Parks Tau urges US investors to process South African minerals locally
South Africa is pitching a joint investment platform to US business leaders, urging them to partner in refining and manufacturing rather than simply exporting raw minerals.
Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau has called on US business leaders to move beyond purchasing raw minerals and invest directly in South Africa’s refining and manufacturing sectors.
Delivering the keynote address at a Critical Minerals Roundtable on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, Tau proposed a joint investment platform to build resilient supply chains and deepen industrial cooperation.
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He thanked Brand South Africa and Standard Bank for convening senior business and investment stakeholders to meet with the department.
Tau emphasised that the discussion extended beyond mineral extraction to focus on creating greater value from South Africa’s natural resources.
Critical minerals are vital for battery production, advanced manufacturing, defence technologies, artificial intelligence, grid infrastructure, clean-energy systems, and the hydrogen economy.
South Africa holds globally significant reserves of platinum group metals, manganese, chromium, and vanadium, with growing opportunities in rare earth elements, titanium, and zirconium.
The objective is to establish durable industrial partnerships covering mining, refining, processing, advanced materials, component manufacturing, and downstream production where viable.
For the United States, the strategic benefit lies in securing a diversified supply chain. For South Africa, the partnership offers technology transfer, skills development, long-term offtake agreements, and market access further up the value chain.
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Government policy aims to leverage mineral endowments for industrialisation, beneficiation, localisation, and job creation. Key focus areas include battery materials, manganese precursors, vanadium products for grid storage, platinum group metal catalysts for hydrogen, green iron, steel, ferroalloys, and transmission infrastructure manufacturing.
Tau outlined five core elements of South Africa’s offering: strategic supply security, value addition beyond mining, regional scale via the African Continental Free Trade Area, alignment with US energy and technology priorities, and a pipeline of investable projects.
He noted that mineral wealth alone is insufficient without supporting infrastructure, reliable energy, efficient logistics, regulatory clarity, and market certainty.
By mid-2026, South Africa had achieved over a year without load-shedding, alongside improved power plant availability. Private sector participation is also being introduced on core freight rail corridors, while Operation Vulindlela addresses port and logistics challenges.
Additional measures include competitive electricity pricing for energy-intensive industries, special economic zones, and enhanced investment facilitation.
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From US partners, South Africa is seeking midstream processing investment, technical expertise, long-term offtake commitments to secure project bankability, infrastructure collaboration, market access for beneficiated goods, and research partnerships.
Tau proposed establishing a Critical Minerals Investment Platform to assess priority projects for co-funding and development support. The platform would bring together the Industrial Development Corporation and other local development finance institutions alongside US entities such as the Development Finance Corporation, EXIM Bank, private funds, and corporations.
He further proposed a dedicated South Africa–USA Critical Minerals Working Group to identify priority minerals, match projects to demand, address financing barriers, and monitor actual investment outcomes.
South Africa could also serve as an industrial anchor for Southern Africa, integrating cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo, copper from Zambia, lithium from Zimbabwe, and graphite from Mozambique using South African processing facilities, logistics networks, and regional trade access.
Tau invited participating companies to identify immediate, concrete opportunities that can be developed into long-term industrial partnerships.
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