The hollowing out of SA’s mining industry

The latest edition of Free Facts published by the Institute of Race Relations, titled “The hollowing out of the mining industry”, tracks the wasting away of a once heavyweight industry in world mining which is today tens of thousands of jobs and billions of rands in investment lighter after shedding many of the investors and companies that once operated in South Africa.

The June edition of Free Facts – a fact sheet that captures key data related to various socio-economic indicators – draws attention to worrying data about the mining sector.

It begins by setting out the scale of companies delisting from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange between 1994 – when there were 118 mining companies on the JSE – and 2012, when the number had fallen to 69. 

Mining exploration expenditure – the sum companies spend on searching for mineral deposits and evaluating their value before starting the process of mining – fell from a towering R6.3bn in 2006 to a mere R0.7bn in 2025. Far more companies were eager to invest in exploration in the past than they are today. 

This is not for a lack of mineral resources, as South Africa’s share of global reserves remains quite high and ripe for mining opportunities. According to 2024 statistics from the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) and the US Geological Survey (USGS), South Africa’s deposits of platinum group metals are ranked, as a share of global reserves, as the largest, at 88%, manganese at 80%, chromite at 72%, and gold at 13%.  

Says Makone Maja, IRR strategic engagements manager: “The contrast between South Africa’s mineral endowment and decline in exploration expenditure is particularly worrying as it denotes that investors have lowered their expectations for mining opportunities in the country. With this comes the stagnation of an industry which could be creating employment opportunities for many.” 

Data compiled by the Centre for Risk Analysis presents the most damning statistic of all: between 2001 and 2024, the industry lost 47,000 jobs. 

Says Maja: “Behind every single job loss is a family and a community that once had livelihoods and have since lost them.” 

She continues: “Poor policy choices such as the nationalisation of mining rights, the regulatory maze of licensing, race-based legislation and the discretion granted to the mining minister, engender uncertainty, cause delays and create inefficiencies. As the job losses show, it is South Africans who bear the brunt of these failings.” 

The IRR has written an alternative mining policy, the Growth and Employment in Mining Bill, to reverse these trends by drawing back investors, incentivising exploration and increasing job creation ultimately to unlock this growth-driving industry. 

Find out more about the Bill here, and support the Fairness, Growth and Jobs in Mining petition here. 

Media contact: Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Tel: 079 418 6676 Email: makone@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za