The Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe’s signals regarding exploration funding and the relaxation of regulatory hurdles in the form of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) requirements for prospectors suggest a looming turning point for the sector.
If the industry successfully pivots away from the legacy 'pit-to-port' model toward genuine downstream beneficiation, South Africa won’t have to keep harking back to the commodities boom of 2022 as a dream scenario.
If these changes are implemented and begin to manifest, we are looking at the potential industrialisation of the entire mining value chain.
However, as the industry prepares to attract a massive influx of new people to meet this demand, we must ensure that our human priorities remain non-negotiable.
Mantashe’s speech has been a topic of conversation this whole week at the Mining Indaba, but another element shouldn’t be seen as less important: in 2025, South African mining reached a record low of 41 fatalities.
It should, however, be zero. As we strive to get that number where it should be, we can't afford to lose steam.
While a financial win is sorely needed to stabilise the national balance sheet, it cannot come at the expense of those hard-won gains in safety and the worker experience — the cost is, after all, measured in lives.
The long-term viability of this sector depends on our ability to scale up without losing sight of the people who underpin its success.
