Finally, some green shoots I s there some glimmer of hope on the horizon and maybe, just maybe, better days for South Africa’s mining sector? After years of deep challenges, there are
representing growth of nearly 40%. Another area showing meaningful improvement is electricity supply. According to Chetty, although Eskom has improved maintenance practices and succeeded in keeping more of its power stations operational, we have also seen substantial growth in independent power producers, particularly in renewable energy. Mines have invested heavily in self-generation. In 2025, mines had approximately 1.8GW of self- generation capacity in operation, with a further 1.7GW under development. The resulting surplus generation capacity has created opportunities for Eskom to support energy-intensive industries through initiatives such as preferential electricity tariffs for smelters and other large industrial users. “South Africa is on the cusp of resurrecting its smelting industry after government agreed to discounted electricity tariffs.” As such, there is renewed focus on beneficiation — processing minerals locally rather than exporting raw ore.
signs that conditions could be starting to improve, offering a measure of optimism for the country’s key industry. A surge in commodity prices, along with progress on power and transport reforms, has created opportunities for South Africa’s mining industry to grow. This is according to Charles Kieck, Director of Research at Afriforesight, who spoke at the company’s webinar on the topic South African Minerals: Ripe for extraction? The mining sector is a significant contributor to employment, the economy and the global minerals market, exporting R816 billion worth of minerals during the 2025 financial year. According to Kieck, South Africa’s major commodity sectors all have positive stories to tell. Chrome and manganese both achieved record extraction and export volumes in 2025, with
the country’s high-grade iron ore continuing strong demand. Gold and PGMs continue to benefit from elevated prices after reaching record highs earlier this year. Moreover, following
“Some investors see long- term beneficiation potential in South Africa – projects such as the Musina- Makhado Special Economic Zone
Early signs of improvement at both Eskom and Transnet are beginning to emerge, with the private sector increasingly being positioned as a key partner in the country’s’ logistics recovery.
(MMSEZ) and the Chung Fung Metal plant are a case in point,” says Devon Allers, Head: Ferrous Commodities.
the launch of the R400 million exploration fund by the DMPR and the IDC — supplemented by a R600 million contribution from Anglo
American — more than half of the funding was allocated by mid-2024. The initiative is a much-needed catalyst for junior
Nelendhre Moodley.
In this edition The July edition offers some interesting reads, including our cover story, Brelko, which touches on the severity of the tungsten carbide shortage and its impact on local suppliers serving the mining industry (pg 8). The commodities outlook features platinum, with EBC Financial Group’s David Precious sharing insight on the topic: High prices, hard ground: The reality behind South Africa’s platinum moment (pg 12). Also of note is Alphamin Resources, which is on an aggressive exploration drive to extend its LOM (pg 20) and LSE-listed Altona Rare Earths, which is targeting fluorspar production by year- end 2027 (pg 16). The ESG feature shares insight on some of the latest developments related to tailings storage facilities (pg 22), Nature-positive examples from local gold miners (pg 26) with SLR Consulting noting that avoiding silos is key for strategic sustainability compliance (pg 24).
Editor: Nelendhre Moodley e-mail: mining@crown.co.za Business Development Manager: Angela Devenish e-mail: angelad@crown.co.za Design & Layout: Ano Shumba Publisher: Karen Grant
miners and exploration companies, helping to reinvigorate the country’s struggling exploration sector and unlock new critical mineral discoveries. Progress at Transnet and Eskom According to Afriforesight Head of Energy Commodities, Vinesh Chetty, early signs of improvement at both Eskom and Transnet are beginning to emerge, with the private sector increasingly being positioned as a key partner in the country’s logistics recovery. “We are starting to see operational improvements at Transnet bear fruit. The company has reported a 9% increase in ship arrivals, which suggests rail and container volumes should also begin to recover.” Transnet currently handles around 180 million tonnes of rail freight annually and has set a target of increasing throughput to 250 million tonnes by 2030 — an additional 70 million tonnes per year,
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