The key opportunities likely to be pursued and leveraged by miners, explorers and developers in South Africa’s mining sector this year include brownfield project expansions and mine development, a focus on critical minerals mining and marketing, as well as modernisation through technology adoption, says professional services firm EY Africa energy and industrials leader Wickus Botha on the back of the release of a related EY report.

EY published its ‘Top 10 business risks and opportunities for mining and metals in 2026’ report on October 16, 2025.

In 2026, South African miners will likely focus on investment into brownfield’s optimisation rather than greenfield’s developments, the report forecasts.

“Investors favour lowerrisk expansions, lifeofmine extensions and productivity upgrades over large, longdated new developments,” he says, adding that investment in greenfield exploration and mine development is, however, still critical to unlocking the country’s future potential.

Domestic miners are also expected to leverage alternative sources of power more extensively, and to lower power costs and improve mines’ power reliability.

Selfgeneration, such as solar, wind and battery storage solutions, boost gridindependence and reduce indirect carbon emissions. These solutions, says Botha, are increasingly becoming core capital expenditure items and not just environmental, social and governance (ESG) addons.

As for specific commodities, a strong gold price is expected to result in the ramp-up of existing gold mines and tailings retreatment operations, as well as the restarting of a number of mothballed or historic gold projects.

There is also an expected increase in capital allocated to platinum group metals (PGMs) projects, particularly since there is a healthy pipeline of projects that were delayed, owing to weak PGMs prices over the past two to three years, he adds.

“Other core areas of investment will include manganese, chrome and iron-ore for green steel, and copper and batteryadjacent minerals linked to the energy transition and AIdriven infrastructure.”

Ongoing investment in digital, AI, automation and processing innovation to manage rising operational complexity, deepening mines and declining grades are also foci that PGM miners must factor in, notes Botha.

Importantly, alternative financing, such as streaming, royalties, joint ventures and partnerships, including energy and infrastructure coinvestment, should be considered to manage balancesheet pressure and regulatory risk in the sector.

Botha adds that, in terms of mining-related investment in the near term, such capital allocation is most likely to be disciplined, selective and operationally focused.

As for addressing risks, he says mining companies will likely implement enterprisewide risk management frameworks that integrate strategy, ESG, energy, technology and community risk, rather than treating them as separate issues that have to be addressed using separate measures.

Commodities Driving Factors

South Africa is in a strong position to meet rising demand for PGMs which are the metals used in hydrogen production and fuel cells, remarks Botha.

The rapid growth of AI and datacentre infrastructure – both of which require substantial energy and, consequently, energy- related metals, such as copper – also presents an opportunity for South Africa’s mining sector to become a key supplier for the green and digital economies.

“This potential can be realised if regulatory stability, investment in infrastructure and community trust continue to improve,” he adds.

As for the main global challenges facing the mining sector, operational complexity is hindering some operations, in addition to licence-to-operate concerns and fulfilling ESG commitments.

“This, all while experiencing energy shortages, logistical challenges, changing regulations and difficult socioeconomic conditions,” says Botha.

He argues that South African mining companies are increasingly being “pushed to do more with less environmental impact”, but adds that these endeavours do not have to come at the expense of growth.

A few clear shifts are already taking place, such as energy transitions at mine level, smarter mining using AI tools, stronger environmental and closure planning portfolio shifts, product rebalancing and embracing more integrated ESG and community outcomes, notes Botha.

Consequently, this reflects executives shifting their focus from a compliance mindset to embracing the opportunities that sustainability offers as a way to unlock new capital, new markets and long-term resilience, he adds.

Why AI

“AI, automation, remote operations, and renewable energy and storage technologies could transform South Africa’s mining in the next 12 months to 36 months, which will improve operational efficiency, safety and cost management,” suggests Botha.

Continued ESG pressures will also incentivise the adoption of water-efficient processing and mining equipment fleet electrification, while in the medium term, technology progress will focus on digital ESG platforms, advanced geospatial technologies, the next generation of processing technology and techniques, cybersecurity tools and hydrogen fuel trials.

“To remain competitive, companies should align technology investments with strategy, focus on brownfield optimisation, upskill staff in digital and energy fields, and collaborate with original-equipment manufacturers for scalable solutions,” he concludes.