By Lesedi Sibiya-Diplomatic Insider
In the fourth session of day one of Joburg Indaba 2025, the panel was moderated by Andries Rossouw who serves as Energy, Utilities and Resources leader for PWC Africa as they discussed the relevance of gold in the South African mining industry.
Billy Mawasha, who is the CEO of Bokamoso Gold, has expressed confidence in the future of gold mining in South Africa. He explained that elevation in gold prices may be seen as a significant opportunity as the company is set to acquire mines that will help sustain long-lasting assets.
“We believe in the future of gold mining in South Africa, it’s not a sunset industry. We see an elevated gold price as an opportunity.” said Mawasha during his address in the panel.
Another speaker on the panel was Benford Mokoatle who serves as Executive Vice President for Gold Fields South Africa explained the importance of investing in automation and mechanisation and expressed that this is the optimum time for investments.
“The more you invest in automation and mechanisation and the relevant skills set the more you will be able to lower your costs. This is the right time to invest. You also need to collect lots of data so that you can make timeous decisions” said Mokoatle.
The third speaker in the panel, Richard Cox who serves as Chief Regional Officer for Sibanye-Stillwater in the South African region has expressed that the company he represents are making efforts to buy unwanted assets as a strategy of stabilising the company and opening up more opportunities to capitalize on those assets.
“Our strategy has been to buy unwanted assets, revive them and deliver to expectations. We’re seeing incredible possibilities that history has left behind. We’ve got great opportunities in terms of our existing assets and ambitions to get into other projects.” said Cox.
As talks continue in Joburg Indaba which is set to conclude on Thursday 9th of October, industry will aim to discuss how South Africa’s mining sector will be able to navigate shifting markets and find more secure mineral supply chains to ensure local growth and transformation.