The Mining of Precious Metals and Minerals in South Africa 2025

This report on mining precious metals and minerals in South Africa includes comprehensive information on gold, uranium, platinum group metals (PGM) and diamonds, including reserves, production, demand, prices, stocks and sales. There is information on notable players, developments, corporate actions, new regulations, illegal mining, and mine safety and environmental issues. The report includes profiles of 30 companies such as gold mining companies DRDGold, Harmony, Gold Fields and Pan African Resources, PGM companies like Amplats, Implats and Northam, diamond companies such as De Beers, Petra Diamonds, Trans Hex and state-owned Alexkor, and companies mining several resources such as Sibanye-Stillwater.

Introduction

• South Africa’s production of diamonds, gold and PGMs has been declining over at least the past several years.
• Exports of precious metals and minerals increased by 10% in 2024, largely due to the rising gold price.
• Challenges include increasing input costs, illegal mining and low PGM and rough diamond prices.
• Several companies are constructing or planning to construct PGM mines in the next few years, and others are reopening, or planning to reopen, gold and uranium mines in response to increasing prices.
• Planned changes to mining legislation will affect the industry.

Trends

• A few companies are constructing or planning PGM mines in the next few years.
• A number of companies are reopening, or planning to reopen, gold and uranium mines, which is cheaper and faster than exploration.
• As internal combustion engines are being phased out, demand for PGMs from the automotive industry is declining.
• Companies are increasing the use of renewable energy.
• Demand for certain metals, such as PGMs, will continue to increase due to their use in renewable energy systems and the electrification of transport systems.
• Diamond output is decreasing as mines’ reserves become depleted and no new mines enter production.
• Diamond traceability is becoming increasingly important due to sanctions against Russia and conflict diamond considerations.
• Environmental, social and governance considerations are becoming increasingly important as consumers are avoiding unethically-produced metals and minerals.
• Gold output is on a declining trend due to the increasing depth of operations, ageing infrastructure, and falling labour productivity due to high humidity and temperatures at depth.
• Input costs are rising, mostly caused by increasing electricity tariffs.
• More companies are moving to five-year wage agreements with unions to reduce the frequency of wage negotiations.
• Production of PGMs is gradually declining, largely due to the closure of shafts whose reserves have become uneconomical to extract due to lower prices and rising input costs.
• South Africa’s uranium production has been declining for the past few decades because of decreasing gold output and the ceasing of uranium production at several operations due to low prices.

Opportunities

• A few companies are re-opening closed mines and developing shallow, low-cost underground mines.
• A relatively low-cost, low-risk opportunity in retreatment of tailings storage facilities.
• The increase in gold prices over the past few years has allowed producers to continue producing from marginal shafts, and extend long-life shafts due to improved profitability.

Challenges

• A need for PGM players to develop new markets for their products, as automotive industry demand will decline.
• Diamond mining companies’ operating margins are being reduced by rising input costs and low rough diamond prices and sales due to a decline in jewellery sales.
• Gold output is declining due to the increasing depth of operations, ageing infrastructure, and falling labour productivity.
• Mining companies spend an estimated R2.5bn per year on extra security measures to combat illegal mining.
• PGM mining companies’ operating margins are being reduced by rising input costs and decreasing PGM prices.
• Pressure, especially on listed companies, to decarbonise their products.

Outlook

• The rate of decline in gold production should slow as high gold prices allow shafts to remain profitable for longer, and a few new mines are developed.
• Uranium demand is expected to exceed supply, but higher prices could lead to increased production.
• Platinum supply will decrease in 2025, as will demand.
• A number of companies are constructing or planning PGM mines in the next few years.
• De Beers expects market conditions for diamonds to be challenging in 2025 as demand for polished diamonds remains low.
• Rough diamond prices should improve slightly in the medium term.
• The diamond industry’s long-term outlook remains favourable.