• GLOBAL NEWS news
Global Global the IFN in its mission to help what we call“ impact companies” in South Africa overcome this barrier, ensuring continued bespoke pre-investment technical assistance, as well as access to a local and global network of investors seeking forward-thinking, quality investment opportunities which support South Africa’ s long-term development.”
Antony Phillipson, British High Commissioner to South Africa, added,“ The UK is committed to supporting inclusive economic growth and sustainable development in South Africa. Through this partnership with Anglo American’ s Impact Finance Network, we aim to help innovative businesses access the resources they need to thrive, create jobs and deliver positive impact. By unlocking investment and building resilient local economies, we are strengthening the foundations for long-term prosperity and shared opportunity.”
SOUTH AFRICA:
ANGLO AMERICAN’ S PARTNERSHIP TO SUPPORT INCLUSIVE GROWTH IN SA
A new partnership between Anglo American and the UK’ s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office( FCDO) will support inclusive growth and sustainable development in South Africa. This will be made possible by the company’ s Impact Finance Network( IFN).
The IFN is the company’ s programme supporting long-term sustainable development in the regions where the company operates around the world by providing local businesses with valuable support and connections to access the capital they need in order to scale and deliver sustainable social and environmental impact.
Since January, the FCDO has committed to providing up to EUR4.5-million( ZAR100-million) over four years to support the IFN with its core activities in South Africa, contributing to job creation and creating strong, diverse local economies in the country. This includes providing innovative businesses with technical assistance to help them become ' investment-ready ' and making valuable connections with a network of investors seeking social investment opportunities. The funds will also provide capital to grow the IFN’ s recently piloted Catalytic Capital Facility in South Africa, one of the first to be established in the region. This Facility is a highly flexible and very patient capital product which, together with co-funding from the FCDO, will help businesses in some of the harder-to-reach regions of South Africa to raise and de-risk the capital needed to grow, thereby further supporting economic diversification and job creation.
Nolitha Fakude, chairperson of Anglo American in South Africa, said,“ In South Africa, we have several innovative enterprises looking to address some of the most pressing local development needs; however, they may be struggling to scale and grow due to perceived lack of‘ investment readiness’ by potential investors. Our partnership with the UK’ s FCDO provides invaluable support to
Source: supplied by Anglo American
About Anglo American’ s Impact Finance Network: Anglo American’ s Impact Finance Network was piloted in South Africa in 2021 to support growth-stage SMEs(“ impact companies”) that are creating positive social and environmental benefits through their business model in the regions where Anglo American operates to access development capital through pre-investment technical assistance( TA) and investor matching.
The IFN programme has since expanded to eight countries across southern Africa and South America. In southern Africa, the programme has provided 90 companies with technical assistance to date, supporting 46 000 livelihoods and USD90-million of third party capital unlocked, bringing greater impact to host communities and the regions where we operate.
ARIZONA:
COPPER PRODUCED USING NUTON TECHNOLOGY
Using the Nuton ® Technology, Rio Tinto announced that it has produced the first copper from the Johnson Camp mine in Arizona.
After more than 30 years of research and development, the first copper cathode using the company’ s proprietary bioleaching technology, which relies on micro-organisms grown on site, was produced at Gunnison Copper’ s Johnson Camp mine in November. The deployment involves the design and delivery of a technology package for a heap leach pad targeting production of approximately 30 000 1 tonnes of refined copper over a fouryear demonstration period. The company is engaging with
8 • African Mining • March 2026 www. africanmining. co. za