Adding value to South Africa's minerals

Abstract

Although the South African mineral beneficiation industries generally are internationally competitive the downstream metal fabrication industries generally are not. This is principally due to high feedstock (mineral/metal) prices in the domestic market (import parity pricing). The main reason for this is the lack of domestic competition combined with South Africa's geographic isolation from the main alternative suppliers. In this article the strategies of the new government to reduce feedstock prices and eliminate import parity pricing is discussed.