Unshackled, the South African mining industry could be a world beater
Even the DRC is seen as a better mining investment destination than SA, but that can be changed
SA’s attractiveness as a destination for mining investment in Africa is on the verge of rock bottom. SA ranks 84th out of 104 jurisdictions in the latest 2016 survey of the attractiveness of countries for mining investment. The survey is released by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think-tank that measures various indices of economic freedom. In Africa, we keep poor company: of the 15 African countries included in the survey, SA is seen as a more attractive mining investment destination than only two others: war-torn South Sudan and economically straitened Zimbabwe. If the Harare Spring results in real reforms in that country, Zimbabwe could well leapfrog SA as a more attractive mining destination on the continent. Even countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) sit above SA as a mining investment destination of choice. Without a change — and in more than just mining policy — SA will continue to lose out to other African states in much-needed foreign investment. As not...
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