Controversial South African mining company hit with R100,000 fine

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has imposed a public censure and R100,000 fine on mining company Mantengu.

This comes after Mantengu posted announcements on the JSE’s Stock Exchange News Service (SENS) claiming, allegedly without evidence, that its share price was being manipulated.

Mantengu’s SENS notices were published on 8 and 9 May as voluntary announcements, warning shareholders of share price manipulation and shorting risks related to the company’s stock.

Notably, some of the claims Mantengu made involved JSE executives, with former CEO Mike Miller previously having filed a complaint with the Hawks against JSE executives for alleged share price manipulation.

The company explained that it had alerted the JSE in respect of its concerns about share price manipulation.

However, it claimed the JSE ignored the company’s concerns and instead investigated Mantengu for alleged breaches of certain Listings Requirements.

Mantengu had previously made similar complaints about this alleged share price manipulation to the Financial Sector Conduct Authority, which found no evidence of wrongdoing.

In November 2025, the Johannesburg High Court ruled that Mantengu and Miller had to cease publishing their allegations against the JSE.

According to the JSE, it assessed Mantengu’s claims after the SENS announcements were posted and found that their content was not required to be published by the Listings Requirements, nor did they constitute price-sensitive information.

While JSE-listed companies are permitted to issue voluntary notices to shareholders, this discretion is not absolute, and any announcements posted on SENS must still be in accordance with the Listings Requirements.

The JSE said there are two key guiding principles for voluntary SENS announcements: the information must be specific and precise, and it should have the potential to materially affect the price of a company’s securities.

According to the bourse, Mantengu’s decision to publish its 8 and 9 May SENS announcements did not meet these requirements.

“The information published by the company on 8 and 9 May 2025 lacked the necessary specificity and precision required to constitute price-sensitive information,” the exchange said.

“The content of the announcements consisted of allegations, suspicions and assertions that had not been substantiated or verified at the time of publication.” 

“In the absence of supporting facts or evidence, the information lacked the degree of certainty required to render it specific and precise, and did not provide the market with a clear and reliable basis for decision-making.”

Fines and censure

The JSE said the dissemination of speculative or unverified information undermines the purpose of SENS and compromises the integrity, reliability and usefulness of the platform as a source of meaningful market information.

Based on this assessment, the JSE found Mantengu to be in breach of the Listings Requirements and requested that the company retract its SENS announcements.

However, Mantengu refused, which is why it is now being fined R100,000 and facing public censure.

The JSE explained that its request for Mantengu to retract the SENS announcements came because it could not permit non-compliant announcements to remain in the public domain.

“Doing so would compromise the integrity of the SENS platform and the principles of fair, orderly, and efficient markets,” the bourse explained.

However, after this request, Mantengu informed the JSE that it had spoken with its legal counsel and designated advisor and decided not to retract the announcements.

Mantengu maintained that the information in the announcements was based on documentary evidence and factual events.

According to the JSE, Mantengu’s designated advisor initially approved and disseminated the announcements.

However, the advisor subsequently withdrew its approval and requested that Mantengu retract the announcements as they did not comply with the Listings Requirements.

“Notwithstanding this withdrawal of approval, the company persisted in its refusal to retract the announcements and allowed the non-compliant information to remain on SENS,” the bourse said.

“The JSE considers the company’s conduct in these circumstances to be of a serious nature,” the exchange said, adding that Mantengu’s failure to retract shows a disregard for the obligations imposed on issuers under the Listings Requirements.

The bourse also said Mantengu’s refusal undermines investor confidence in the standard and reliability of information disseminated to the market.

“For these reasons and with reference to the JSE’s findings of breach, the JSE has decided to impose this public censure and a fine of R100,000 on Mantengu,” it said.

The fine is wholly suspended for a period of three years, on the condition that Mantengu is not found to be in breach of similar provisions of the Listings Requirement during the suspension period.