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South Africa's critical minerals strategy is not embedded in a modernised mining policy aligned with an industrial policy.
Investment incentives are thin: there are no tax holidays, royalty relief or other targeted financial measures to attract exploration and critical-mineral development.
Minerals are ranked by criticality, but there is no differentiated regime to operationalise that ranking.
Beneficiation goals are aspirational given constraints in power, logistics and port performance.
Regulatory uncertainty persists, with the May 2025 Mineral Resources Development Bill including requirements for mandatory beneficiation by producers but leaving key investment issues unresolved. An actionable implementation plan with accountability mechanisms has not been published.
ENS natural resources and environment department head Ntsiki Adonisi, ENS executive Ghana Rachel Dagadu, ENS natural resources and environment senior associate Zinzi Lawrence, ENS associate Namibia Amarachukwu Odo, and Mulenga Mundashi associate Zambia Chimwemwe Tembo-Shula state this in ENSafrica's latest ENSight, published under the banner of G20Lens.
Africa possesses a significant share of the minerals essential to the global shift towards clean energy, from platinum group metals (PGMs), cobalt and copper to lithium, but the core challenge is moving beyond extraction to develop integrated value chains, create jobs and share benefits equitably and sustainably.
Africa holds more than 30% of global critical mineral reserves. These resources can drive economic transformation through well-managed value addition, industrialisation, large-scale job creation and regional market creation, underpinned by environmental management.
If handled poorly, Africa risks repeating the past: continued export of low-value raw materials, importing high-value finished goods, exploitative outcomes and environmental degradation that exacerbates climate impacts, losing the midstream to other regions and missing the capital now flowing to bankable, policy-aligned projects.
Global industries are retooling for a low carbon economy, and Africa's geology is central to achieving that.
Commercial-scale deposits of lithium, manganese, nickel, copper and rare earth elements (REEs) position Africa as a key supplier, with the Democratic Republic of Congo dominating global cobalt supply, South Africa having significant reserves of PGMs and manganese, Guinea holding a major share of bauxite reserves, Ghana also prominent in manganese, and Namibia hosting lithium.
Internationally, policy frameworks are wanting supply chains for these minerals, an opportunity Africa can leverage to accelerate industrialisation.
Africa's mineral endowments are aligned to electrification, industrialisation, regional offtake and supplier development driven by Africa's Green Minerals Strategy, the African Mining Vision and the African Continental Free Trade Area, ENSafrica states in its release to Mining Weekly.
JURISDICTION DEFINITIONS
The analysis of South Africa's Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy, published in May 2025, is that it adopts a context-specific definition: critical minerals are those essential for overall economic development, job creation, industrial advancement and contribution to national security.
South Africa's critical minerals list, the release points out, is informed by export significance, industrial importance, economic contribution, development alignment and global demand.
The strategy identifies 21 minerals, grouped by criticality. High criticality minerals include platinum, manganese, iron-ore, coal and chrome; minerals with moderate-to-high criticality include gold, vanadium and REEs; and minerals with moderate criticality include copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel and ur...