The country seeks more local processing and a streamlined permitting process to better benefit from its mineral wealth.
The South African Cabinet has approved the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy and released the Mineral Resources Development Bill for public consultation. The initiative aims to boost the domestic mining sector through increased investment, local value addition, and streamlined regulation and permitting processes.
The strategy identifies platinum, manganese, iron ore, coal, and chrome as key minerals with high criticality and importance for the South African industry. Other minerals, such as rare earth elements, titanium, zirconium, and additional platinum group metals, are classified as moderately critical. The classification of these minerals will be regularly reviewed and updated in response to changing market dynamics, technological developments, and geopolitical shifts.
The Cabinet also announced the Mineral Resources Development Bill to support the strategy and invited public comments. It seeks to modernize the South African mining law and combat illegal resource extraction. It promotes small and medium-sized miners’ legal and compliant development through streamlined permitting processes.
More Domestic Downstream Industry Instead of Pit-to-Port
South Africa is already home to one of the world’s leading mining industries. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the country accounts for most of the global supply of platinum group metals, manganese, and chromium. With the new policy framework, South Africa also aims to increase local value addition and benefit more from its mineral wealth. Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe emphasized the need to move beyond the traditional “pit-to-port” model, in which Africa exports raw minerals with little domestic processing.
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