By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has on Friday, 16 October 2026, officially inaugurated the Vedanta Gamsberg Phase II Concentrator Plant in the Northern Cape.
The Gamsberg Mine expansion doubles annual ore-processing capacity from roughly 4 million tonnes to 8 million tonnes per year.
Ramaphosa said the expansion is an opportunity to strengthen domestic industrial capacity and establish the province as a centre of mineral beneficiation and manufacturing.
“Our ambition must be to ensure that a growing share of the value generated from our minerals remains within our economy,” the President said.
He noted that South Africa and other African countries had for too long extracted minerals for processing and manufacturing elsewhere, only to import finished products made from those same resources.
Ramaphosa said the country must expand its refining, smelting and manufacturing capacity, while supporting local suppliers, engineers, artisans, entrepreneurs and technology companies.
“We must become a country that adds greater value to its mineral resources through processing, refining, manufacturing and technological innovation,” the President said.
The expansion positions Gamsberg among the major zinc-producing operations globally and provides a foundation for further industrial development.
He said Vedanta Zinc International’s commitment of approximately R21 billion at the first South Africa Investment Conference in 2018 had demonstrated confidence in the country’s economic potential.
He said the investment drive was launched during a difficult period, characterised by weak economic growth, subdued investment, high unemployment and challenges in the electricity and logistics sectors.
Government has since undertaken economic reforms to improve electricity supply, strengthen rail and port operations, stabilise public finances and rebuild confidence in the economy.
“We understood then that South Africa could not achieve the growth and employment our people needed without rebuilding confidence, restoring the capability of the State and undertaking fundamental economic reforms,” he said.
Ramaphosa said government had also committed approximately R1 trillion to infrastructure development over the medium term, including investment in electricity transmission, railways, ports, water systems and roads.
He acknowledged that more work remains to ensure that electricity is affordable, freight logistics are efficient and investors could obtain the necessary approvals without unnecessary delays.
The President said the country’s investment drive was aimed at creating productive capacity, expanding businesses and generating employment rather than merely announcing large commitments.
At the South Africa Investment Conference earlier this year, government secured commitments amounting to approximately R890 billion, including development finance commitments.
The Gamsberg Phase II expansion employed more than 1 500 people during construction and is expected to sustain between 800 and 1 000 jobs during operations.
Ramaphosa said these employment opportunities were particularly important in the Northern Cape, where economic opportunities for young people remained limited.
He called for mining investments to support skills development, local enterprise growth and broader economic participation.
President said the Northern Cape boasts the potential to become one of the country’s next major centres of industrial growth given its mineral resources, renewable energy potential, land availability and strategic position for connecting producers to export markets.
He identified the Namakwa Special Economic Zone as central to this vision, with Vedanta serving as an anchor investor capable of attracting further investment in mineral beneficiation, manufacturing and related economic activity.
The development of the zone, he said, needs to be integrated with the proposed Boegoebaai Port and industrial developments, Upington’s industrial and energy initiatives and other components of the Northern Cape Industrial Corridor.