South Africa’s PGM Mining Communities Face Digital Divide Despite Technology Boom

[SMM Flash] South Africa’s PGM-rich mining communities face a widening digital divide despite supplying minerals increasingly important to the global technology and energy transition. Communities in Marikana and Kroondal in North West continue to experience limited fibre connectivity, unreliable networks and high mobile-data costs. For young people facing high unemployment, inadequate internet access is becoming a barrier to job applications, digital skills development and participation in the broader digital economy.

The situation highlights concerns over how the benefits of the digital and energy transitions are distributed across mineral supply chains. While data centres and technology companies expand infrastructure in major cities, PGM-producing communities remain comparatively underserved. Mining companies have introduced initiatives including digital resource centres and free Wi-Fi at schools, but residents say coverage remains inadequate. The disparity raises a broader question over the meaning of a just transition: communities supplying the minerals that support AI, data centres and clean-energy technologies should also have meaningful access to the digital opportunities created by these industries.