South Africa’s investment in mineral exploration has dropped for the seventh consecutive year, with spending falling 5.3% to R738 million in 2025, according to data published by the government’s statistics agency using 2015 constant prices.
The country, which is Africa’s largest exporter of mineral products, is seeing companies spend ever smaller amounts on prospecting to identify and define the mines of the future, with nations like Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo attracting a greater share of exploration capital allocated to the continent.
Decline in Exploration Spending
Investment in prospecting has slumped more than 85% in the past three decades, the data show, with the Minerals Council South Africa, the mining sector’s main lobby group, describing exploration as the industry’s “lifeblood” and stating that dwindling investment “is deeply troubling for our sector, and it needs urgent attention.”
According to a recent paper from the Cape Town-based Economic Research Southern Africa, an underdeveloped junior mining and exploration industry is leading to the “effective collapse of the sector’s project pipeline.” The government could revitalise prospecting by offering tax rebates, establishing a transparent database of available mining rights, and increasing funding for geological mapping, it said.
Possible Solutions
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources published a new strategy last year which prioritises restoring South Africa’s share of global exploration spending to 5%, up from current levels below 1%. Some possible solutions to increase exploration spending include:
- Offering tax rebates to mining companies
- Establishing a transparent database of available mining rights
- Increasing funding for geological mapping
Despite the decline in exploration spending, the country remains a leading producer of multiple commodities, including coal, gold, iron ore, manganese, chrome, and platinum group metals, with total mineral sales jumping 7.3% last year to R861 billion, as noted by the South African Statistics Agency.
For more information on the mining industry in South Africa, visit the Minerals Council South Africa website.
