COLLABORATION WITH YOUNG MINING PROFESSIONALS TO SET THE TONE FOR SUSTAINABLE AFRICAN MINING FUTURE
AFRICAN BUZZ •
COLLABORATION WITH YOUNG MINING PROFESSIONALS TO SET THE TONE FOR SUSTAINABLE AFRICAN MINING FUTURE
Challenge young professionals to envisage the mine of the future and qualities of leadership that will make a break with the past.
By Minerals Council South Africa
A critical challenge for the global mining industry is attracting young people into it for long-term careers, overcoming the perception that it is old-fashioned, dangerous, dirty and destructive.
While the perception in South Africa may be that mining entails working long, gruelling hours in narrow workspaces deep beneath the earth, the industry is rapidly evolving and modernising, offering a plethora of jobs that cover a vast array of disciplines.
Certainly, there remains the traditional mining that has changed relatively little in decades, but with the focus on Environment, Social and Governance( ESG) standards that mining must uphold to attract and retain investment, as well as the intense focus on mine-host communities, and the relentless drive for technological innovation to improve health and safety, minimise the operational footprint, and to boost productivity, the scope for young people to enter a sustainable industry is growing.
This is the message the Minerals Council South Africa – whose members represent 90 % of the country’ s annual mined production by value – the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, and the University of the Witwatersrand will deliver on 12 February 2026 at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
The morning session, which is free to attend, will be highly interactive with its audience, challenging young professionals to envisage the mine of the future and qualities of leadership that will make a break with the past. The agenda has been developed by young professionals to encourage fresh thinking and approaches to age-old problems in the industry.
Mark Cutifani, the chair of Brazilian mining giant Vale, and former CEO of Anglo American and AngloGold Ashanti, recently spoke of a“ grey tsunami” as the older people in the industry age out and making young people aware of the importance of mining to supply the metals and minerals that are essential for the transition to a low-carbon future.
Without mining there would be no industry, no commerce, no technology, no infrastructure or housing. Society is utterly dependent on what is mined. It is beholden to young people coming into the industry to ensure that mining does not hurt or kill its employees, damage communities and environments or leave lasting scars and legacies which have fuelled the negative perceptions young people have about it.
The Minerals Council launched the second iteration of # MiningMatters( www. mineralscouncil. org. za) in November 2025, demonstrating through a fact-based campaign that mining is relevant and important to the South African economy, employees, communities and broader society.
The enormous multipliers inherent in mining must be leveraged to truly realise the fullest possible value from mineral endowments.
In South Africa, for example, 473 484 employees earned wages of R195-billion in 2024. This meant supporting and sustaining the lives and livelihoods of nearly 1.9 million people, assuming an average household of four people. Considering just the direct suppliers of goods and services to the mining industry, more than 400 000 additional people are employed. Combined with mining jobs, this delivered a total direct formal employment impact of about 874 000, supporting at least 3.5 million people. Mining pays billions of rands each year into community projects and upliftment as well as education of its employees.
The South African mining industry paid wages well above the national average for similar level jobs. Its health and safety performances have shown significant breaks with the past.
It is easy to stand on the sidelines and shun the mining industry for its legacy and not recognise the substantial changes it has made. A far bigger challenge for young people is to enter mining, understand its challenges and develop innovative ways that have not been thought of or implemented before to make it an industry that they can be proud of, and one that will continue to deliver the minerals and metals society needs in a sustainable, environmentally acceptable manner that has the support of society.
The enormous multipliers inherent in mining must be leveraged to truly realise the fullest possible value from mineral endowments.
www. africanmining. co. za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • January 2026 • 5