been mined out, there exist several viable unmined gold and small diamond deposits across the country. “There are dozens of small deposits close to surface, that have not been mined. At the current gold price these assets should be hot property; however, we are not seeing a frantic drive towards exploration and development. Significant gold deposits in South Africa are found in the Northwest Province and Gauteng (particularly around Klerksdorp and the West Wits Line) Pilgrim’s Rest, Barberton and also the greenstone belt of Limpopo. While these are not big deposits, they can support a junior mining company quite comfortably. The fact that the SAPS is arresting illegal gold miners on a regular basis means that South Africa is still a rich gold field.” Trends influencing the sector “Every mineral is critical because without it some part of the global economy will fail. Most countries have a list of minerals that are deemed critical to that country and strategic minerals considered essential to a nation’s economy, security, and technological advancement. The United States Department of Defense is now investing internationally in mines and refineries - a clear indication of the importance that strategic and critical minerals play in their growth trajectory.” As a case in point, China has strategically used its dominance in critical minerals supply chains, including rare earths, to leverage its position in trade disputes, such as Trump’s tariff war, by imposing export controls on essential materials. China’s control over global rare earth processing, refining, and production gives it significant influence, forcing other countries to seek alternatives and diversify their supplies to reduce dependence on China for this critical resource. “Access to critical minerals is of national interest to most nations. In a bid to ensure security of supply, governments of most major countries including the US, Germany, India and the Middle East are making funds available for the discovery and development of critical minerals. Recently, the US Department of Defense underwrote offtake agreements that are twice the current market price on some critical minerals. This is a clear indication that it is no longer just about commerce but about strategy and criticality,” concludes Smart. n
While exploration is the lifeblood of future mining activity, there remains the challenge of attracting capital investment for exploration.
In 2023 junior miners generated R95,9 billion in revenue, up from R88,2 billion in 2022.
Smart references the early years in his career when he was part of a team of gold explorers who noted that gold anomalies followed the diamond alluvial diamond corridors. “Not every kimberlite pipe yields critical minerals but, in instances of occurrence, diamond miners have an opportunity to expand their offering. A small amount of additional earnings makes a huge difference to a marginal diamond miner. As it is, small scale miners play a vital role in the South African economy, producing 25% of South Africa’s value of diamonds exported every year,” says Smart. Junior and emerging miners Discussing opportunities that exist for junior miners, Smart says that while the bulk of South Africa’s gold deposits have
true, this becomes a game-changer for alluvial diamond miners. “A paper published by Chinese geologists proposes that an outcropping from a particular type of diamond pipe contains high levels of rare earths. Outside of China, geologists have examined kimberlite pipes in South Africa and Canadia and concluded that this holds true for certain kimberlite pipes in these countries. The SADPO is working closely with alluvial diamond miners to establish the occurrence of rare-earths minerals accompanying alluvial diamond mining and marine mining in South Africa. To date, geologists have identified ilmenite, rutile, zircon, tin, tungsten and niobium as rare earths found in some alluvial diamond mining operations, especially those occurring along the Orange and the Vaal River.”
February 2026 | www.modernminingmagazine.co.za MODERN MINING 39
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