gwede mantashe

South African Mines Minister Gwede Mantashe has recently clashed with Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman over a proposal allowing the United States greater access to Africa’s critical minerals, rejecting the plan due to lack of consultation with his department and industry bodies, and criticizing its “make minerals great again” language as unsuited to South African policy^[1].

Mantashe emphasized that any mining-related decisions must involve the ministry and relevant stakeholders, highlighting persistent tensions between government and private sector over mining strategy and regulatory policy. Froneman defended the proposal, stating its intent was to improve US-South African relations and harness private sector expertise, while criticizing the government’s exclusionary approach. Mantashe’s department recently published a critical minerals strategy focused on domestic priorities—namely coal, chrome, iron ore, manganese, and platinum—excluding minerals abundant elsewhere in Africa like copper, cobalt, and lithium^[1].

On August 5, 2025, Mantashe also led a stakeholder consultation with the diamond sector, gathering key players from across the diamond value chain to strengthen collaboration, address growth challenges, and align on issues of policy implementation, beneficiation, and industry development^[5].

The issue of illegal mining also remains high on Mantashe’s agenda. Following the recent appearance of suspected illegal miners in Barberton, Mpumalanga, he reiterated his call for the government to strengthen criminal enforcement against illegal mining to enable more decisive action^[3].

Meanwhile, Mantashe has been in the news after, amid ongoing police leadership turmoil, he was appointed interim interim Police Minister by President Ramaphosa, despite facing accusations of corruption. This interim appointment came as the previous interim minister, Firoz Cachalia, assumed formal duties and police leadership grappled with multiple allegations and internal conflicts^[2].

Separately, the Johannesburg High Court recently ruled that allegations spread by Zakhele Zuma on TikTok, accusing Mantashe of stealing R40 million from ex-mineworkers, were false and defamatory^[6].

References

• [1] Mantashe clashes with Froneman over attracting US investment
• [2] Ramaphosa Makes Corruption-Accused Gwede Mantashe Acting …
• [3] More Illegal miners emerge: Mantashe talks tough
• [5] Minister Gwede Mantashe engages with diamond sector in stakeholder consultation, 5 Aug
• [6] GWEDE MANTASHE | Latest News & Developments