Exxaro completes takeover of Ntsimbintle's manganese interests after Tribunal approval

Exxaro Resources, through its subsidiary ManganExx, completed the acquisition of manganese mining and marketing interests from Ntsimbintle Holdings and Singapore-listed OM Holdings on 27 February 2026. South Africa's Competition Tribunal had approved the transaction on 1 December 2025, subject to conditions, and the remaining suspensive conditions were fulfilled or waived by 29 January 2026, clearing the way for implementation a month later.

What Exxaro is buying

The deal gives Exxaro control of Ntsimbintle Mining's stake in Tshipi é Ntle Manganese Mining, operator of the Tshipi Borwa open-cast mine in the Kalahari Manganese Field in the Northern Cape, one of the country's largest manganese exporters. It also includes Ntsimbintle Marketing, the Singapore-based trading arm through which Tshipi's ore is sold internationally, its South African counterpart Ntsimbintle Ukuhweba, and Mokala Manganese, which runs the smaller Mokala mine in the same region.

Why manganese, why now

Manganese has become an increasingly strategic commodity for South Africa, used both in traditional steelmaking and in the cathodes of some battery chemistries, giving deals like this one relevance beyond conventional steel demand. For Exxaro, long known as a coal and iron ore producer, the transaction is part of a deliberate diversification into manganese as it seeks new sources of earnings growth outside its shrinking Mpumalanga coal business.

Competition scrutiny

The Competition Tribunal's conditional approval reflects continued regulatory caution around consolidation in South Africa's concentrated manganese export sector, where a small number of Northern Cape mines account for the bulk of the country's shipments through the Port of Ngqura and Saldanha. The conditions attached to the ruling were not fully detailed publicly, but the deal's structure, leaving Tshipi's operating company itself unchanged while shifting upstream ownership and marketing rights, aimed to preserve existing supply relationships while giving Exxaro a bigger say in the mine's future.

What comes next for Exxaro

With the transaction closed, Exxaro's next task is integrating Tshipi's marketing arm into its existing commercial operations while leaving the mine's day-to-day management largely undisturbed, an approach intended to reassure customers who have relied on continuity of supply from Tshipi Borwa for more than a decade. Analysts have flagged the deal as a template for how diversified South African miners can add a strategic minerals exposure without taking on the operational risk of a greenfield project, buying into an established, cash-generating asset instead. For Ntsimbintle Holdings and OM Holdings, the sale crystallises value from their manganese marketing and minority mining interests at a time when manganese prices have been supported by resilient steel demand and growing battery-sector interest, giving both sellers capital to redeploy elsewhere in their portfolios.

Sources

• The Star / Business Report: Tribunal approves Exxaro's acquisition of Ntsimbintle interests, subject to conditions, 02 Dec 2025
• Exxaro Resources: Exxaro cements position as manganese player through conclusion of acquisition of select manganese assets from Ntsimbintle Holdings and OMH, 27 Feb 2026
• OM Holdings: OM Holdings announces meaningful progress on the sale of Tshipi manganese mine interest with key regulatory approvals, 29 Jan 2026

Photo: Manganese ore from the Kalahari Manganese Field in South Africa's Northern Cape, home to the Tshipi Borwa mine at the centre of Exxaro's acquisition. James St. John, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.