Investor uncertainty looms over SA's mining sector despite new regulations

SOUTH Africa's mining sector remains engulfed in investor uncertainty despite the recent gazetting of the Draft Minerals Resources Development Bill of 2025.

- TAWANDA KAROMBO

The government aims to enhance mineral exploration and bolster international investment through this initiative, but experts have voiced concerns about the existing complexity and lack of clarity that may hinder progress.

South Africa, a major mining hub in the region, has identified platinum, manganese, iron ore, coal, and chrome ore as "high-critical minerals" under the new Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy.

It has also classified commodities such as gold, vanadium, palladium, rhodium, and rare earth elements as minerals with moderate to high criticality while copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel, titanium, phosphate, fluorspar, zirconium, uranium, and aluminium were identified as minerals with moderate criticality.

While the Minerals Council on Wednesday said it was in the process of reviewing the new Bill and the new Critical Minerals Strategy, South African mining experts have said there was still investor uncertainty pervading the industry.

"There's still a lot of investor uncertainty, which will only likely be cleared when the actual regulations come," independent mining policy expert, Sandra Gore, told Business Report on Thursday.