JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Collectively, Africa’s critical mineral resources are attractively expansive. Could BRICS Plus potentially become a widespread new-era platform for distinctive mining and metals collaboration and cooperation, as some are suggesting?

At last week’s Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, the need for well-endowed Africa to add value to its minerals in Africa for Africa was declared a must.

On 1 January 2024, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Ethiopia joined China, India, Russia, Brazil, and South Africa as BRICS Plus members.

The ten BRICS Plus countries now comprise more than a quarter of the global economy and almost half of the world’s population.

Thirty more countries are expressing an interest in allying with BRICS Plus and the concept of associated ‘partner states’ could widen the scope still further.

Importantly, BRICS Plus-related thoughts are already beginning to emerge from within the private sector.

For instance, Prisma Training Solutions MD Jacques Farmer opined on Monday, February 10, that South Africa's membership in the BRICS Plus economic bloc offers “a unique platform” to capitalise on this country’s mineral endowment.

In addition to the abundance of mineral resources positioning South Africa strategically, Farmer’s view is that South Africa’s contribution to BRICS Plus should not be limited to resource extraction alone.

“South Africa has a long and distinguished history in mining, amassing a wealth of expertise in areas like mine management, geology, and safety protocols. This knowledge and experience can be invaluable for developing the mining sectors of other BRICS [Plus] nations,” Farmer added in his opinion release to Mining Weekly.

'C’ AND 'S' IN BRICS PLUS PRESENT PROFOUND POSSIBILITIES

China dominates much of the world’s mineral processing and related supply chains, as Andaman Partners CEO Kobus van der Wath pointed out in Mining Weekly on January 31.

The processing of rare earths, graphite, cobalt, lithium and manganese takes place overwhelmingly in China, which is developing closer relations with BRICS Plus, reported Van der Wath, who, at last week’s Mining Indaba, also highlighted his company’s role as a driver of cross-border trade in the African mining industry.

Within BRICS Plus is considerable expertise. For example, South Africa, the 'S' in the acronym, is punching way above its weight in the field of battery-grade manganese.

Moreover, South Africa is poised to return to producing ferromanganese, where, not that long ago, it was globally dominant.

Very impressively, the world’s purest manganese metal is being beneficiated into battery-grade manganese at the lowest incentive price of any of the new, non-Chinese high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate suppliers, or future suppliers, the Mintek@90 conference heard in November.

South Africa makes money at $2 500/t on the high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate it produces in this way, whereas the feasibility studies of the other new, non-Chinese suppliers, or future hopefuls, are calling for far higher $3 500/t to $5 000/t price viability levels.

Manganese fines and ultrafines, which are usually discarded on to a waste dump, are used by South Africa’s Manganese Metal Company in Mpumalanga to make the world’s purest 99.9%-pure manganese, with 20% to 30% of its current sales going into the battery sector.

Major advances are also being made by South Africa in the recovery of critical rare earth elements from phosphogypsum.

So, BRICS Plus members are not only active in the mining of raw ores, but also advanced in adding value to those ores, which is just what we Africans need to expand as part of the new era confronting us as a result of disrupted global economics and politics.

On the ferromanganese front, steps are being taken by Menar to restart Metalloys in Meyerton, Gauteng, under the new name of Khwelamet.

MINING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION IN PLACE

A podium needed to initiate momentum could well be the Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (MIASA). Within MIASA, for example, are the Chamber of Mines of Democratic Republic of Congo and Minerals Council South Africa.

Because adding value to metals and minerals goes hand-in-glove with energy, could the expansive, ever-flowing Congo river be brought into the picture as a provider of much more clean, green hydropower, a concept that is already many decades old? 

Could Africa’s distinctive sun, wind and water ensure a metals and minerals greenness that would easily pass any carbon tariff barrier and attract interest from users not wanting to be weighed down by particularly Scope 3 emission obligations?

As a kick-off, could South Africa perhaps collaborate with the Democratic Republic of Congo?

Could the Johannesburg Stock Exchange play a role, as many also inventively proposed in days gone by?

These scattered questions are prompted by the need for new direction accompanied by formidable determination to counter unfolding global disruption.