Cabinet approves critical minerals strategy

South Africa has identified platinum, manganese, iron ore, coal and chrome as the critical minerals key to economic development, creating jobs, driving industrialisation and boosting national security, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has said.

- Nkateko Joseph Mabasa

Mantashe said on Tuesday that the cabinet had approved both the country’s critical minerals strategy and the Mineral Resources Development Bill, two documents key to ensuring policy and regulatory certainty in the sector as well as maximising the country’s potential in the global market for minerals.

He said the list of critical minerals would be constantly reviewed and updated in line with underlying market conditions, exploration, technological advancement, substitutability, recycling and geopolitics.

“The strategy does not view critical minerals in isolation; instead, they are treated as part of a larger ecosystem that drives essential technologies such as electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells, wind turbines, battery storage systems, microelectronics and advanced manufacturing,” Mantashe added.

The strategy identifies six pillars for the development and beneficiation of critical minerals close to the point of production.