Displaying items by tag: Mineral Beneficiation

The draft Medium Term Development Plan for 2024 to 2029 sets increased beneficiation as an outcome. Specifically, it argues that government policy on the mining value chain should “Focus on processing our minerals so that we export finished products rather than raw commodities.” This policy brief analyses progress to date in promoting beneficiation and indicates key issues in evaluating specific proposals going forward. Critical elements include whether it is possible to build on South Africa’s comparative advantage in mining; consideration of the opportunity costs in terms of job creation opportunities and electricity use; and the scope for minimising carbon emissions.

The introduction of a chrome export tax, announced by Cabinet on 21 October 2020, will bring immediate benefits to the ferrochrome industry, and also presents an opportunity for South Africa to support the development of the downstream industry. In the context of a post-COVID-19 recovery plan, industrial development is a priority and requires the use of a multiplicity of measures by the state to strengthen its industrial base.

The implementation of the export tax will mean South Africa is able to take advantage of its natural resources by giving South African ferrochrome producers a price advantage over Chinese firms.  Further, it will see the benefits of mining being utilised in support of beneficiation and potentially further downstream. This policy brief discusses the benefits of a chrome export tax, why it makes sense for South Africa as a measure to support the ferrochrome industry, and that this measure alone is not sufficient to grow the stainless steel and downstream industry – an additional set of industrial policy measures are also required.

Media release: 27 October 2020

Government moves to strengthen its industrial capacity by boosting the ferrochrome industry

WIDER Working Paper 2019/38

This working paper, Moving up the copper value chain in Southern Africa, forms part of the project: Southern Africa – Towards Inclusive Economic Development (SA-TIED)

Abstract

t: Interest in industrial hemp has revived in the past 20 years. Malawi is considering legalizing the cultivation of industrial hemp as an alternative cash crop to tobacco with great potential. This study considers the potential and challenges of creating an industrial hemp value chain between South Africa and Malawi, with Malawi concentrating on upstream cultivation and South Africa on downstream value-adding activity. The research supports a finding that industrial hemp offers strong opportunities as a niche market even if mainstream demand is slow to materialize or does not materialize at all. It also shows that undertaking such an inter-regional endeavour would be considerably more complicated than initially envisaged, given the agricultural structure and operation of the Malawian economy and its smallholder farmers.

Download Working Paper: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/Publications/Working-paper/PDF/wp-2019-52.pdf

TIPS acknowledges the support of the SA-TIED programme for this working paper, with special thanks to UNU-WIDER and the South African Department of Trade and Industry.