Mining in South Africa

01 · What it digs

Share of the world's output

South Africa mined 45% of the world's chromium in 2025, ranking #1. Across the 34 minerals we track it holds a share of at least 0.5% in 11.

1. Chromium45%#1
2. Manganese38%#1
3. Platinum group metals37%#2
4. Zirconium (zircon)22%#2
5. Titanium minerals14%#3
6. Vanadium4.5%#4
7. Fluorspar4.1%#4
8. Gold2.7%#12
9. Iron ore2.6%#7
10. Phosphate rock0.9%#15

USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, mine stage, latest year per mineral. Columns on the globe: every producer of chromium.

02 · Mining in the economy

What the ground is worth

Mineral rents came to 3.8% of South Africa's GDP in 2021, higher than 86% of the countries the World Bank reports; ores and metals made up 30% of its merchandise exports in 2025. GDP was $427bn in 2025.

World Bank WDI: mineral rents (NY.GDP.MINR.RT.ZS) and ores and metals exports (TX.VAL.MMTL.ZS.UN). The globe shades every country by mineral rents.

04 · Where it goes

Follow the exports

Its largest mineral export line in the trade data is chromium: $10.8bn in 2024, led by China ($4.7bn), Mozambique ($1.9bn), China ($1.4bn).

• Chromium → China ore$4.7bn
• Chromium → Mozambique ore$1.9bn
• Gold → China refined$8.9bn
• Gold → Germany ore$0.6bn
• Platinum group metals → China refined$2.1bn
• Platinum group metals → Japan refined$1.2bn
• Iron ore → China ore$3.4bn

CEPII BACI bilateral trade, by value; arcs run from South Africa to the buyer.

05 · Jurisdiction

How it governs

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators put South Africa at +0.04 on rule of law in 2025, higher than 54% of countries. These are perception-based estimates on a scale from −2.5 to +2.5; they describe the operating environment, not any company.

• Rule of law+0.04above 54% of countries
• Political stability-0.38above 32% of countries
• Regulatory quality-0.07above 51% of countries
• Control of corruption-0.13above 52% of countries

World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators. The globe shades every country by rule of law.

06 · Mines and projects

Where the work is

40 mines in South Africa have output figures in open mine databases; the largest by reported output are below. Listed companies hold 39 projects here, shown as dots.

• SishenIron ore · 25,353,300 t (2020)
• KhumaniIron ore · Assmang Proprietary Ltd. · 14,145,000 t (2019)
• KolomelaIron ore · 11,667,500 t (2020)
• BeeshoekIron ore · Assmang Proprietary Ltd. · 3,641,000 t (2019)
• Black RockManganese · Assmang Proprietary Ltd. · 3,409,000 t (2019)
• DwarsrivierChromium · 2,040,000 t (2017)