South African mining employs many and may only have decades left, report warns

By GERALD IMRAY
Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s overall mining profits slipped by more than $5 billion in the last financial year. A new report says the country’s once-dominant gold production industry might have less than 30 years of viability without renewed investment. The report released this week by auditing firm PwC also estimated that South Africa’s iron ore mining industry may only last 13 more years without further commitment from companies to find and extract new deposits. The report pointed to global drops in some commodity prices following the COVID-19 pandemic as contributing to the reduced profits. But so did South Africa’s challenges of currency fluctuations, high inflation, blackouts and logistical problems in exporting minerals because of deteriorating infrastructure.