Aug 21 (Reuters) - South African miner Exxaro Resources

is considering boosting shareholder returns once it

completes a deal announced in May to buy manganese assets as it

will no longer require a big cash buffer to fund acquisitions,

its CEO said on Thursday.

The diversified resource company, which seeks to add

critical minerals such as manganese to its coal, iron ore and

renewable energy portfolio, reported a 13% increase in half-year

profit thanks to higher coal income.

Exxaro posted headline earnings per share of 17.24 rand

($0.9737) in the six months to June 30, compared to 15.28 rand

during the same period last year.

The company said on May 13 it had reached an agreement to

acquire manganese mines held by Ntsimbintle Holdings and OM

Holdings in South Africa as part of its strategy to diversify

away from coal into minerals vital for the global shift to

cleaner energy technologies.

CEO Ben Magara said the final transaction price is expected

to range between 9 billion and 14.64 billion rand, depending on

the extent to which minority shareholders exercise their

pre-emptive and tag-along rights.

Following the manganese deal, he said Exxaro would no longer

require a 12 billion to 15 billion rand cash buffer it had

maintained to fund acquisitions.

"So we are now reviewing our capital allocation framework to

enhance shareholder returns, post the manganese transaction,"

Magara told Reuters.

Finance director Riaan Koppeschaar said higher dividends

were among the options to be considered.

"We still need to wait for the manganese transaction, the

final numbers, before we can take final decisions on that,"

Koppeschaar said during a results call. Exxaro expects to

conclude the transaction during the first quarter of 2026.

It declared an interim dividend of 8.43 rand per share, an

increase of 6% on last year's interim payout.

Exxaro closed the half-year with a 12.4 billion rand cash

pile.

While the miner was still exploring other critical metal

asset acquisitions, it did not expect to pursue transactions as

big as the manganese deal, Magara added.

($1 = 17.7063 rand)

(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Emelia

Sithole-Matarise)