South Africa's metals & minerals trade overview

 

South Africa is a mineral rich country. South Africa is home to the abundance of gold, platinum, manganese, chromium, titanium, beryllium, copper, uranium and silver. South is among the world's biggest exporter of gold, platinum, chromium and manganese ore. In this blog, you will read about South Africa’s metals and minerals trade market.

Platinum

South Africa is the world’s biggest exporter of platinum. South Africa accounts for 28% of the world’s total platinum exports. According to South Africa import export data reports, the country’s platinum exports are estimated to be around $20 billion during fiscal year 2023. Platinum is the highest revenue generating mineral from South Africa in the last year. 

The United States, Japan and the United Kingdom were the top platinum importing countries from South Africa. There were noticeable platinum shipments to Germany, Hong Kong, China, Italy and Switzerlands during last year. Impala Platinum and BASF Corporation were responsible for maximum platinum export shipments in 2023.

Chromium Ore

Chromium is another significant mineral found in South Africa. South is the world's leading exporter of chromium ore. South Africa customs data shows that the country accounted for 75% of the world's overall chromium ore exports. The total export revenue was estimated to be around $2.6 Billion during FY 2023.

Nearly 50% of the South African chromium ore exports went to China followed by Mozambique (32%), Indonesia (4.5%) and India (2.7%). Rand York Minerals and Plomp Mineral Services were the top South African chromium ore exporting countries with maximum number of shipments last year.

Manganese Ore

Manganese ore is another biggest export of South Africa. South Africa represents 40% of the world's overall Manganese ore exports. South Africa export data shows that around $3 billion worth of exports were recorded during 2023. South Africa's manganese ore export shipments surged to 14.8 million metric tonnes last year.

China was the biggest importer of manganese ore accounting for 54% of South Africa's overall manganese exports. There was a significant rise in the manganese ore exports to India, Russia, South Korea, and Japan. Ore & Metal Company, World Metals & Alloys and SAF Alloys Africa were the top South African manganese ore export companies during last year.

Gold

South Africa has a huge amount of gold reserves. South Africa comes on the list of top gold exporters globally. Global trade data reports show that the country’s gold exports hit a record 5 billion dollars during the financial year 2023. China was responsible for 25% of South Africa's overall gold exports. Whereas, India (20%), Switzerland (18%), United Kingdom (12%) and United Arab Emirates (10%) were other significant destinations in terms of gold exports. 

Titanium Ore

South Africa has a huge amount of titanium reserves. It is the world's largest exporter of titanium ore. In 2023, South Africa was responsible for 25% of the world's overall titanium exports. The total export value was estimated to be $593 million in 2023. South Africa's majority of the titanium exports were to the Netherlands (25%), United States (16%), Saudi Arabia (11%) and Japan (9%). Richards Bay Mining and High Purity Iron were among the leading titanium ore exporting companies from South Africa responsible for maximum shipments.

Mineral Imports

Apart from these minerals, South Africa has made a noticeable amount of iron exports.  There was a 2% increase in the exports of iron in 2023. Around 59 million tons of iron was exported from South Africa during last year. Whereas, South Africa import data suggests that the country’s precious metals imports were nearly $2 billion during last year. The top markets for South Africa's metals & minerals exports were the United States, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Qatar and China.

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