Turn wealth beneath soil into prosperity for all, Minerals Council CEO pleads

Описание: This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a global leader in process and laboratory measurement technology, offering a broad portfolio of instruments, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation.

South Africa's mining sector must be a national economic priority so as to unleash its inherent and powerful multiplier effects, make inroads into high levels of unemployment and contribute to industrialisation to maximise South Africa's latent mineral potential, driving transformation and social prosperity.

This can be achieved through targeted incentives and reducing the cost of doing business, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane outlined in an in-depth article on March 10.

Prospects for growth of the sector's medium- to long-term profile of production are not immediately promising, which is disappointing and frustrating given the huge contribution it continues delivering to the fiscus and society despite the multiple constraints under which it has, and continues to, operate.

Only in recent years have these constraints received the attention they demand, but not with the urgency required to expedite investment in mineral exploration, new mine construction and longer-term sustainability of existing operations.

Given the government's continued social expenditure to avert social distress and deliver services and infrastructure - and mining's ability to deliver, ensure its future growth and leverage its employment multipliers - the sector has an important role to play in South Africa's future social security.

The turnaround in prices for gold and platinum group metals (PGMs) underpinned the 2025 fiscus, contributing to the R21.3-billion increase in gross tax revenue. Mining tax collections increased 29%, mainly from higher gold and PGM prices and increased chrome and manganese exports.

However, the ambition is for growth in production output, which accounts for real expansion of the sector and results in higher and broader benefits, at elevated prices, for the country through increased employment, arresting deindustrialisation and expanding manufacturing inputs for new mines, related infrastructure and broad-based tax revenue earnings for the fiscus.

The mining sector stands at a pivotal moment. Long recognised as a bedrock of the economy, it faces intense pressures and unprecedented opportunities in the local and international transition to a low-carbon future, rich with rapid technology advances requiring the minerals we have in abundance.

South Africa remains uniquely advantaged despite the noisy environment: endowed with magnificent qualities and diverse mineral resources, supported by a maturing public-private problem-solving partnership, a functioning constitutional democracy, advanced financial and capital markets and a youthful population, it is positioned to supply the minerals to power global energy and technology transitions from revitalised exploration and mine development.

The mining sector stands at a pivotal moment. Long recognised as a bedrock of the economy, it faces intense pressures and unprecedented opportunities in the local and international transition to a low-carbon future, rich with rapid technology advances requiring the minerals we have in abundance, Mthenzane noted.

Decisions made now by the government, industry leaders, investors and social partners will determine whether South Africa leverages this once-in-a-generation moment to rebuild economic momentum, or risks missing this opportunity to transform the lives and restore the dignity of our citizens.

The mining sector continues to demonstrate its resilience and centrality to South Africa's economic engine. Estimates based on data for the first three quarters of 2025 suggest that mining contributed R439-bn to nominal GDP, representing 5.8% of economic activity, and paid more than R100-billion in taxes, royalties and VAT. Mineral exports accounted for roughly 52% of merchandise export earnings, undersco...