AFRICA MUST COLLABORATE TO UNLOCK ITS POTENTIAL
RESIDENTS RECEIVE WATER AND SANITATION FACILITIES
AFRICAN BUZZ •
AFRICA MUST COLLABORATE TO UNLOCK ITS POTENTIAL
However, the historical model where Africa serves merely as the source of minerals for other countries cannot be repeated. When considering the enormous infrastructure and power requirements of SADC, it makes no sense to export minerals to other regions to be turned into the materials needed to build connected, thriving societies.
Regional markets will be much larger than individual country markets and attract the required capital to invest because the upside and return on investment are a sufficiently large motivation to invest.
By Minerals Council South Africa
Collaboration will unlock the benefits of the enormous mineral wealth in the 16-nation Southern African Development Community region, tapping into the rich seam of skills, appetite for meaningful employment and latent economic potential.
The SADC bloc stretches from South Africa on the southern tip of our continent to the Democratic Republic of Congo, spanning from Angola and Namibia in the west, across the continent to Mozambique and Tanzania and the island of Madagascar.
The scope of minerals that are currently in production to the untapped potential is inherent in an area measuring 10 million square kilometres, compared to that of the US of about 9.8 million square kilometres and the EU of 4.2 million square kilometres.
For the 400 million people living in SADC, the mineral wealth has not translated in any substantial or meaningful way to improve living standards or economies of the region compared to the powerful industrial complexes in the US and EU.
South Africa has arguably used its mineral endowment over its more than 130 years of mining history to develop a sophisticated economy and industrial hub on the continent, but the human and environmental cost has been high. In the modern mining environment, financiers and investors will simply not put money into an industry that does not uphold environmental, social and governance standards.
The SADC region has the critical capabilities and skills, as well as the critical minerals, which, through collaboration to develop carefully considered economic plans, will unlock our collective future. SADC, with its own definition of critical minerals based on clear development visions, economic growth and regional linkages, must seize this moment. # MiningMatters and it does and will continue to change and improve lives and livelihoods.
For the 400 million people living in SADC, the mineral wealth has not translated in any substantial or meaningful way to improve living standards, economies of the region compared to the powerful industrial complexes in the US and EU.
RESIDENTS RECEIVE WATER AND SANITATION FACILITIES
The region has been disrupted by civil wars, coups, social unrest, poor infrastructure and electricity supplies, inconsistent fiscal regimes and sub-optimal government regulations that deter rather than encourage and sustain the types of investments needed for exploration and long-term mining projects and operations.
There is no argument that the SADC region has the minerals, critical or not, that the continent needs to collectively grow economic presence and to change citizens’ lives for the better. Africa must harness this opportunity to not only meet its own needs but also those of other countries, which have defined critical minerals in terms of their economies and other strategic imperatives.
The potential for vast hydropower, solar and wind-generated electricity inherent in SADC can power mining, processing and manufacturing to supply the continent and world with low-carbon materials.
Supplied by Thungela Resources Limited
Thungela Resources delivers a new borehole and JoJo tanks for the residents of the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality.
The Steve Tshwete Local Municipality community received critical water and sanitation facilities from Thungela’ s Goedehoop Colliery.
The company handed over a new borehole and JoJo tanks as part of the mine’ s Social and Labour Plan( SLP) commitments, as well as ablution units to replace unsafe pit latrines as part of their Corporate Social Investment( CSI) projects.
www. africanmining. co. za African Mining Publication African Mining African Mining • March 2026 • 5