South Africa Launches Critical Minerals Development Strategy - Chrome Ore Classified as Highly Critical Mineral

Gwede Mantashe, South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, issued a statement in Cape Town on the 20th, stating that the South African Cabinet had formally approved the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy and decided to solicit public comments on the Mineral Resources Development Bill (MRDB) 2025. He indicated that the release of these two policy documents marked a crucial step forward for South Africa in enhancing policy and regulatory certainty and unlocking the country's potential in the global minerals market.

According to reports, the strategy comprehensively evaluates the "criticality" of minerals based on eight indicators, conducting research on 21 minerals across dimensions such as export potential, job creation, supply risk, sales performance, and substitutability.

Mantashe stated that critical minerals play a pivotal role in global green transformation, energy security, and high-end manufacturing. The strategy formulated by the South African government explicitly identifies platinum, manganese ore, iron ore, coal, and chrome ore as highly critical minerals; gold, vanadium, palladium, rhodium, and rare earths as moderately-to-highly critical minerals; and copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel, titanium, phosphate, fluorite, zirconium, uranium, and aluminum as moderately critical minerals.

The statement noted that the list would be continuously reviewed and updated based on factors such as market conditions, exploration progress, technological advancements, substitution possibilities, recycling, and geopolitical dynamics. South Africa will advance its critical minerals strategy through six pillars: geoscience exploration; localization and value chain extension; R&D investment and skills development; infrastructure and energy security; fiscal instruments and financial support; and policy and regulatory harmonization.

To support the implementation of the strategy, the South African government simultaneously announced the Mineral Resources Development Bill (MRDB) 2025 and solicited public comments. The bill aims to enhance mining governance, combat illegal mining, and promote the legal and compliant development of small and medium-sized miners by streamlining the permitting process, coordinating with environmental and water resource regulations, and introducing a dedicated permitting system for small-scale and artisanal mining.