South Africa and the EU should collaborate to build strategic interdependence in critical minerals

This research paper argues that South Africa and the European Union (EU) should deepen their strategic interdependence in critical minerals to navigate geopolitical uncertainties and avoid the 'blackmailing logic' of mineral-for-security deals. It highlights the complementary nature of their economies, the EU's financial commitments to South Africa's energy transition, and the need to reconcile the EU's desire for strategic autonomy with South Africa's goal of domestic value addition.

• The EU is South Africa's largest trading partner, with 2024 data showing the EU accounted for 19% of exports ($21 billion) and 23.5% of imports ($25 billion). Furthermore, the EU provided over 50% of foreign direct investment in South Africa in 2024, supporting over 2,000 companies and 500,000 jobs across the energy, finance, manufacturing, and mining sectors.
• South Africa is a critical supplier for the EU, specifically for platinum group metals. The EU relies on South Africa for 93% of its ruthenium, 92% of its iridium, 80% of its rhodium, and 71% of its platinum imports.
• At the March 2025 EU–South Africa Summit, the EU pledged $4.7 billion via the Clean Trade and Investment Partnership (part of the EU Global Gateway Initiative) to support South Africa's just energy transition, green hydrogen, and critical minerals sectors.
• The EU's Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA), adopted in May 2024, aims for strategic autonomy by 2030. Its targets include sourcing 10% of critical minerals from local extraction, 25% from recycling, 40% from local processing, and ensuring no more than 65% of any single mineral is imported from one country.
• In June 2025, the EU identifiedC identified 13 strategic projects outside its region, including the Zandkopsdrift project in South Africa managed by Frontier Rare Earths Limited, which aims to produce 17,000 tonnes of rare earth elements by 2027.
• A primary tension exists between the EU's goal of onshoring mineral supply chains and South Africa's Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy (published June 2025), which prioritizes domestic value addition and beneficiation over the export of unprocessed ores.
• Implementation of critical minerals cooperation faces several hurdles: a lack of private sector engagement, insufficient support for African value addition, poor local governance affecting ESG standard implementation in South Africa, and a lack of transparency regarding the public availability of MoUs and roadmaps.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2025). South Africa and the EU should collaborate to build strategic interdependence in critical minerals. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-and-the-eu-should-collaborate-to-build-strategic-interdependence-in-critical-minerals/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. South Africa and the EU should collaborate to build strategic interdependence in critical minerals. 2025. https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-and-the-eu-should-collaborate-to-build-strategic-interdependence-in-critical-minerals/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=South Africa and the EU should collaborate to build strategic interdependence in critical minerals |date=30 June 2025 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-and-the-eu-should-collaborate-to-build-strategic-interdependence-in-critical-minerals/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2025south, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{South Africa and the EU should collaborate to build strategic interdependence in critical minerals}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/south-africa-and-the-eu-should-collaborate-to-build-strategic-interdependence-in-critical-minerals/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }