets means that private sector firms — as an unavoidable imperative of surviving in a capitalist economy — will always put their prosperity over the welfare of the public. This is evidenced by international experiences in both developed and developing countries. In the The adoption of the Rather than capacitating municipalities to deliver services on the basis of human need, national budget transfers to municipalities were reduced, non-core functions were outsourced to expensive private contractors and municipalities were compelled to pursue A central component of placing public utilities and services into the hands of private operators is fiscal consolidation, that is, austerity. Austerity then shrinks the role of the state, weakening its ability to service the public and enforces reliance on private firms, clearing space for market competition. Austerity measures in nations such as Private companies also need to reduce the cost of labour, requiring workers who are easy to hire and easy to fire, unprotected by collective bargaining and often compelled to work without the lifeline of a minimum wage. Around the world, creating The set of reforms being proposed, and gradually implemented, by the GNU are not novel inventions but belong to a tradition of economic practice that has dominated macroeconomic policymaking in South Africa and around the world since the 1980s. This economic practice has come to be known as neoliberalism. Although a term often casually tossed around, a concrete definition of neoliberalism recognises that it is both an economic The theory proposes that 'human well-being can be best advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedom and skills within a framework characterised by strong property rights, free markets and free trade'. As a political project, neoliberalism aims to 're-establish the conditions for capital accumulation and to restore the power of economic elites'. To achieve the aims of neoliberalism, the role of the state is to create and preserve the institutional framework appropriate to the practice of capital accumulation. The coalition government is advancing a surrender of public infrastructure development, basic service provision and equitable economic growth to the profit-maximising interests of domestic private companies, multinational corporations and international financial institutions. As an example, the World Bank's use of the term 'modernisation' is merely a euphemism for the continued liberalisation of the energy and logistics sector, further commercialising state-owned enterprises and eventually leading to their privatisation. Liberalisation — which is the removal of government regulations, the breaking down of monopolies and facilitation of competition — precedes or coincides with commercialisation, setting the scene for private participation and market competition. Through commercialisation, public utilities and services that should have a mandate to serve the public good are turned into enterprises that prioritise revenue and profitability. Their services are brought into a competitive market consisting of private firms with a mandate to make profits. Privatisation, the process of transferring ownership and control of public assets and services to private entities to be run on a commercial basis, is often preceded by the liberalisation of public sector utilities and the commercialisation of public services. The logic behind the GNU's agenda is for the government, using its authority to create legislation and enforce policy, to forge the most hospitable conditions for capital accumulation by cultivating a business friendly environment that will attract private investment in infrastructure, increase the efficiency of key economic sectors and grow our economy, producing jobs and reducing poverty. Weaving sermons in the editorial rooms of the corporate-sponsored media and evangelising in the offices of the treasury, the priests of this trickle-down gospel portray private investment as South Africa's sole salvation. The policy plans of government are not a rhetorical wishlist, but are clearly laid out in The unbundling of Eskom and creation of a competitive electricity market to introduce private sector participation in generation, distribution and private The Continued fiscal consolidation — that is, austerity measures (budget cuts or limits on social welfare, public employment stimulation, tight monetary policy and regressive taxation to achieve a budget-surplus); Mobilising up to R1 trillion in financing from the private sector for infrastructure development through Increased reliance on The gradual imposing of labour-market flexibility, that is, deregulating the labour market to decrease the cost of labour for employers (weaken collective bargaining, lower minimum wage requirements and reduce employment benefits). What we are witnessing is the exploitation of crises — specifically the crises of unemployment, economic stagnation and state incapacity — to justify the enforcement of policies that have failed to deliver desired outcomes in both developed and developing countries across the world for the past 50 years. The most important element of the GNU's structural reform agenda is the drive for private financing of public infrastructure development through public-private partnerships. Global institutional investors — be it the World Bank or multinational investment banks — are using the burden of sovereign debt (which limits fiscal space for domestic resource mobilisation and state-driven investment), alongside the justification of meeting In the past several years this has largely occurred through Because infrastructure projects, especially for natural monopolies such as electricity or water provision, require immense capital investment and come with a series of risks (design defects, project delays, foreign exchange volatility, land acquisition, labour protections and so forth), governments have to ensure infrastructure development is This is done to make infrastructure projects investable and profitable. The state takes on risk through providing private investors credit guarantees, enforcing cost-reflective tariffs, providing subsidies or tax breaks. Through these de-risking mechanisms, risk is transferred onto the government's balance sheet, coming at the cost of public investment, which a country like South Africa needs to eradicate unemployment, poverty and inequality. In countries such as Spain, Mexico, India, Peru, Nepal, Scotland and Liberia the commercialisation or partial privatisation of public utility and services through public-private partnerships Moreover, democratic accountability and the need for transparency in the provision of public goods has been undermined when crucial infrastructure is handed over to private hands. In developing countries such as South Africa, the growing reliance on private companies to deliver public services and build public infrastructure The government has retained a commitment to neoliberalism for decades, whether through the Growth, Employment and Redistribution, the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiatives for South Africa, the National Development Plan or the Reconstruction and Recovery Plan. We keep trying the same things while expecting different results. About 12.7 million are unemployed and half the population of the country lives in poverty. Such conditions are unsustainable and explosive. New, politically imaginative and effective policy solutions are needed. Andile Zulu is with the Alternative Information and Development Centre in Cape Town.
The Herald
18 hours ago
- The Herald
Despite VAT exemption, some zero-rated food prices increased in past 12 months
Of the 44 foods tracked in the basket, 19 foods increased in price. Foods that increased in price by 5% or more include onions (9%) and beef (5%). 'Households living on low incomes change their purchasing patterns in response to changes in affordability conditions,' said Abrahams. 'On low incomes, women buy the core staple foods first so that their families do not go hungry and for basic meals to be prepared. Where the money remaining is short, women have no choice but to drop foods from their trolleys or reduce the volumes of nutritionally rich foods in their trolleys.' This had negative consequences for health, wellbeing and nutrition, he said. 'As financial and economic circumstances worsen, so too does household health and nutrition. The gap between what women are able to buy and what they need to buy for proper nutrition widens.' The report states that the national minimum wage (NMW) 'is a poverty wage — it hurts workers, it reduces productivity in the workplace, and slows down economic growth. 'The maximum wage of R4,606.40 this June when disbursed in a family of four people is R1,151.60. This is below the upper-bound poverty line of R1,634 per capita per month. Set at such a low level, the NMW works to institutionalise the low-baseline wage regime and lock millions of workers into poverty. 'Small annual increments off such a low wage base (in rand value) — and which do not reflect inflation levels as experienced by workers, nor the actual cost of worker expenses — means that workers on the NMW are getting poorer each year. 'The minimum shortfall on food for a family is 48.5%. After paying for transport and electricity, workers are left with R1,963.43. If all of this money went to food, then for a family of four it would provide R490.85 per person per month. The food poverty line is R796 per person per month.' TimesLIVE
