Rising Commodity Prices Seen Reviving South Africa Mining Sector

Rising commodity prices and signs that the world economy is gradually regaining its footing are expected to revive South Africa's mining sector which was negatively impacted by the global economic slump, according to a new industry report.

The report, entitled "The South African Mining Sector – Market Opportunity and Entry Strategies, Analyses and Forecasts to 2015", predicts that the country's well established mining sector will expand at a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 5.4 percent during the forecast period of 2010-2015.

In the forecast period, with the ongoing recovery of the world economy, the revival of industrial production and consumer demand, and rising commodity prices, the South African mining industry is expected to return to a growth path.

Platinum group metals (PGMs), which include platinum, palladium and rhodium, dominate the country's mining industry, with production valued at US$7 billion, or 25 percent of the total mineral production.

This is followed by coal with 24 percent, gold with 21 percent and iron ore with 12 percent shares.

Despite the downturn in the PGMs market in 2009, demand is expected to increase rapidly in 2011, due to stricter auto emission legislation, rising consumer demand for jewelry in Asia and a new exchange-traded fund in the US.

The report offers timely insights into market opportunities and entry strategies adopted to gain market share in the South African mining industry. It also benchmarks the sector against key global markets and offers a detailed assessment of emerging opportunities in specific areas.

The research furthermore covers historical and forecast values for a range of indicators such as evaluating business confidence, economic performance, infrastructure quality and availability, the labor force, demographics, and political and social risk.

Author: Justin Cole, analyst.