Grounded Strength: Real Achievements in a Challenging Year for South African Mining

South African mining in 2025 has navigated persistent domestic and global headwinds with a level of operational resilience that speaks to the sector’s strategic importance.

Faced with subdued macro-growth, infrastructure constraints, and commodity price volatility, the industry has delivered concrete outcomes rather than aspirational benchmarks.

In the second quarter of 2025, mining expanded by approximately 3.7% quarter-on-quarter, outperforming other sectors and contributing positively to national GDP growth.

This momentum continued into the third quarter, with growth of around 2.3%, reinforcing the sector’s stabilising role within the broader economy at a time when overall growth remained modest.

Rather than signalling a full recovery, these results reflected something more pragmatic: when conditions allow for operational continuity, the sector continues to respond with discipline and scale.

2025 also saw one of the most noteworthy developments in recent gold-mining history: the official opening of Qala Shallows, South Africa’s first new underground gold mine in approximately 15 years. Developed by West Wits Mining near the historic Witwatersrand Basin, the project is expected to deliver sustained production of roughly 70,000 ounces per year and generate more than 1,000 direct jobs.

While legacy operations have faced cost pressures and workforce adjustments, projects such as Qala Shallows represent renewed investor confidence and tangible community-level economic impact. In parallel, sustained strength in global gold prices during the year provided a degree of financial stability for domestic producers, helping to offset rising costs and support continued contribution to export earnings and fiscal revenue.

Beyond individual projects, several broader developments in 2025 pointed to incremental but important progress across the sector.

Industry engagement with government and Eskom around electricity pricing for energy-intensive producers, particularly in ferrochrome, reflected a more pragmatic approach to preserving capacity and employment in strategically important subsectors. While structural constraints remain, these interventions signalled a growing recognition of competitiveness risks and the need for practical solutions.

At the same time, global momentum around critical minerals reinforced South Africa’s long-term relevance in energy-transition supply chains. Domestically, continued policy development around PGMs, manganese, chromium and related minerals aligned the sector more closely with evolving international demand — a shift that remains gradual, but directionally consistent.

Operationally, mining companies continued to prioritise internal efficiency. Investment in digital tools, automation and data-driven systems focused less on transformation headlines and more on reliability, safety and sustainability, particularly in deep-level and high-risk environments.

Measured against its challenges, the mining sector’s performance in 2025 stands as a reminder of its enduring role in South Africa’s economy. Progress has been incremental rather than dramatic, but it has been meaningful — supporting growth when it was needed most and laying careful groundwork for what comes next.

As we reflect on the resilience shown by the industry this year, we want to extend a sincere thank you for your support throughout 2025. We wish you a safe and happy holiday season and the best of luck for the year ahead. Please note that our offices will close on Friday, 19 December and we will reopen on Tuesday, 6 January 2026. We look forward to connecting with you again soon, and you can look out for our next industry article on Friday, 9 January.