Gwede Mantashe highlights Africa's mineral wealth at Mining Indaba 2025

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe welcomed delegates to the 31st edition of the Invest in African Mining Indaba held in Cape Town. 

The minister noted that this year’s event was convened under the theme "Future-Proofing African Mining”. 

He emphasised that the main ethos of the event was centred around the idea that a country’s wealth should be shared by all its people. 

“This gathering is precisely about having discussions about Africa’s mineral wealth and her people sharing in it,” he explained.

Mantashe said that the South African mining industry is diversifying from the gold mining era to an industry with a wide range of mineral resources. 

He was steadfast in maintaining that mining is the bedrock of SA’s economy and an attractive sector for new and greater investments.

The minister said that despite the decline in gold mining, in 2023 South Africa’s gold production reached 96 tons, thereby becoming the world’s thirteenth and Africa’s fourth largest gold producer. 

“The sector further employed over 90,000 people, making it the third largest employer after coal and the platinum group metals (PGM) sectors,” he acknowledged. 

The importance of Africa

Mantashe said that the African continent continued to hold significant reserves of industrially important minerals such as manganese, copper, coal, nickel, cobalt, titanium, vanadium, lithium, and rare earth minerals.

“With the growing demand for these minerals, Africa needs to assert its advantage and take charge of the growing demand,” he added.

“We cannot continue to debate these minerals based on the dictates of some developed nations as if we have no aspirations to accelerate Africa’s industrialisation and close the development deficit. There is no other point in time that will be more opportune for Africa to take control of its development while still pursuing our strategic partnerships with the rest of the world. We must, therefore, avoid the race to the bottom.”

Investment is key

The minister urged African leaders and investors across the continent to promote the beneficiation of these minerals close to the point of production so that the continent can stop the export of jobs and profits.

“We are, however, alive to the fact that there can be no mining or beneficiation without exploration; hence, our steadfastness to reignite exploration investment and, in so doing, turn South Africa into an exploration site,” he explained.

“Our efforts in this regard are beginning to take shape, as evidenced by the progress made since we launched the country’s exploration fund during the last mining indaba. We are buoyed by the fact that of the eight beneficiaries to receive funding from the first funding call, at least three of the projects are 100% black-female-owned, whereas all other beneficiaries are more than 50% black-owned,” he added. 

Lastly, Mantashe said that between February and March this year, a further 20 projects will receive funding to the tune of R67 million as part of the artisanal and small-scale mining fund, of which at least three projects are female owned.

IOL BUSINESS