JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The South African mining industry ranked in the bottom third of countries surveyed by Canada-based Fraser Institute with regard to its competitiveness, the institute’s director of globalisation studies, Fred McMahon, said on Tuesday.

In an African context, South Africa still ranked just above the bottom half, he said at the Mining Lekgotla in Sandton.

The Fraser Institute compiles a yearly report ranking the attractiveness of jurisdictions for mining investments.

As the competition for mining investment became fiercer, competitiveness played an increasingly larger role, McMahon said, adding that South Africa had the potential to improve on its competitiveness ranking.

In comparison to South Africa, which ranked 64th out of 97 jurisdictions surveyed, with a policy potential index of 35%, Botswana ranked 17th, with a policy potential index of 78.1%.

“Botswana remains the African mining leader according to this survey, as a result of its market-friendly environment.

“It has moved to a 1800% per capita economic improvement, built on good mining policy. The mining industry is building Botswana in the same way that Canada was built,” he said.

However, with regard to South Africa there was still a large amount of uncertainty. “It is crucial that the uncertainty be eliminated to enable good mining projects to create jobs,” McMahon said.

There were also issues surrounding duplication and inconsistency, where various regulatory authorities did not agree on which projects were approved and which were not.

“Investors are looking for clarity and certainty in regulations, so that mining companies can be sure that if the criteria are that they will get the go-ahead from all parties.”

There was also global uncertainty regarding South Africa’s political stability and where the country was heading, which further negatively affected investor confidence.