the-south-african-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-mangaung-208925bcff5ee1a6.pdf

The report examines the South African mining industry's decline, highlighted by the Marikana shootings, and argues that structural issues—including regulatory uncertainty, failing social and labour plans, and 'narrow' BEE policies—undermine investor confidence and social stability. It proposes adopting the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, replacing Social and Labour Plans with Community Development Agreements, and reforming BEE to benefit workers and communities rather than a small elite. The author warns that the ANC's proposed 'strategic nationalisation' of minerals like platinum and coal, as suggested in the SIMS report, could further jeopardise economic growth and exacerbate social conflict.

• The South African mining industry is suffering from a significant decline in investor confidence due to structural problems, including policy uncertainty, nationalisation rhetoric, and a regulatory environment described by some as "protracted, corrupt, arbitrary, inconsistent, and a nightmare".
• The platinum sector is experiencing a 'perfect storm' where the average cash cost of production has risen by over 20% annually over ten years, while the average price of platinum group metals has only risen by 10% annually in the same period.
• Current Social and Labour Plans (SLPs) are criticized as being "formulaic and formalistic" and treated as a "paper exercise" to obtain licenses, failing to provide mechanisms to address emerging challenges as mining operations progress.
• Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) in mining is described as 'narrow' BEE, which has enriched a well-connected few rather than empowering workers and marginalized communities, thereby fueling populist support for nationalisation.
• The SIMS report rejects wholesale nationalisation but proposes 'strategic nationalisation' of specific companies and minerals—including coal, iron ore, and platinum group metals—which the author argues lacks a comprehensive economic impact assessment and could breach WTO agreements.
• The author recommends that the South African government and mining companies adopt the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights to improve risk assessment and ensure that security force deployment is "competent, appropriate and proportionate to the threat".

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (n.d.). the-south-african-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-mangaung-208925bcff5ee1a6.pdf. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-South-African-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-Mangaung.pdf

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. the-south-african-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-mangaung-208925bcff5ee1a6.pdf. n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-South-African-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-Mangaung.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=the-south-african-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-mangaung-208925bcff5ee1a6.pdf |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-South-African-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-Mangaung.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairsndthesouthafricanminingindustryontheroadtomangaung208925bcff5ee1a6pdf, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{the-south-african-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-mangaung-208925bcff5ee1a6.pdf}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/The-South-African-mining-industry-on-the-road-to-Mangaung.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }