SOUTH Africa has recovered its competitiveness as a mining destination through collaboration between government and the private sector, said Bloomberg News citing the comments of Patrice Motsepe, the billionaire investor behind African Rainbow Minerals.
A persistent decline in exploration spending remained a concern, however.
Motsepe, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Nairobi, said the South African administration, led by president Cyril Ramaphosa, had worked effectively with business groupings including Business for South Africa in addressing infrastructure weaknesses. The end of load-shedding and improvements in freight logistics had positioned the country to capitalise on stronger commodity prices, he said.
“Part of what should take place in those partnerships is for the CEOs of the mining industry to keep telling the government what are the changes, the improvements and the areas that will ensure that South Africa is a globally competitive destination,” Motsepe was quoted as saying.
Johannesburg’s industrial metals and mining index has risen 30% this year, against a 2.4% gain in the broader FTSE/JSE All Share Index, the newswire said.
Despite the improved operating environment, exploration investment fell for a seventh consecutive year in 2025, declining 5.3% to R738m in constant 2015 prices, according to Statistics South Africa. Prospecting investment has shed more than 85% over the past three decades.
Motsepe, South Africa’s wealthiest Black individual and brother-in-law of President Ramaphosa, said his African Rainbow Minerals planned to invest several billion dollars in South African mining, without specifying a timeline. ARM holds interests in coal, iron ore and platinum group metals, and owns a 10% stake in Harmony Gold.
