SOUTH African mines minister Gwede Mantashe rejected a business proposal offering the United States access to Africa’s critical minerals, citing concerns that Sibanye Stillwater was advancing its own interests over broader industry needs, said Bloomberg News on Wednesday.
The plan, presented by business leaders including Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman and board member Rick Menell before President Cyril Ramaphosa’s May meeting with Donald Trump, proposed South Africa as a springboard for US mineral access across Africa, said the newswire.
Mantashe objected because his department and the Minerals Council South Africa weren’t consulted during the proposal’s development. He particularly criticized wording suggesting “make minerals great again,” calling it inappropriate language for South African policy.
“There can be nothing about mining without” ministry and industry input, Mantashe told Bloomberg News, explaining his refusal to advocate the proposal to Ramaphosa.
The dispute reflects ongoing tensions between government and private sector over mining strategy. Industry representatives frequently complain about regulatory delays and policy uncertainty.
Froneman defended the proposal as aimed at improving frosty US-South Africa relations while harnessing industry expertise. He disputed suggestions of self-interest, arguing government routinely excludes stakeholders from policy development.
A day before the Trump-Ramaphosa meeting, Mantashe released South Africa’s official critical minerals strategy focusing on domestic needs. The strategy identified coal, chrome, iron ore, manganese and platinum as critical minerals, excluding copper, cobalt and lithium abundant elsewhere in Africa but scarce in South Africa.
Said Froneman: “Both our foreign and local mining industry policies and the truculent manner of the minister make South Africa a destination of little interest to foreign mining capital investment, especially from the US.
South Africa-focused critical minerals strategies as proposed by minister Mantashe are unlikely to deliver any value.”
