Ranking Africa’s biggest miners is harder than it looks, because the companies that matter most are not always the ones with the largest revenue. A Chinese cobalt producer most people have never heard of now out-earns household names. A platinum giant just split itself in two. And the continent’s most valuable mining company doubled its market value in a single year. The league table below reflects where the money and the metal actually are in 2026, not where they were a decade ago.
These are the ten companies that shape African mining, and why each one matters.
Who is the biggest mining company in Africa?
By influence over the continent’s future, Anglo American, though it is in the middle of reinventing itself. After fending off a 49 billion dollar takeover bid from BHP in 2024, Anglo is restructuring into a copper-focused major, selling its steelmaking coal, spinning off its platinum arm, and moving to exit De Beers. What emerges will be smaller but more concentrated on the metal the energy transition wants most.
The ten that matter, and what each one is
- Anglo American. The diversified major remaking itself around copper. Its restructuring is the single biggest corporate story in African mining, because the assets it sells reshape who owns what across the continent.
- Glencore. Trader and miner, and the second-largest cobalt producer. Its African copper and cobalt come from Kamoto and Mutanda in the DRC and Mopani in Zambia. It mined about 951,600 tonnes of copper in 2024.
- CMOC. The Chinese group that became the world’s largest cobalt producer almost overnight, with 114,000 tonnes in 2024 from its Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu mines in the DRC. It earned roughly 7 billion dollars from Congo in 2024 alone.
- Gold Fields. The South African gold major whose market value climbed from under 20 billion to nearly 40 billion dollars in twelve months as gold prices surged. Its Tarkwa mine in Ghana and deep South Deep mine anchor its African base.
- AngloGold Ashanti. Produced about 2.66 million ounces of gold in 2024 after buying Centamin, with major operations across Ghana and the continent.
- Impala Platinum. The platinum group metals producer that refined about 3.38 million ounces in its 2024 financial year and took control of Royal Bafokeng to extend its Rustenburg complex.
- Sibanye-Stillwater. Built from the old Anglo platinum Rustenburg operations plus the former Lonmin Marikana mine, and majority owner of the tailings-reprocessing specialist DRDGOLD.
- First Quantum. The copper miner whose Zambian operations, Kansanshi and Sentinel, produced around 431,000 tonnes in 2024, now expanding Kansanshi with a 1.25 billion dollar project.
- Barrick. The gold and copper major, biggest producer in Mali, now expanding Lumwana copper in Zambia toward 240,000 tonnes a year with a life stretching to 2057.
- Harmony Gold. Produced over 1.56 million ounces in its 2024 financial year and owns Mponeng, the deepest mine on earth, which it is extending toward 2040.
Two more deserve a mention because of where the industry is heading. Ivanhoe Mines runs Kamoa-Kakula, one of the world’s largest copper complexes, and Vedanta regained control of Konkola in Zambia with a plan to push output to 300,000 tonnes a year by 2031.
Why are Chinese companies rising up this list?
Because they moved early and hard into the metals the energy transition needs. CMOC’s rise from a mid-tier name to the world’s top cobalt producer is the clearest example, built on two DRC mines and a willingness to invest through the price cycle. Chinese operators now run most of the DRC’s industrial cobalt capacity, and similar patterns are visible in Zambian copper. Any supplier working the continent will meet more Chinese procurement culture and payment terms than they did five years ago.
What this means for suppliers
The names on this list control the expansion programs where most of the continent’s mining capital is being spent, from Kansanshi’s S3 and Lumwana’s Super Pit to the platinum sector’s restructuring and CMOC’s Kisanfu growth. Knowing which company owns which asset, and who signs for procurement there, is the difference between chasing the right contract and the wrong one, especially in a year when ownership keeps changing hands. AMIQ tracks 2,200+ African mining projects with verified owner and engineer contacts, available through AMIQ. For the country detail, see mining companies in South Africa and mines in Africa.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest gold mining company in Africa?
By output, AngloGold Ashanti, which produced about 2.66 million ounces in 2024. Gold Fields and Harmony Gold are also among the continent’s largest, and Barrick is the biggest single producer in Mali.
Which mining company produces the most cobalt in Africa?
CMOC, the Chinese group, from its Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu mines in the DRC. It produced around 114,000 tonnes of cobalt in 2024, making it the largest cobalt producer in the world.
Which African mining company grew the most recently?
Gold Fields saw the sharpest rise, with its market value climbing from under 20 billion to nearly 40 billion dollars over twelve months as gold prices surged and profits jumped.
