Mining industry contributed R470 billion to household income in 2024 - Minerals Council

The mining industry creates close to half a trillion rand in household income, according to research published by Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA).

#MiningMatters 2025 is the Council’s second iteration of what it says is a fact-based, independent study into the impact of mining on society and the broader economy of South Africa. (Click here for a summary of the report)

It points out that the industry benefited not only mine employees and their families with well-paid jobs, but supported a wide array of local businesses, with hundreds of thousands of jobs and families who are dependent on the industry’s sustainable future.

On The Money Show, the Council's Tebello Chabana (senior executive for Public Affairs and Transformation) breaks down the headline figure of R470 billion injected into household income.

"The total is a combination of a few things: It's salaries paid, dividends, interest... all of this put together."

"In terms of wages paid, in 2024 this amounted to R195 billion. The industry employs about 473 000 staff so if you assume that each person generally is supporting four family members, you're looking at 1.9 million people covered by mining."

If you then add on those people directly supplying goods to the mining industry, that 473 000 figure on employment rises to about 874 000, and if you add their dependents as well, the total number is about 3.5 million people who benefit, he says.

The SouthAfrican mining industry prides itself on providing well-paid jobs, Chabana adds.

He uses a category four worker as an example - that is an entry-level underground unionised worker in the gold/coal/platinum sector:

"Their average take-home pay is about R27 000 a month, so R324 000 per annum... Compare that with any other sector of the economy, and you'll find that mining workers at the entry-level, as well as the medium and upper level are earning more than their counterparts."

While acknowledging that there is a downward trend in exploration spend - not only in SA but globally, Chabana is upbeat about this momentum being maintained.

RELATED: Mantashe's announcement of another delay in rollout of cadastre system 'just extraordinary', says mining expert

He notes that the 2024 figures were achieved in a scenario where the country is boxing below its weight, and if things improve, it will only get better.

REPORT'S KEY FINDINGS ON MINING IN SA:

• Contributed R470 billion to household income in 2024
• Supported millions of people through direct employment and suppliers
• 874,000 formal jobs linked to mining operations and their suppliers
• R342 billion contributed to the fiscus through taxes and wages
• Transformation progress - women now make up 19% of the mining workforce
• Highlights the importance of a stable, competitive environment to sustain investment and growth

For more detail, listen to the interview audio at the top of the article