Copper will decide SA's digital future

A jobs boom can be created - but only if the country can fix its electricity grid and meet the demand for local beneficiation of copper

- Nkateko Joseph Mabasa

South Africa's digital economy is being undermined by electricity instability and the shortage of local beneficiation of copper, which is an essential mineral in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) — from data centres, electricity cables and battery storage.

The department of mineral and petroleum resources said South Africa consumed 47 million kilogrammes of copper in 2024, with 40 million kg (84%) imported from Asia, 4.4 million kg from Europe and 2.8 million kg from Africa.

Much of the country's own output, including deposits in Okiep in the Northern Cape, is exported unprocessed.

Local copper production has fluctuated over the years, with mines in the Northern Cape producing negligible output. Most of the copper in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is exported from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

With the mineral being "a critical enabler" of South Africa's digital transition, investing in local copper value addition would strengthen the country's position in the global digital economy, generate skilled jobs and ensure that its mineral wealth supports inclusive, technology-enabled growth, the department said in response to the Mail & Guardian's questions.

"Copper is part of the minerals considered strategic, and as a result, promotion of its beneficiation is a priority," it said.

The department said that it plans to develop regional beneficiation hubs for copper and cobalt in the SADC region as part of the battery manufacturing regional value chain.

The country risks being left behind unless it seizes the digital economy through innovative copper production models, warned Hlengiwe Mtetwa, a delegate on digital Innovation, education and the future of work at Y20, the official youth engagement group of the G20.