Sishen: an iron ore operation in South Africa

Sishen is an open-pit mine producing iron ore in Kathu, Northern Cape, South Africa, operated by Kumba. The sources report 25,289 thousand tonnes ('000 t), wet metric tonnes for CY2025; the basis is 100% of the mine, as reported by Anglo American for Kumba. Measured as usable ore, whole-operation output for CY2025 is 25,289,000 tonnes: about 1% of world iron ore output in 2025 and about 38% of South Africa's; it is one of 21 operations on this site whose output can be stated in usable ore.

Who owns and operates it?

Owners of Sishen
Owner	Interest	As of
Kumba (operator) Kumba Iron Ore holds 75.4% of Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC), which owns 100% of the mine. Anglo American holds 69.7% of Kumba through Anglo South Africa Proprietary Limited.	75.4%	31 December 2025
Exxaro Resources Limited Exxaro Resources Limited, shown at 20.4% of SIOC in the ownership structure chart; employee and community trusts hold the remaining 4.2% (1.2% and 3.0%).	20.4%	31 December 2025

Interests are as stated in the sources below on the date shown. Ownership changes with deals, so a stake may have changed since the date shown.

How much does it produce?

Reported output of Sishen
Period	Output	Basis	Where in the source
CY2025	25,289 thousand tonnes ('000 t), wet metric tonnes Average Fe content 64.0% and a lump to fines ratio of 72:28 in 2025 (Kumba Integrated Report 2025, PDF pp.10 and 16).	100% of the mine, as reported by Anglo American for Kumba	printed p.9, Kumba production table, row 'Sishen', 2025 column; also Kumba Integrated Report 2025, PDF p.10 · Anglo American plc
CY2024	25,661 thousand tonnes ('000 t), wet metric tonnes	100% of the mine, as reported by Anglo American for Kumba	printed p.9, same row, 2024 column · Anglo American plc

Between CY2024 and CY2025 the reported figure fell by 1.4%, in the same unit and on the same basis.

How the usable-ore figure is worked out. Anglo American prints 25,289 thousand wet metric tonnes produced at Sishen in 2025; volumes are stated in wet metric tonnes and Kumba's product is shipped with about 1.5% moisture. Kumba holds the mine through SIOC, and the figure is for the whole mine. World mine production of usable ore in 2025 was 2,600,000,000 tonnes (USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026); South Africa produced 66,000,000 tonnes.

Status: operating, as of 31 December 2025.

Anglo American's production report gives Sishen and Kolomela as two lines of Kumba production (36,084 thousand tonnes in total in 2025) and calls them an integrated mine complex. Kumba's integrated report says all mining at Sishen is by opencast methods and that Sishen beneficiates its run-of-mine through dense media separation and jigging (PDF pp.8 and 16).
Kumba's integrated report prints Sishen production of 25.3 Mt in 2025 (PDF p.10), consistent with the production report.

How does it compare?

Other iron ore operations on this site: Hamersley mines (Rio Tinto Pilbara), Hope Downs (Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting), Robe River - Robe Valley, Robe River - West Angelas, Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), Simandou Blocks 3 and 4 (SimFer), Western Australia Iron Ore (WAIO), Fortescue Pilbara hematite operations, Iron Bridge (magnetite), Onslow Iron, Serra Sul (S11D), Carajas, Serra Norte, Carajas. In South Africa: Kolomela. See where iron ore comes from for the country totals, the country page for South Africa, and Kumba for its other operations here.

Sources

Kumba Iron Ore Limited: Integrated Report 2025 (annual integrated report, CY2025). Opened 4 November 2026; used: PDF pp.8, 10, 16, 78, 91-92, 132.
Anglo American plc: Production Report for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2025 (quarterly production report (RNS, 5 February 2026), Q4 2025 and CY2025). Opened 4 November 2026; used: printed pp.8-9 (Premium Iron Ore).
U.S. Geological Survey: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Iron Ore (government statistical summary, 2025 (world and country mine production of usable ore)). Opened 3 November 2026; used: world and country mine production table, usable ore.

Method and limits

Reported, not estimated. Output is the figure the operator or owner published, in the unit it used. This site does not estimate output where none is published.
Shares. A share divides output in usable ore by the USGS world or country total for 2025. Where the operator's year is a fiscal year or the unit is a concentrate or a carbonate equivalent, the share is approximate or not given.
What is compared. Operators print tonnes of ore: saleable production for most, run-of-mine and pelletizing feed for Vale, and shipments for Fortescue and Onslow Iron, mostly as wet tonnes. The figure is compared with the USGS usable-ore total, which does not state a moisture basis, so the share is indicative.
Whole operation or owner's share. The basis column says which. A joint venture's output is never counted twice.
Partial list. Only operations with a published figure are listed, so the rank is among those on this site, not among every iron ore mine. Shares of a country's output mix periods and bases, so treat them as indicative.
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