South Africa

One of the most resource-rich regions on the planet

Overview

South Africa covers an area of some 1,221,037 km2, with a population of approximately 59 million people and is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans and to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. South Africa has three capital cities: executive Pretoria, judicial Bloemfontein and legislative Cape Town. The largest city is Johannesburg with a population with 5.8 million people.

South Africa has a modern and well-developed transport infrastructure. The air and rail networks are the largest on the continent, and the roads in good condition. The country’s ports provide a natural stopover for shipping to and from Europe, the Americas, Asia, Australasia and both coasts of Africa
There is a wealth of natural resources, including gold, coal, platinum, iron ore, manganese, nickel, uranium and chromium. Historically, South Africa is the number one gold producer in the world by supplying nearly 1.7 billion oz of gold since 1871 with the majority of the production coming from the Witwatersrand basin. The basin remains one of the largest gold reserves in the world.

South Africa's peaceful and stable transition to democracy, was universally recognised as one of the major achievements of the 20th Century. The country remains the most sophisticated and developed economy in Africa and has an open for business attitude for natural resources exploration, development and mining.

Investment

With its wealth of minerals, South Africa is one of the most resource-rich regions on the planet. Add to this its sophisticated financial sector and strong business focus, its skilled people and strategic location, and you have a recipe for investment success.

Why Invest?

    • Well-established infrastructure
      South Africa has a well-established infrastructure network that is geared towards the extractive industry and supports the beneficiation of minerals extracted in South Africa.

 

    • Key inputs for emerging technologies
      According to the Department of Mineral Resources, SA holds more than 90% of global platinum group metals (PGMs) reserves and 75% of global supply. PGMs play an important role in the manufacturing of emerging fuel cell technology.

 

  • Diverse, world-class mineral portfolio
    South Africa holds some of the world’s largest reserves of precious metals, refractory metals, base metals and energy minerals. These diverse mineral reserves portfolio supports the sector’s long-term growth outlook.

FURTHER REFERENCE

More detailed information on South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Government can be accessed through their Websites.