Home › Infographics › Mining in South Africa Infographic
Mining in South Africa in numbers
South Africa's mining drawn as one poster: number 1 in chromium with 45% of world output, top three for 5 minerals, mineral rents 3.8% of GDP. Scroll to draw it, then download it as SVG or PNG.
PROSPECTOR TRAILS · INFOGRAPHIC · DATA YEAR 2025 South Africa ZAF Mining country · ISO ZAF South Africa is the world's number 1 producer of chromium (45% of 2025 mine output), ranks in the top three for 5 of the 36 minerals we track, mineral rents were 3.8% of GDP in 2021. MINERAL RENTS, % OF GDP 2021 3.8% Mineral rents are what the minerals earn above the cost of producing them. World Bank WDI. ORES AND METALS IN EXPORTS 2025 30% Share of merchandise exports that are ores and metals. World Bank WDI. MINERALS IN THE WORLD TOP 3 5 Of the 36 minerals in our atlas, South Africa is among the three largest producers for 5: chromium, manganese, RULE OF LAW ESTIMATE 2025 +0.04 World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, scale −2.5 (weak) to +2.5 (strong). GDP 2025 $427 bn MINERALS PRODUCED (OF 36) 10 WORLD SHARE BY MINERAL 2025 What South Africa mines, by share of world output Chromium #1 45% 23 Mt Manganese #1 38% 7.6 Mt Platinum group metals #2 37% 70 t Zirconium (zircon) #2 22% 270 kt Titanium minerals #3 14% 1.3 Mt Vanadium #4 4.5% 5.0 kt Fluorspar #4 4.1% 410 kt Gold #12 2.7% 90 t Iron ore #8 2.5% 66 Mt Phosphate rock #15 0.9% 2.2 Mt Bar is the share of world production; number after # is the world rank. USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, mine stage where reported. GOVERNANCE 2025 World Bank governance estimates −2.5 0 +2.5 Rule of law +0.04 Political stability -0.38 Control of corruption -0.13 Regulatory quality -0.07 Estimates on a −2.5 to +2.5 scale; higher is stronger. Source: World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators. 2020–2025 South Africa: chromium mine output 0.00 t 6.2 Mt 12 Mt 19 Mt 25 Mt 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2025: 23 Mt marketable chromite ore, gross weight. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, successive editions. 2020–2025 South Africa: manganese mine output 0.00 t 2.0 Mt 4.0 Mt 6.0 Mt 8.0 Mt 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2025: 7.6 Mt Mn content. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, successive editions. ON THE MAP South Africa, 10 of our 36 minerals produced Outline map simplified from Natural Earth. TOP EXPORT FLOWS 2024 Where South Africa's mineral exports go Gold (refined) → China · HS 710812 2024 $8.9 bn Chromium (ore) → China · HS 261000 2024 $4.7 bn Iron ore (ore) → China · HS 260111 2024 $3.4 bn Platinum group metals (refined) → China · HS 711011 2024 $2.1 bn Chromium (ore) → Mozambique · HS 261000 2024 $1.9 bn Largest single exporter-to-importer flows across the HS codes we track for these minerals, by customs value. Source: CEPII BACI (HS22). POLICY Policy and operations OPERATIONS IN OUR DATA 70 operations across 16 minerals, including Amandelbult, Consolidated Murchison (Antimony Line), Hotazel (Wessels and Mamatwan), Mogalakwena, Namakwa Sands, Rustenburg. prospectortrails.com Sources: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, CEPII BACI, IEA (CC BY 4.0), World Bank, government lists. Figures rounded. PROSPECTOR TRAILS Open data, drawn in numbers Mining in South Africa infographic: mineral rents, export dependence, world share and rank by mineral, governance estimates, export flows and policy. Data year 2025.
Download the Mining in South Africa infographic
The finished poster, as a vector SVG or a 2× PNG, with every figure and its sources on it. Free to share with a credit to Prospector Trails.
Download SVG
Download PNG
Downloads are made in your browser from the drawing above; nothing is sent to a server.
The numbers
The figures on the poster, with their sources. Production shares are USGS estimates, economic indicators are World Bank data, trade values are CEPII BACI customs data.
Minerals where it is a top-three producer 5: Chromium (#1), Manganese (#1), Platinum group metals (#2), Zirconium (zircon) (#2), Titanium minerals (#3) USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 Sources
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · World Bank World Development Indicators · World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators · CEPII BACI trade database . Figures are rounded.
Read more
