(3 minutes read)
- President Cyril Rampaphosa has identified mining as one of the drivers of South African economy in the recovery of post-pandemic blues
South Africa is trying to woe investors in its mining sector, which is estimated to be worth US$ 2.5 trillion to create more job opportunities and to earn more foreign exchange. It has laid out a plan for attracting two-fold increase in investments in the mining sector by 2030. There are several reasons which contributed to these decisions, such as the present commodity boom, pandemic and the recent Russian -Ukraine conflict, which are driving c-commodity users to find alternative sources for importing such goods.
Importantly, South Africa has identified mining as a key sector in South Africa’s post-pandemic recovery plan. The focus is more on coal, gold, platinum, and diamond. Also, miners are urged to explore more of chrome, vanadium, and titanium. In the last ten years or so, between 2010 and 2018, the capital investment in the sector has nose -dived by 45 percent or so. The output of the industry has lost by 10 per cent or so and the manpower employed has come down substantially and some analysts claim the loss of employment was to the extent of 50,000 or so.
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There are many reasons for sluggish pace for growth in the industry. Lack of port infrastructure and unreliable power supply, for the highly power intensive industry are pointed out as the main reasons for the decline of the industry, which was one of the top most foreign exchange earners and employers of the country. Also, the investment for modernization and innovation took a back seat in the last ten years.
