Illusions of dependence: South African minerals in the global economy

Abstract

The article examines the view that South Africa is bountifully supplied with a vast range of minerals and that because these are vital to “western” interests, no action can be taken by the international community in the context of UN resolutions on, for example, the illegal occupation of Namibia.

The author poses quite the contrary, that many of South Africa's mineral deposits are low grade, that if does not have resources of many vital metal ores, but that it is largely the actions of mining TNCs that have erected the facade of dependance on South Africa.

The article is, in part, an extract from “Illusions of Dependance” by the author, to be published in the UK.