R59 million mining company in hot water
South African mining company Mantengu Limited has lost its battle against the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and will now face public censure.
Mantengu Limited, formerly known as Mantengu Mining Limited, is a resource investment company focused on mining and processing raw chrome ore and extracting Platinum Group Metals (PGMs).
Mantengu was originally an environmental services company focused on reducing the mining industry’s environmental impact. It specialised in coal fines processing and acid mine drainage.
However, the Board decided to write off these investments due to operational, legislative, and environmental challenges, which led to the collapse of its operations.
To streamline the group structure, the Mantengu Board then decided to sell its dormant subsidiaries in 2021.
After this, the company transitioned into a resources and mining group, shifting its focus to mining chrome and platinum.
The censure, which will see Mantengu formally and publicly called out by the stock exchange, can severely harm the company’s reputation, as investors and banks will be warned about its violation of market rules.
This comes after the mining company failed to disclose timeously that price-sensitive information linked to a potential acquisition had been breached.
Daily Investor reported that the dispute actually started in May 2023, when Mantengu made a binding offer to acquire 100% of the shares in Blue Ridge Platinum, a subsidiary of a prominent mining company.
In June 2023, Mantengu discovered that the confidentiality of this price-sensitive information had been breached.
According to the JSE’s Listings Requirements, companies are required to publish a cautionary statement as soon as they become aware of such a breach.
However, Mantengu failed to do so, a fact the JSE uncovered during an investigation in early 2026.
As a result of this investigation, the JSE issued a public censure against Mantengu for failing to disclose the breach in a timely manner.
Mantengu’s application for reconsideration rejected
In April 2026, Mantengu applied to the Financial Services Tribunal, seeking a reconsideration of the JSE’s decision.
The group also requested a suspension of the JSE’s decision pending the outcome of that reconsideration.
The Financial Services Tribunal dismissed Mantengu’s request for suspension in May 2026.
On 21 September 2026, the JSE confirmed that the tribunal had also rejected Mantengu’s application for reconsideration.
By doing so, the Financial Services Tribunal upheld the validity of the JSE’s public censure against Mantengu, making it enforceable.
This public censure has been issued only a few months after the company received an R100,000 fine and another public censure from the JSE.
In May 2026, the company was subjected to public censure for posting announcements on the JSE’s Stock Exchange News Service (SENS), alleging, without evidence, that its share price was being manipulated.
These SENS notices were published as voluntary announcements on May 8 and 9, warning shareholders about potential risks related to share price manipulation and short selling of the company’s stock.
In particular, some of Mantengu’s accusations involved JSE executives. Former CEO Mike Miller had filed a complaint with the Hawks alleging share price manipulation by JSE executives.
The company stated that it had notified the JSE about its concerns about share price manipulation.
However, it claimed that the JSE ignored these concerns and instead initiated an investigation into Mantengu for alleged breaches of certain Listings Requirements.
These claims were, however, investigated and dismissed by the appropriate authorities. Mantengu’s R100,000 fine was suspended for three years on the condition that it does not breach any other JSE rules.
If the company is found to have breached any more JSE rules within the next three years, then it will be required to pay the full R100,000 immediately.
Loading ...