Global economy and trade shifts have put South Africa on the brink of an extraordinary industrial transformation. Our mineral wealth, including iron ore, chrome, coal and anthracite, offers a foundation that only forward-thinking, resource-rich nations can match. With the right strategy, we can convert these resources into engines of growth that enable investment, create jobs, build skills and anchor regional value chains.
Every bridge, building, railway line, and mine shaft depends on steel. Rather than viewing the current challenges as a death knell, we should see them as a call to action — a chance to reimagine and rebuild. The recent closures of coal and anthracite mines, for example, free up assets and skilled workforces that can be redirected toward a modern, integrated steel and ferrochrome sector if we could get them to perform at their potential When steel production dies, so does the foundation of an industrial economy.
Unless we reverse the current decline, we risk becoming a nation that exports raw iron ore and chrome ore only to import finished steel and ferrochrome at inflated prices, surrendering both economic sovereignty and the capacity to build our own future. Recent mine closures, including those of more than 30 coal and anthracite mines representing 1Mt of capacity, are a challenge offering opportunity. These assets, infrastructure and skills can be redirected toward a reindustrialised future.
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We should use the issue of the closed mines to do more with sectors that have potential, and imagine new jobs, so that we have net new employment. Steel and ferrochrome are priority levers for reindustrialisation. Construction, automotive, mining equipment, energy infrastructure and manufacturing all depend on an affordable, reliable supply.
When domestic strategic production collapses, entire value chains fracture. If we lose steel and ferrochrome, upstream mining and downstream fabrication could follow. Five factors have driven our steel industry to its knees.
These pressures have also undermined ferrochrome’s viability. The 2021 steel & metal fabrication master plan promised to reposition steel as a strategic industry. Five years later, implementation has stalled, exposing the chasm between rhetoric and action Five levers can unlock opportunities in the steel and ferrochrome sectors: South Africa’s steel and ferrochrome revival must be positioned within a rapidly shifting global economic order, one defined by geopolitical tensions, reconfigured supply chains, currency realignments and a renewed global appetite for infrastructure investment.
Included in this would be the positioning of South Africa as providing a reliable investment platform, through its ongoing ability to be ambidextrous in its trade relationships. As rising protectionism and trade weaponisation threaten global supply chains, the need for diversified export strategies has created opportunities for Africa. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) acts as a strategic lever for South Africa to navigate global economic shifts, secure regional market access and underpin the revival of its steel and ferrochrome sectors within a more integrated and competitive African economy.
Currency dynamics strengthen the case for reindustrialisation. The dollar’s weakness has lifted commodity prices and improved export competitiveness for resource-rich economies such as ours. While a stronger euro raises the cost of imported machinery, it simultaneously incentivises localisation of production.
Rand volatility remains a risk, but gold-linked strength provides an inflation hedge and enhances fiscal flexibility. The surge in gold prices above $5,000/oz has been driven by safe-haven demand and central bank buying, strengthening the fiscal spacing and buoying our currency. This windfall should be strategically deployed. Channelled into low-cost industrial finance, energy infrastructure and logistics upgrades, mining revenues can catalyse the modernisation of steel and ferrochrome capacity, converting short-term commodity gains into long-term industrial assets.
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