A new Bureau for Economic Research report looked at urgent areas of reform that the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) needed to improve the mining sector.
South Africa's mining industry is failing to capitalise on one of the world's largest mineral endowments because of regulatory delays, policy uncertainty and administrative inefficiencies rather than a lack of mineral resources, according to a new Bureau for Economic Research (BER) report.
The report comes as government finalises the revised Mineral Resources Development Bill, legislation widely expected to reshape the country's mining regulatory framework after the withdrawal of the initial draft in 2025 following strong industry opposition.
Prepared by independent consultant Robert Botha, the report argues that South Africa's mineral wealth—estimated at between $2.5 trillion (R41 trillion) and $4.7trln (R77trln)—continues to operate well below its potential because of structural weaknesses in the implementation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA).
“The long-term stagnation of the industry is a function of regulatory friction, policy uncertainty, and administrative backlogs rather than geological exhaustion,” Botha said.
