from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
Western Cape Bureau
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – SOUTH Africa will next week host a high-level Joint Mining Indaba Investment Forum aimed at strengthening the country’s position in global critical minerals markets and unlocking new investment across the mining and industrial value chain.
The forum, scheduled for Monday, 9 February, will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and is jointly hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR), and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS).
It will run under the theme “Building Critical Minerals Value Chains in South Africa.”
Critical minerals — including platinum group metals, manganese, lithium, rare earth elements and vanadium — are essential inputs for modern technologies such as renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, batteries, semiconductors, defence applications and digital infrastructure.
As global demand accelerates, countries that can secure, process and beneficiate these resources stand to gain significant economic and strategic advantages.
South Africa holds some of the world’s largest reserves of several critical minerals, placing it in a strong position to benefit from the global energy transition.
However, maximising this opportunity requires more than extraction.
Enabling South Africa’s Critical Minerals Strategy is key to shifting the economy toward higher-value activities such as local processing, manufacturing and technology development.
According to the dtic’s Director of Media Relations, Bongani Lukhele, the forum will showcase South Africa’s critical minerals investment proposition and highlight bankable, investor-ready projects spanning exploration, mining, processing, refining and manufacturing.
Lukhele said it will also provide a platform for direct engagement between government and investors, strengthening public-private collaboration.
A high-level panel of ministers and private-sector leaders will lead discussions on advancing industrialisation, beneficiation and sustainable value-chain development.
These efforts are expected to support the creation of skilled and semi-skilled jobs, including roles in mining engineering, metallurgy, manufacturing, logistics, environmental management, research and development, and clean-energy technologies.
By promoting local value addition, South Africa aims to increase export revenues, reduce reliance on raw material exports, and build resilient supply chains that support inclusive economic growth.
The forum forms part of the broader 2026 Investing in African Mining Indaba, the world’s largest mining investment conference, which brings together governments, global mining companies, financiers, technology firms and development institutions.
Together, these engagements seek to position South Africa not only as a source of critical minerals, but as a globally competitive value-adding hub, capable of supporting long-term industrial growth and sustainable development.
– CAJ News