<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s investment in mineral exploration has dropped for a seventh consecutive year, despite the government\u2019s ambitions to arrest the decline.<\/p>\n
While the country is Africa\u2019s largest exporter of mineral products, companies are spending ever smaller amounts on prospecting to identify and define the mines of the future.<\/p>\n
Listen\/read: Seabed energy finds could unlock 50 000 South African jobs<\/p>\n
Nations like Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo attract a greater share of the exploration capital that is allocated to the continent.<\/p>\n
Exploration spending in South Africa fell 5.3% to R738 million ($43.9 million) in 2025, according to\u00a0data\u00a0published this week by the government\u2019s statistics agency, using 2015 constant prices.<\/p>\n
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Investment in prospecting has slumped more than 85% in the past three decades, the data shows.<\/p>\n
Minerals Council South Africa \u2013 the mining sector\u2019s main lobby group \u2013 last month\u00a0described\u00a0exploration as the industry\u2019s \u201clifeblood\u201d.<\/p>\n
Dwindling investment \u201cis deeply troubling for our sector and it needs urgent attention\u201d, said\u00a0the organisation whose members include Valterra Platinum, Harmony Gold and Exxaro Resources.<\/p>\n
An underdeveloped junior mining and exploration industry is leading to the \u201ceffective collapse of the sector\u2019s project pipeline\u201d,\u00a0according to\u00a0a recent paper from the Cape Town-based Economic Research Southern Africa.<\/p>\n
Read\/listen:<\/p>\n
Exploration lag tests Africa\u2019s critical minerals ambitions<\/p>\n
The government could revitalise prospecting by offering tax rebates, establishing a transparent database of available mining rights, and increasing funding for geological mapping, it said.<\/p>\n
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The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources\u00a0published\u00a0a new strategy last year, which prioritises restoring South Africa\u2019s share of global exploration spending to 5%, up from current levels below 1%.<\/p>\n
Despite gloom around the mining industry\u2019s prospects in South Africa, the country remains a leading producer of multiple commodities including coal, gold, iron ore, manganese, chrome and platinum-group metals.<\/p>\n
Total mineral sales jumped 7.3% last year to R861 billion.<\/p>\n
\u00a9\u00a02026\u00a0Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#mining #exploration #hits #sevenyear<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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