TECHNOLOGY
Ten Insights into 4IR in South African Mining 2026 AI: Powering the Future By Ian Mackay, Associate Director, PwC | SMART Mining The Minerals Council of South Africa recently launched the third edition of Ten Insights into 4IR in South African Mining. This year’s theme is AI: Powering the Future. The full study is based on ten structured, anonymised CEO interviews, additional focus group sessions with line management from a diverse range of miners, and industry meetings and strategy sessions held by the Minerals Council in 2025.
This year’s theme is AI: Powering the Future.
T hat methodology matters, because although this is a study about AI, the insight is human-generated. It reflects what mining CEOs, operational leaders, and line managers are actually thinking about: the promise of AI, the risks, the barriers, and the practical steps required to make it useful. So, the presentation is about the future of South African mining — and whether AI, data, digital tools and human capability can help the industry grow, compete, and create value once again. South Africa’s mining sector sits at a critical crossroads Let’s begin with the uncomfortable part. South Africa’s mining sector is at a critical point. The mining industry is not growing in the way we need it to. Very few large new mines have started in recent years, more mines have closed, economically viable deposits are harder to find, employment continues to decline, and illegal mining, infrastructure failures and community pressure are adding further strain. This is why this study matters. Mining is not just another sector. It supports employment, exports, industrial capability, regional economies, supply chains and communities. If mining struggles, the effects are felt well beyond the mine gate. The purpose of this
study is to listen carefully to transformative leadership in mining and to spark action that could make mining a major economic and employment contributor again. Our central question is this: Can AI and 4IR help South African mining become safer, smarter, more competitive and more inclusive — or will we allow the opportunity to pass us by? The megatrends Mining is not being reshaped by one force at a time. It is being hit by several forces at once. Climate, technology, demographics, a fracturing world, and social instability. Each creates pressure: cost, regulation, ESG, disruption, skills shortages, ageing workforces, supply chain risk, trust deficits, job concerns, and local service delivery challenges. The strategic responses are equally broad: efficiency, sustainability, proactive risk management, AI-led operations, remote operations, monitoring, upskilling, supply chain resilience, localisation, friendshoring and human-centred transformation. This is important because AI is not arriving in a stable environment. It is arriving at a time when mining already faces pressure from infrastructure, skills, social expectations, commodity volatility and global competition. That means AI adoption cannot be a side project. It must connect to the real business agenda.
36 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | OCTOBER 2026
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