Brad Rogers

JUPITER Mines is the largest pure play listed manganese miner in the world, with 49.9% ownership of the tier-one Tshipi mine in South Africa. The 2025 financial year was record-breaking for Tshipi, achieving record operational and sales results. Jupiter has been very successful at Tshipi, paying more than 80% of its market capitalisation in dividends over the past seven years. In May, Exxaro Resources announced it was buying Ntsimbintle Holdings and OM Holdings’ 50.1% stake in Tshipi, and acquired a 19.99% stake in Jupiter in the process. “We look forward to the completion of that transaction and working with Exxaro in order to deliver better shared value going forward off this already fantastic starting place,” Rogers said last year.

He suggested its new partner was also keen to advance Jupiter’s goal of consolidation in the Kalahari manganese field, which accounts for about 40% of global manganese production. “We think that this provides a really good opportunity to collaborate with someone who shares our vision to be able to deliver the value of consolidation,” he said. “Looking forward for the next 10, 15 years or so, some of the mines outside of South Africa, including here in Australia, that have been important producers over the last 50 years or so, will come to end-of-mine life, and that’s going to mean that these mines [in South Africa], can expand production given the scale that’s already there and the long remaining mine life.”

Quite how this eventually involves Jupiter is an unknown. Rogers once expressed an interest in downstream processing of manganese but with Exxaro looking to extend its footprint, he might opt for a lip-smacking sale of Jupiter’s shareholding.