Ramaphosa at Aggeneys: why must our minerals create industry somewhere else?

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for South Africa to stop exporting raw and semi-processed minerals and to keep more of the value they generate inside the country, using the inauguration of a Northern Cape zinc plant to argue that processing, refining and manufacturing should happen here.

Speaking at the official opening of the Vedanta Gamsberg Phase II Concentrator Plant in Aggeneys on Friday, the President said the expansion is a chance to strengthen domestic industrial capacity and to establish the province as a centre of mineral beneficiation and manufacturing.

“Why should the mineral wealth beneath our soil create more industrial opportunities elsewhere than it creates here at home?” he said. “Our ambition must be to ensure that a growing share of the value generated from our minerals remains within our economy.”

Ramaphosa said South Africa and other African countries had for too long extracted minerals for processing and manufacturing elsewhere, only to import finished products made from those same resources. “In the process, other countries have captured much of the value, the technology, the industrial capability and the employment opportunities associated with our natural resources,” he said.

He said the country must expand its refining, smelting and manufacturing capacity while supporting local suppliers, engineers, artisans, entrepreneurs and technology companies. “We must become a country that adds greater value to its mineral resources through processing, refining, manufacturing and technological innovation,” he said.

The Gamsberg Phase II expansion will double the mine’s annual ore capacity from approximately four million to eight million tonnes, and increase its annual zinc-in-concentrate production capacity to approximately 500 000 tonnes. According to the government’s account, the expansion positions Gamsberg among the major zinc-producing operations globally and provides a foundation for further industrial development.

Ramaphosa said zinc is essential for galvanising steel and has applications in construction, transport infrastructure, automotive manufacturing and emerging energy technologies. South Africa, he said, should position itself to benefit from global investment in infrastructure, industrial development and the energy transition.

The President said the Northern Cape has the potential to become one of the country’s next major centres of industrial growth, pointing to its mineral resources, renewable energy potential, land availability and position for connecting producers to export markets. He identified the Namakwa Special Economic Zone as central to that vision, with Vedanta serving as an anchor investor able to attract further investment in mineral beneficiation, manufacturing and related activity.

That development, he said, needs to be integrated with the proposed Boegoebaai Port and industrial developments, Upington’s industrial and energy initiatives and other parts of the Northern Cape Industrial Corridor. “Our vision is of a province in which mineral extraction, renewable energy, industrial production and modern logistics reinforce one another,” he said.

Ramaphosa said coordinated planning between all three spheres of government, state-owned enterprises and private investors is essential if these developments are to advance as an integrated programme. He welcomed Vedanta’s ambition to establish zinc smelting capacity in the Northern Cape, which would move the country from producing zinc concentrate towards refined zinc metal and could create additional opportunities for industrial production, local procurement and employment.

He acknowledged, however, that further beneficiation would require commercially viable electricity, reliable infrastructure and an enabling regulatory environment. “Our objective must be to create the conditions in which further beneficiation investments become viable and competitive,” he said.

The President said the Gamsberg expansion should mark the beginning of a new phase of industrial development rather than the end of the investment journey. “We want the zinc that is mined here to become the foundation of industries that manufacture here, employ here and create prosperity here,” he said.

On jobs, Ramaphosa said the benefits of mining should extend beyond mineral production and export earnings to include quality employment, skills development, local enterprise growth and improved living conditions. More than 1 500 people were employed during construction of the Phase II expansion, with between 800 and 1 000 jobs expected to be sustained during operations.

He called for greater opportunities for local communities to move into higher-skilled occupations and for local businesses to become competitive suppliers of equipment, components and specialised industrial services. He also highlighted the importance of protecting the environment and ensuring mining development did not compromise the Northern Cape’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and commended Vedanta’s community initiatives, including investments in education, bursaries, skills training, water security and the JF Boeboe Van Wyk Oncology Centre in Springbok.

The President said South Africa’s relationship with India provides an important foundation for expanding investment in manufacturing, energy, infrastructure, technology and mineral beneficiation. Vedanta is a major Indian multinational mining conglomerate, and more than 150 Indian companies have established a presence in South Africa, contributing investment, employment and industrial expertise, he said. He called on investors to support the country’s broader development objectives through skills transfer, local procurement and industrial expansion, and said government remains committed to creating the infrastructure and economic conditions needed to attract productive investment.

“The Northern Cape must become known not only for the wealth beneath its soil, but for the industries, innovation and prosperity that grow above it,” Ramaphosa said. “We must be a country that does more than extract the minerals that the world needs. We must become a country that uses those minerals to manufacture the products that the world needs.”

This report is based on the account published by SAnews, the South African Government News Agency, at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/president-ramaphosa-calls-more-mineral-beneficiation-northern-cape and not on the Enquirer’s own attendance at the event.