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Market News

Not all doom and gloom for mining industry

The South African mining sector is facing many challenges, but regulatory certainty and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration could spell a new dawn for the industry.

While it has been the main driver of the South African economy for many decades, the mining sector is under increasing pressure from rising costs, regulatory uncertainty and waning investor confidence, but there is hope that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government will usher in a new dawn for the industry.

Another move up world rankings for Wits School of Mining Engineering

13 March 2019 – Johannesburg: The global standing of the School of Mining Engineering at Wits University has been boosted by another step up in the QS World University Rankings – to 13th place in 2019.

Last year, the school had also moved upward in these rankings, reaching the number 15 spot from its 22nd place in 2017. The latest achievement allows it to retain its position as the highest ranked school at Wits University; it is also the only mining school on the African continent to feature in the top 50 mining schools worldwide.

Global Minerals Professionals Alliance undertakes International Action on Tailings

In light of the global challenges faced around mine waste, particularly tailings, the Global Minerals Professionals Alliance (GMPA) will be undertaking ‘Global Action on Tailings’. The initiative was announced at a recent meeting of the GMPA – a collaborative partnership between leading professional organizations for minerals around the world – held in February 2019, in Denver, Colorado in conjunction with the 2019 SME Annual Conference & Expo.

2019 is a seminal year for investor confidence in South Africa’s mining sector

2019 is a seminal year for investor confidence in South Africa’s mining sector, and international investors will be closely watching a variety of important issues as they seek the clarity they will need to commit to investments in the country.

With crucial national elections due in May, a debt crisis at state electricity utility Eskom and the country’s new mining charter still pending finalisation, Hulme Scholes, a partner at law firm Malan Scholes, said the need for accountability and transparency in the fight against corruption was critical if international investors were to commit to SA and continue unlocking the country’s vast geological potential.

Other mining news

Mining Weekly | Africa

25 July 2026

The latest mining world news and project information from Africa. providing updates on the progress of future, new and existing projects. Developments in mining legislation, policies, investments and infrastructure will be highlighted
  • Mali's gold output seen staying below 60 tons through 2029, ministry plan shows
    Mali's industrial gold production is expected to remain below 60 metric tons annually through 2029, according to a mines ministry plan seen by Reuters, extending a decline that followed the introduction of a revised mining code and disputes between the state and miners. Mali, one of Africa's top gold producers, has tightened its grip on the mining sector under a 2023 mining code aimed at boosting state revenues.
  • The NUM concludes five-year wage agreement at Gold Fields’ South Deep mine
    The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the majority union at Gold Fields’s South Deep Mine, has concluded a five-year wage agreement for employees at the mine. The multiyear agreement, negotiated in collaboration with UASA, is effective from March 1, this year, to February 28, 2031.
  • Modernisation of South African mining is an ‘urgent strategic priority’
    Mining modernisation, with private and public sectors as drivers, is an urgent strategic priority for the South African economy, a study undertaken by industry leaders, researchers, government partners, and innovators from across the South African spectrum reported very forcefully this week. “We see that our competitors are investing heavily in digitisation and automation, as well as critical minerals and beneficiation.