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Exxaro Resources Limited
Exxaro mines coal and other minerals in South Africa and sells them to power plants, steelmakers, and export markets.
Exxaro Resources is one of South Africa's biggest coal miners. It digs thermal coal out of the ground — the kind burned in power stations to make electricity — and sells most of it to Eskom, the state-owned utility that keeps South Africa's lights on. It also produces metallurgical and coking coal, which steelmakers need to melt iron ore, and it ships some coal to buyers overseas.
The company was formerly known as Kumba Resources, a name many South African investors still remember. Today Exxaro runs several mines and owns a stake in a pigment business that makes titanium dioxide, the white powder used in paint and plastics. It also holds renewable energy investments and an iron ore interest, so it is not purely a coal story — but coal still pays most of the bills. The simple economics: Exxaro pulls rock from the ground, washes and grades it, and sells it under long-term contracts and on export markets. Its biggest customer relationship, with Eskom, is also its biggest vulnerability — power-station demand depends on the utility's own troubles, and coal prices swing with global energy markets. When prices are high, the company gushes cash; when they fall, profits shrink fast.
That cash has historically gone back to shareholders through dividends, a big reason the stock is popular with income-focused investors on the Johannesburg exchange. The company has also faced pressure to clean up its environmental footprint, since coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, and it has been slowly building greener businesses alongside the mines. It is a profitable, dividend-paying miner with a real problem: the world is trying to use less of what it sells.
Saved answer · last researched 12 Nov 2026