Africa
South Africa
What comes out of the ground here, what is still in it, and who operates the assets.
19 materials produced
2 mines in the atlas
1 plants in the atlas
Export controls in force.
Export licensing requirement: Chromite ore (2025).
(USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, table 4 — as of January 2026)
What it produces
Maps →USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · 2025 (estimated) · each row keeps the unit the source uses for that commodity · source ↗
Scroll the table sideways for the remaining columns.
| Material | Series | Production | Unit | Share of world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chromium | Mine production | 23,000 | thousand metric tons | 45.1% |
| Manganese | Mine production | 7,600 | thousand metric tons | 38.0% |
| Vanadium | Mine production | 5,000 | metric tons | 4.5% |
| Phosphate Rock | Mine production | 2,200 | thousand metric tons | 0.9% |
| Gemstones | Mine production | 2,100 | thousands of carats | 3.0% |
| Lime | Production | 1,000 | thousand metric tons | 0.2% |
| Fluorspar | Mine production | 410.0 | thousand metric tons | 4.1% |
| Talc & Pyrophyllite | Mine production | 300.0 | thousand metric tons | 4.3% |
| Zirconium | Zirconium mineral concentrates, mine production (thousand metric tons, gross weight) | 270.0 | thousand metric tons | 22.5% |
| Vermiculite | Mine production | 160.0 | thousand metric tons | 34.8% |
| Gold | Mine production | 90.00 | metric tons | 2.7% |
| Silicon | Ferrosilicon | 35.00 | thousand metric tons | 0.7% |
| Perlite | Production | 10.00 | thousand metric tons | 0.2% |
| Selenium | Refinery production | 10.00 | metric tons | 0.3% |
| Tellurium | Refinery production | 5.00 | metric tons | 0.5% |
| Diamond (Industrial) | Mine production | 3.00 | million carats | 7.9% |
| Rare Earths (all) | Mine production | Zero | metric tons | — |
| Garnet (Industrial) | Mine production | Zero | metric tons | — |
| Helium | Helium Production | s | million cubic meters | — |
What it holds in reserve
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · reserves as most recently published
| Material | Series | Reserves | Unit | Share of world |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum-Group Metals | PGM reserves | 63,000,000 | kilograms | 82.9% |
| Phosphate Rock | Reserves | 1,500,000 | thousand metric tons | 2.1% |
| Garnet (Industrial) | Reserves | 1,300,000 | metric tons | — |
| Rare Earths (all) | Reserves | 860,000 | metric tons | 1.0% |
| Manganese | Reserves | 550,000 | thousand metric tons | 32.4% |
| Chromium | Reserves: Cr2O3 content | 110,000 | thousand metric tons | 20.4% |
| Gemstones | Reserves | 87,000 | thousands of carats | 4.3% |
| Fluorspar | Reserves | 41,000 | thousand metric tons | 12.4% |
| Vermiculite | Reserves | 14,000 | thousand metric tons | — |
| Zirconium | Zirconium reserves(thousand metric tons, ZrO2 content) | 5,900 | thousand metric tons | 8.4% |
| Gold | Reserves | 5,000 | metric tons | 7.6% |
| Vanadium | Reserves | 520.0 | metric tons | 2.5% |
| Helium | Helium Reserves | 400.0 | million cubic meters | — |
| Diamond (Industrial) | Reserves | 87.00 | million carats | 5.1% |
| Perlite | Reserves | Not applicable | thousand metric tons | — |
| Talc & Pyrophyllite | Reserves | Not applicable | thousand metric tons | — |
Mines in the atlas
All →
Mogalakwena
The largest open-pit platinum-group metals mine in the world.
Mponeng
The deepest mine on Earth, working below 4 km.
Processing and manufacturing sites
Rustenburg Base & Precious Metals Refineries · RefineryJourneys that pass through South Africa
All journeys →Material that is dug up here, refined here, or simply crosses the border on its way somewhere else.
Congolese oxide ore to finished cathode, without a smelter When the ore is oxide, acid will do what a smelter would otherwise have to.A leading U.S. import source for
ChromiumFluorsparGarnet (Industrial)GemstonesManganesePalladiumPlatinumTitanium Mineral ConcentratesVanadiumVermiculite
USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 · major U.S. import sources, 2021–2024