South Africa has a long history of mining, with the overall national economy evolving around it. Mining still plays an important part in the economy, particularly in its contribution to exports. However, a significantly greater degree of diversification out of mining has occurred, compared with regional neighbours Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

This is according to a report titled ‘Mining-related national systems of innovation in Southern Africa: National trajectories and regional integration’, which was recently published by researchers at University of Johannesburg-affiliated research and capacity development group the Centre for Competition Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED).

The paper highlights that the diversification has taken a particularly capital- and energy-intensive form with the emergence of a core set of mining and minerals-processing sectors that have dominated the economy for several decades.

“South Africa’s capital goods sector has developed around this minerals-energy-complex core and the sector is playing a major role in supplying the regional mining industry with mining machinery, mining inputs and associated engineering services.”

Moreover, CCRED notes that the South African minerals industry relies to a significant degree on imported technical and engineering skills from the region.

The South African mining inputs cluster, which is mainly located in Gauteng, is a well-established regional supply hub for Southern Africa. The centre notes that South Africa’s mining inputs cluster, through global and domestic original-equipment manufacturers, is supplying capital equipment and engineering services to mining houses across the Southern African region.

The reports states that, often, these goods and services are supplied to engineering, procurement, construction and management firms contracted by the mining companies across the region for greenfield and brownfield projects and they tend to tap into their suppliers in South Africa to carry out these projects.

“South Africa’s presence in established markets is remarkable,” the research group highlights, adding that the share of capital equipment imports sourced from South Africa amounted to 73% in Botswana, 37% in Zambia and 57% in Zimbabwe on average between 2012 and 2014.