Elsewhere in the region, kidnapping for ransom is also a major, yet growing threat in South Africa – one of the region’s most prolific producers of minerals. The country saw a surge in kidnapping cases in the 2023–2024 fiscal year, continuing a pattern that has seen the number of kidnappings rise by nearly 200% over a decade-long period. The country’s Gauteng province – hosting mines that account for 25% of the country’s total mineral production and the nation’s commercial capital Johannesburg – serves as the epicentre for this crisis.

South Africa’s high kidnap risk is well-known, but a unique, industry-specific kidnapping threat has recently emerged in the country. Over the past year, there have been at least two instances where hundreds of workers have been taken hostage underground by their colleagues; they were not released until their captors’ demands were met by management. This new phenomenon has been heavily linked to the reduced demand for South Africa’s sizeable reserves of platinum, diamonds, coal, and more as the global economy shifts towards minerals necessary for the so-called ‘green energy transition’.

This declining appetite has led operators to make cuts to maintain profitability, also leading to an uptick in work-related unrest. Recent incidents have seen hundreds or even thousands of miners protest underground for days over pay and benefits, including at the Bafokeng Rasimone Platinum Mine, as well as at the Modder East Mine in Springs.

Protests, illegal sit-ins, and stoppages continue to occur across the country on a semi-regular basis; this emerging pattern suggests that unrest and industrial action are both likely to continue impacting operators in South Africa as metal prices fluctuate and international demand ebbs and flows.

Mining is South Africa’s largest industry sector followed by manufacturing, oil and gas, chemicals, agriculture and tourism.