Cobus Loots
CEO: Pan African Resources
‘The perceived safe-haven status of gold is likely to persist amid global geopolitical uncertainty and a shifting world order’
IN October 2025, Pan African made its debut on the London Stock Exchange, signalling the mid-tier gold producer’s intention to grow its investor base as it pursues new projects. Cobus Loots’ list on this front was the potential R2.8bn expansion of Pan African’s Johannesburg tailings operations to nearly 100,000 ounces of gold a year from 60,000oz. A definitive feasibility study is expected to be completed by mid-2026 and the results will then be submitted to the board for a final investment decision. Among other things, if gold’s price remains near the record levels it surged to in 2025, the prospects of a green light for the project look good.
Pan African has been growing well beyond its home base. In 2025 it commissioned the Nobles mine in Australia, which it acquired through the $54.2m acquisition of Tennant Consolidated Mining Group the previous year. And the company’s 2026 outlook is bright, with hedging contracts – which resulted in a lower average realised gold price – now completed. While Loots sees good growth prospects in Australia – a coveted mining jurisdiction – he has gone cold on expansion plans in Africa in the face of renewed resource nationalism.
Pan African pulled the plug on a small exploration project in Sudan in late 2024 and has since shown little appetite for prospects north of the Limpopo. This is in keeping with its long-held cautious approach – it doesn’t rush in to join a scramble. Back in South Africa, Loots has brought stability to Barberton Gold Mines in Mpumalanga. The mines are historic and tough to manage but done properly, this is a precious gold resource that keeps on giving.
LIFE OF COBUS
A keen marathon runner, Loots has taken Pan African at a slow and steady growth pace since he assumed the CEO role in 2015. A chartered accountant by training, he is known as a spread-sheet guy with an eye for detail. He previously worked for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Shanduka Resources, which was the black economic empowerment partner in Pan African. Loots was appointed a director at Pan African in 2009 and became CFO in 2013.
