South Africa’s mining industry is falling behind global competitors in the adoption of artificial intelligence, automation, and digitisation, according to a new report.
The gap is widening particularly in domestic research and development, where local investment has failed to keep pace with the technological transformation reshaping the sector worldwide.
The assessment highlights a structural risk for South African miners, who face increasing pressure to improve efficiency and safety through technology.
While peers in Australia, Canada, and Chile are integrating AI-driven predictive maintenance and autonomous haulage systems, South African firms are lagging in both implementation and local innovation capacity.
This technological deficit comes at a time when global mining margins are under pressure from rising energy costs and stricter environmental regulations.
Companies that fail to modernise risk higher operating costs and reduced access to capital from investors increasingly focused on ESG and operational efficiency metrics.