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South African mining

Mining Activity in South Africa

Mining activity in South Africa runs across 581 project records on the AMIQ platform, with coal, the platinum group metals and gold setting the pace. See where the hotspots are, by mineral and by project phase, and which contacts to approach.

Subscribe to filter every project by mineral, phase and location, then reach the verified contacts behind it.

The picture in numbers

Where mining activity in South Africa concentrates

South Africa is a top global producer of gold, coal, platinum, palladium, manganese, titanium and uranium, and that breadth shows up directly in the spread of live work. The AMIQ platform tracks 581 South African project records, of which 219 are operational and 88 sit in an active build pipeline running from grassroots prospect through pre-feasibility, feasibility, bankable studies and into execution. For suppliers and investors, that mix is the map of where to aim.

581SA project records tracked
219Operational projects
88Projects in the build pipeline
806Mine owners listed

Activity by mineral

Which minerals drive the most activity

Sort the 581 project records by mineral and the hotspots stand out. Coal runs ahead, the platinum group metals and gold take second and third, and industrial minerals plus diamonds round out the leaders. Each headline commodity carries a link through to its own page for a closer look.

South African project records by mineral

How many records work each mineral, ranked from busiest down. AMIQ platform figures, 2026.

Coal143
PGM97
Industrial minerals89
Diamonds46
Iron ore23
Nickel8
Copper7
Uranium7
Vanadium5
Rare earth elements4
Ilmenite4
Phosphate3
Zinc3
Fluorspar3
Lithium3
Tin2

The headline

Gold, PGM and coal dominate the activity

Three minerals carry the bulk of mining activity in South Africa. Together coal, the platinum group metals and gold account for 331 of the 581 project records, more than half of everything tracked. Anyone selling into or investing in South African mining is, first and foremost, working these three streams.

Share of project records held by the top three minerals

Coal, PGM and gold versus all other minerals combined, out of 581 records. Source: AMIQ platform, 2026.

57% top three minerals
Coal14325%
PGM9717%
Gold9116%
All other minerals25043%

Activity by phase

Mining activity in South Africa by project phase

Each project moves along a route that begins at a grassroots prospect, runs through study and execution, reaches a running operation and finally winds down to closure. Operational work dominates, yet a long tail of dormant, earlier-phase and recently completed projects shows where the next wave of activity is forming.

South African project records by phase

Records sitting at each stage. Here L/R marks projects under liquidation or restructuring. AMIQ platform figures, 2026.

10Grassroots
12Prefeasibility
27Feasibility study
12Bankable study
27In execution
219Operational
169Dormant L/R
22Closed down
46Completed
35Consolidated

Target the hotspots before the spec closes

Filter all 581 South African project records by mineral, phase and location, then reach the verified contacts who approve spend.

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Targeting the hotspots

How suppliers turn activity data into deals

The activity map only pays off when it points you at the right project, at the right phase, with the right person to call. AMIQ packages project updates, contact details, mining trends, tenders and project values in one portal so you can act on each opportunity.

Find the hotspot by mineral

Start where activity concentrates. Coal, PGM and gold carry over half the records, so a targeted approach beats a scattergun one.

Catch projects at the right phase

The 88 projects in feasibility, bankable and execution phases are where new specifications open. Reach them before the build locks in.

Reach the verified contact

Each project carries guaranteed contact information, so you approach the named decision-maker rather than a switchboard.

The wider picture

Mining activity in South Africa in context

The scale of mining activity in South Africa is hard to overstate. The overall industry was valued at R452.67 billion (USD 33.17 billion) in 2017, made up roughly 60 percent of the country's exports by value, and contributes around 8 percent of national GDP. That economic weight is why so many suppliers, contractors and investors orient their business around the country's projects.

AMIQ is Africa's largest online portal for mining intelligence, covering more than 2,000 projects and mines and listing 806 mine owners, each with guaranteed contact information per project. Researchers compile verified monthly reports on mineral, regional and project-phase growth across the continent, so the activity you see here is refreshed rather than frozen in time. The major South African mining houses based in Gauteng appear on the platform, among them Anglo American and AngloGold Ashanti, African Rainbow Minerals, BHP Billiton, Gold Fields, Harmony Gold, Impala Platinum, Rio Tinto and Xstrata.

To go further, explore mines in South Africa, the full list of South African mines and the mining companies in South Africa behind the projects. By commodity, dig into gold mining in South Africa, platinum mining in South Africa and coal mining in South Africa.

What AMIQ gives you

From an activity hotspot to a closed deal

AMIQ helps companies target business opportunities with up-to-date project information, key contacts and project-by-location and per-mineral targeting. The four moves below turn the activity on this page into a pipeline you can work.

1 Mineral

Filter activity by mineral

Zero in on the streams that matter to you, from the coal, PGM and gold hotspots down to lithium, vanadium and rare earths.

2 Phase

Catch each project's phase

See the stage a project has reached, from grassroots through feasibility and execution to operational, and time your approach for when a specification is still open.

3 Contacts

Guaranteed owner contacts

Verified contact details for the 806 mine owners listed, refreshed by researchers and unlocked the moment you subscribe.

4 Values

Trends, tenders and values

Project values, tenders and mining trends gathered in one portal, with an alert each time a project changes stage so you can size and time the opportunity.

AMIQ provides an excellent starting point for identifying and targeting new opportunities, with brilliant filters that allow us to understand project development with end users and consulting engineers.

See where the activity is, and who to call

One subscription pulls the minerals, phases and verified contacts for all 581 South African project records into a single view.

Common questions

Mining activity in South Africa: questions answered

How much mining activity is there in South Africa?

The AMIQ platform tracks 581 South African project records. Of these, 219 are operational and 88 sit in an active build pipeline running from grassroots prospect through pre-feasibility, feasibility and bankable studies into execution, with the remainder dormant, completed, consolidated or closed.

Which minerals see the most mining activity in South Africa?

Coal sits out front on 143 records. The platinum group metals follow on 97, gold on 91, then industrial minerals on 89 and diamonds on 46. Iron ore, manganese, chrome, nickel, copper, uranium and a long tail of others fill out the rest. South Africa ranks among the world's top producers of gold, coal, platinum, palladium, manganese, titanium and uranium.

What phases is South African mining activity spread across?

Operational projects dominate at 219, followed by 169 dormant projects in liquidation or restructuring. Beyond that there are 46 completed, 35 consolidated, 27 in feasibility, 27 in execution, 22 closed, 12 bankable, 12 pre-feasibility and 10 grassroots projects.

How big is the South African mining industry overall?

Mining in South Africa was valued at R452.67 billion (USD 33.17 billion) in 2017, accounted for roughly 60 percent of the country's exports by value, and contributes around 8 percent of national GDP. That weight is why suppliers and investors track activity so closely.

How can suppliers target South African mining hotspots?

Use the AMIQ platform. It lets you filter the 581 project records by mineral, phase and location, then reach the verified contacts behind each one. Because 806 mine owners are listed with guaranteed contact information per project, suppliers and investors can approach the right people while a specification is still open.