By Thebe Mabanga
South Africa aims to attract investments that will drive industrialisation. This will include minerals beneficiation, which will ensure that South Africa produces high value goods, rather than export raw minerals.
This was outlined by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau, who was speaking at an Investment Forum on the critical minerals value chain during the 32nd Investing in African Mining Indaba, currently under way in Cape Town.
“The focus is now on ensuring that investments from other countries are linked to industrialisation in South Africa. The objective is to review and negotiate trade partnerships to prevent minerals from being exported without delivering meaningful benefits to the country,” Tau said.
The session was hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) in partnership with the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
It was attended by investors and private sector players involved in critical minerals, including battery manufacturers, clean and alternative energy producers, and associated financiers.
Tau used the session to highlight the importance of Special Economic Zones in advancing industrialisation, noting that efforts are focused on attracting targeted investors to utilise these zones as platforms for industrial development.
Last Friday, Tau led the signing of the Framework Agreement on Economic Partnership for Shared Prosperity with China.
The partnership focuses on trade cooperation, investment cooperation, new energy cooperation and multilateral cooperation.
Separately, South Africa last week became the 54th member and shareholder of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), which pledged an initial investment package of $8 billion.
Part of this funding will be directed towards supporting mineral beneficiation through industrial parks, SEZs, and the construction and revival of smelters and furnaces.
“The dtic is tasked with implementing measures to ensure genuine beneficiation. The emphasis is on moving beyond the extraction and export of minerals to adding value through local processing, close to the source, for broader societal benefit,” Tau said.
Measures to support value addition include repositioning trade agreements, particularly with developed countries, reviewing how South Africa partners with other nations, and providing targeted fiscal and supply-chain support to local industries.
Mineral beneficiation is an energy-, water-, technology- and capital-intensive process, and South Africa will need to address challenges related to electricity and water supply, skills availability and government financial support to attract long-term investment.
Tau also highlighted the importance of critical minerals in advancing e-mobility and digitisation, outlining policy strategies linked to the transition of the automotive sector.
These strategies align with South Africa’s broader objectives of decarbonisation, digitisation and diversification.
Critical minerals are materials considered essential for the transition to clean energy and are used across sectors such as defence, aerospace, electronics and automotive manufacturing.
In addition to platinum group metals, nickel and copper, they include lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements.
Tau emphasised that policy stability under the Critical Minerals Strategy and the G20 Framework remains vital to the economy.
“South Africa has adopted a Critical Minerals Strategy and Implementation Plan that positions the country as a reliable supplier and value-adding hub for minerals essential to the global energy transition, digitalisation and advanced manufacturing. This is further reinforced by the adoption of the G20 Critical Minerals Framework at the G20 Leaders’ Summit,” he said.
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