Modern Mining April 2025

Under pressure Pressure pushin' down on me

Pressin' down on you… T hese lines from British rock band, Queen’s song, Under Pressure, resonate with the majority of South Africans, more so now as government, in its bid to balance its spending, is eyeing new avenues to supplement its coffers. The South African economy remains under immense pressure, with economic growth sitting at less than 1%. The rest of Africa is expected to average economic growth rates of 4,3% in 2025, more than four times those of Mzanzi. In January, PwC South Africa forecasted economic growth for South Africa to be between 0.5% (downside scenario) and 1.3% (upside scenario) in 2025, with the range reflecting the many uncertainties for the year ahead. KPMG pegged economic growth for 2025 at 1,5%. According to Stats SA, South Africa’s economy narrowly

down 18.3 percent ($1.3 billion) from 2023. US goods imports from South Africa in 2024 were $14.7 billion, up 4.9 percent ($679.4 million) from 2023. How will Trump’s aggressive stance play out given that retaliations from the US’s trading partners are coming in fast and furiously? Will he retract or tone down the belligerence, or add fuel to the fire? Importantly, how is South Africa going to respond to the array of challenges from the US – are we going to beg for better or play the tit for tat game? No matter the path taken, South Africans are sure to feel the pinch. In this edition Modern Mining had the opportunity to catch up with a host of clients at the Investing in African Mining Indaba, held in Cape Town recently, interviewing several clients,

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avoided a technical recession in the final quarter of 2024, registering a modest 0.6% growth. For the continent, the African Development Bank has projected an annual economic growth rate of 4.3 percent, up from 3.7 percent last year,

How will Trump’s aggressive stance play out given that

including the World Gold Council’s Chief Market Strategist, John Reade, who shared insight into how turbulent times are buoying investment in gold (pg 6). Trump’s blinkered focus on making America great again seems

retaliations from the US’s trading partners are coming in fast and furiously? Will he retract or tone down the belligerence, or add fuel to the fire?

Nelendhre Moodley.

with East Africa forecasted to be the most buoyant region. This year, Africa will be the second-fastest-growing region globally. Following US President, Donald Trump’s determination to impose trade tariffs on most trading partners, the sentiment for South Africa looks rather grim. Trump wants to implement a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China. Both Canada and China have reacted strongly to the tariff imposition, with Beijing retaliating with tariffs of up to 15% on a wide range of US farm exports and Canada, with 25% tariffs on $20.7 billion worth of US imports. The US is a significant trading partner for South Africa with thousands of exports qualifying for duty-free access under AGOA. US total goods trade with South Africa was $20.5 billion in 2024 with US goods exports to South Africa in 2024 being $5.8 billion,

to be creating frenemies and shaking up the hornet’s nest. His

Editor: Nelendhre Moodley e-mail: mining@crown.co.za Advertising Manager: Rynette Joubert e-mail: rynettej@crown.co.za Design & Layout: Ano Shumba Publisher: Wilhelm du Plessis Managing Director: Karen Grant Circulation: Brenda Grossmann and Shaun Smith Published monthly by: Crown Publications (Pty) Ltd P O Box 140, Bedfordview, 2008 Tel: (+27 11) 622-4770 Fax: (+27 11) 615-6108 e-mail: mining@crown.co.za www.modernminingmagazine.co.za

fiery behaviour in response to the Ukraine/ Russian war, which aside from rocking global markets, has been having a positive influence on the gold market. In the runup to Trump’s tariff deadline, gold soared to a record $2 955 an ounce on 24 February. Modern Mining also caught up with Goldstone Resources’s CEO, Emma Priestley, who advised that after many project challenges, its flagship Homase gold project, was on-track to ramp up gold production to name-plate capacity of 48 000 tons per month (pg 10). Tyre manufacturer, Michelin, which accounts for an estimated 35% of market share for surface mining and underground mining operations in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighted products set for release into the African market later this year, including its Michelin XDR 4 SPEED ENERGY (pg 12). n

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The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

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2  MODERN MINING  www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | APRIL 2025