The Republic of South Africa (South Africa) remained one of the world’s top mining and mineral-processing countries. In 2024, South Africa was the world’s leading producer of andalusite, chromium, manganese, platinum, and vermiculite; the 2d-ranked producer of palladium, rutile, and zircon; the 3d-ranked producer of ilmenite and vanadium; the 4th-ranked producer of garnet (industrial) and fluorspar; the 5th-ranked producer of diamond (industrial), and talc and pyrophyllite; the 6th-ranked producer of diamond (gemstones); the 8th-ranked producer of iron ore (Fe content); and the 12th-ranked producer of gold. South Africa’s estimated share of world mined platinum production by volume amounted to 70%; chromium, 46%; manganese, 40%; mined palladium, 38%; vermiculite, 35%; rutile and zircon, 22% each; ilmenite, 14%; diamond (industrial), 8%; vanadium, 7%; garnet (industrial) and talc, about 5% each; fluorspar, 4%; and diamond (gemstone), gold, and iron ore (Fe content), 3% each. South Africa also played a globally significant role in the production of ferromanganese, iridium, perlite, phosphate rock, rhodium, ruthenium, silicon, and tellurium. Other mineral commodities produced included aluminum, clay, cobalt, copper, feldspar, ferrochromium, ferrosilicon, ferrovanadium, gypsum, lead, lime, magnesite, mica, nickel, pig iron, raw steel, salt, sand and gravel for construction, selenium, silicomanganese, silver, stone, sulfur, uranium, wollastonite, and zinc. The mineral industry contributed 6.0% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 and employed about 473,000 people or 4% of the total employment in the country. South Africa’s mineral sector is regulated by the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002. Under section 100(2)(a), the Government issued the Mining Charter in 2004, later revised in 2010 and again in 2017. The mining industry was regulated by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR), which grants mining rights and issues environmental authorizations. Most of the mineral industry in South Africa was privately and foreign owned, with only a limited number of operations held by State-owned enterprises.
South Africa’s mineral sector in 2024 showed mixed results compared with that in 2023, with higher production of aluminum, chromite, cobalt, copper, nickel, phosphate rock, and platinum-group metals (PGMs), while gold, iron ore, iron and steel, lead, manganese alloys, silver, vanadium, and zinc declined. Several major projects in copper, zinc, PGMs, and titanium dioxide advanced, reflecting continued investment in the mining sector. South Africa’s exploration investment remained low in 2024, continuing a long-term decline in the mineral exploration sector. Meanwhile, the Government began addressing the issue through regulatory reforms and streamlined permitting. In August 2024, the newly created Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) assumed responsibility for mining, minerals, and petroleum following the Government reorganization formalized in Proclamation No. 179 of 2024.
China remained one of South Africa’s principal export partners in 2024, receiving major shares of chromium ore, iron ore, manganese ore, nickel ore, zinc ore, and significant volumes of gold, while Belgium, India, Japan, Mozambique, the Netherlands, Singapore, Slovakia, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States accounted for notable portions of platinum-group metals, unwrought aluminum, and other mineral exports. In 2024, South Africa was the leading source of chromium, palladium, platinum, and zirconium for the United States and also supplied several other commodities for which the United States was significantly net import reliant, including gem-quality diamond, fluorspar, manganese, titanium mineral concentrates, and vanadium.
