BUSINESS MAVERICK: PwC report on SA mining highlights rise of manganese — and coal is still king

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BUSINESS MAVERICK: PwC report on SA mining highlights rise of manganese — and coal is still king By Ed Stoddard EdStoddardZA

of South African mining on Thursday 26 September. This is a snapshot of the sector’s performance in a range of areas, and a few details are eye-catching.

Not quite: a closer look shows the JSE index begins to lag behind HSBC from around the middle of 2015 when uncertainty over the new mining charter casts a pall of gloom over the sector. The JSE caught up in 2019 as share prices here surged, led by a dramatic turnaround in the platinum sector and a bull run in the price of gold, triggered by global market and economic volatility.

More revealing, perhaps, is its performance against the JSE All-Share index. It tracked it closely and topped it at times until around 2008, when the paths diverged into a chasm. It has been regaining lost ground the past couple of years, but the All-Share has risen almost six-fold over the past 16 years while the mining index has grown three-fold.

Manganese is used to strengthen steel, so its fortunes tend to mirror those of iron ore. It is a crucial commodity for infrastructure and industrialisation, and research is being done on its application for battery metals in electric vehicles. In South Africa, it is generally mined with mechanised methods in shallow or open-cast conditions, which raise productivity and reduce costs, adding to its attraction.

 

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