Energy, freight transport, water and digital infrastructure have been identified in South Africa’s draft National Infrastructure Plan 2050, as the four critical network sectors that should receive priority over the next 30 years. These basic building blocks for economic development and progress will, no doubt, remain central in the final plan too. In all four areas, there is significant pent-up demand. Without sufficient electricity, it is more expensive to build new mines and mineral processing plants. Without water security, agricultural investment is stymied. Without sufficient ports, rail and roads, entire manufacturing value chains grind to a halt. Without digital infrastructure, the communication, coordination and marketing becomes challenging for all businesses. Absent these supply-side building blocks, the pipeline of other growth-enhancing and job-generating projects, big and small, will remain insufficient to position South Africa to tackle its deep-seated problems of widespread poverty, rising unemployment and extreme inequality. Indeed, there are also infrastructure needs in many areas beyond these four priority sectors. Nevertheless, progress in these areas will go some way towards opening up investment in other infrastructure segments, as well as in the productive sectors of farming, mining and manufacturing.

Africa’s mining industry, for the most part, weathered the storm of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The sector dealt with the impact of the pandemic extremely well, leading an effective response. Most governments on the continent, acutely aware of the economic significance of mining commodities, steered clear of forcing strict restrictions on producing mining operations and their supply chains, global risk consultancy Control Risks states. Taking into consideration the existing model of far-flung mine camps across the continent, the mining industry, generally, managed to isolate itself from the outside world through on-site lockdowns and strict access controls. At sites, where a strong culture of health and safety already existed, mining companies were able to establish robust testing and isolation infrastructure, often outperforming their host governments. However, the extent, as well as the different effects, of the pandemic on mining in Africa are still unknown. Creamer Media’s ‘Africa Mining Projects in Progress 2021’ report covers more than 40 mining projects across Central, East, North, Southern and West Africa, all offering very compelling mining propositions given the current economic environment, with several excellent prospects in the pipeline.

Creamer Media’s Real Economy Year Book has been divided into separate reports under the banner Real Economy Insight, and investigates key developments in the automotive, construction, electricity, oil and gas, road and rail, steel, water, manufacturing, pumps, coal, gold, iron-ore and platinum sectors. This five-page brief is a synopsis of key developments in the platinum sector over the past 12 months. It provides an overview of the global and South African platinum markets, platinum’s role in the hydrogen economy and its role in achieving carbon neutrality over the coming decades.

Creamer Media’s Real Economy Year Book has been divided into separate reports under the banner Real Economy Insight, and investigates key developments in the automotive, construction, electricity, oil and gas, road and rail, steel, water, manufacturing, pumps, coal, gold, iron-ore and platinum sectors. This five-page brief is a synopsis of key developments in the gold sector over the past 12 months. It provides an overview of gold’s performance in 2020 and whether gold will continue to dazzle in 2021.