Ramaphosa Backs Zinc Smelter on 16 October

SOUTH AFRICA · MINING · ZINC

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly backed plans by Vedanta, the Indian mining group controlled by billionaire Anil Agarwal, to build a zinc smelter in the Northern Cape. He did so on Friday, 16 October 2026, while opening the second phase of the company’s Gamsberg zinc mine near the small mining town of Aggeneys.

A smelter would let South Africa sell refined zinc metal instead of shipping raw concentrate abroad for processing. For US readers, zinc is a metal Washington lists as critical to its economy and security, and the United States imports most of the refined zinc it uses.

What Ramaphosa Said

“We therefore welcome Vedanta’s ambition to establish zinc smelting capacity in the Northern Cape,” Ramaphosa said in his speech, published by the government. Such a plant, he said, would move the country “from producing concentrate to producing refined zinc metal.”

He also named the obstacle in plain terms, saying an investment of this size “requires commercially viable electricity, reliable infrastructure and other enabling conditions.” He added that “government must work with Vedanta and other partners to address these requirements.”

Ramaphosa leads the African National Congress, the largest party in South Africa’s coalition government, and has made investment pledges a theme of his presidency. In the same speech he said this year’s South Africa Investment Conference drew commitments of about R890 billion (about US$54 billion), and that the government now targets R3 trillion (about US$182 billion) over five years.

What Gamsberg Phase Two Adds

Gamsberg is an open-pit zinc mine about 20 kilometres east of Aggeneys, in the Khâi-Ma municipality of the Namakwa District. Ramaphosa opened its first phase in February 2019, and the new concentrator plant doubles annual ore capacity from about 4 million to 8 million tonnes.

Annual capacity rises to about 500,000 tonnes of zinc contained in concentrate, a semi-processed product that still has to be smelted into metal. More than 1,500 people were employed during construction, and the government expects 800 to 1,000 jobs to be sustained in operation.

The mine belongs to Black Mountain Mining, in which Vedanta holds 69.6%, according to Vedanta Zinc International’s website. Exxaro Resources, a Johannesburg-listed coal and minerals group, holds 24.4%, and an employee share scheme holds the remaining 6%.

The second phase cost more than planned. When ground was broken in August 2022, the company put it at R7 billion (about US$425 million), but chief executive Vijay Kumar told the mining news site Miningmx on 12 October that it came to “roughly 10 odd billion rands,” or about US$607 million.

The Price of Power

Smelting zinc takes large amounts of electricity, and power from Eskom, the state utility, has become far more expensive in recent years. In 2018 the company said a smelter at Gamsberg would need about 200 megawatts of power, as well as extra water.

Vedanta has said it needs power at around 60 South African cents per kilowatt-hour (about US$0.036) to make the smelter competitive, Miningmx reported on 12 October. Kumar called the gap to a figure of around 63 cents (about US$0.038) small, and said he expects the same kind of preferential tariff that existing South African smelters have received.

Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, the minister of electricity and energy and a member of the ANC, said at the opening that his department supports the smelter, according to the Johannesburg newspaper Business Day. He said the government and the company would agree on the price of power, but no deal has been published.

What It Means for US Readers

Zinc is one of 60 minerals on the final 2025 US List of Critical Minerals, published by the Interior Department through the US Geological Survey. The agency estimates that the United States relied on imports for 73% of the refined zinc it used in 2025, mostly to galvanize steel against rust.

Canada supplied 57% of US refined zinc imports between 2021 and 2024, followed by Mexico at 15% and Peru at 8%, the survey says. It also notes that the rise in world refined zinc output in 2025 came mostly from new refining capacity in China, so a South African smelter would add supply outside that country.

For investors, the project is a test of whether South Africa can offer heavy industry a power price it can live with. Exxaro is listed in Johannesburg, and Vedanta’s flagship company, Vedanta Ltd, is listed in India.

What Is Not Known

The cost of the smelter is not settled. The 2018 pledge set aside R10 billion (about US$607 million) for it, while Miningmx reported a company estimate of about US$1.5 billion for a plant that would start at 500,000 tonnes a year.

It is also not known what electricity price Eskom would offer, whether the energy regulator would approve it, or when Vedanta could take a final decision. Business Day reported a different ownership split for the mine, 74% for Vedanta and 26% for Exxaro, than the one on the company’s own website.

What Comes Next

Kumar said Gamsberg should reach its new rate of 500,000 tonnes a year within about two months, and that design work on the smelter is under way. Priya Agarwal Hebbar, a director of Vedanta Resources and the founder’s daughter, said the group envisions an integrated zinc business of about 1 million tonnes a year, Business Day reported.

That plan leans on the Namakwa Special Economic Zone, a planned industrial zone next to Aggeneys that the company says the cabinet approved on 24 May 2023. Vedanta is its anchor investor, with R16 billion (about US$970 million) of planned spending on the mine and a smelter, according to the company.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Ramaphosa announce at Gamsberg?

He opened the second phase of Vedanta’s Gamsberg zinc mine on 16 October 2026 and welcomed the company’s plan for a zinc smelter in the Northern Cape. He said the government must help provide commercially viable electricity and infrastructure for it.

Has Vedanta decided to build the smelter?

Not yet. The company says design work is under way, but no final investment decision has been taken and the project depends on an affordable power price.

How big is the Gamsberg zinc mine now?

After the expansion it can process about 8 million tonnes of ore a year. That yields about 500,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate a year.

Why does zinc matter to the United States?

Zinc is on the US List of Critical Minerals and is used mainly to protect steel from rust. The United States imports about 73% of the refined zinc it uses, mostly from Canada and Mexico.

Sources: South African Government, address by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the inauguration of the Vedanta Gamsberg Phase II concentrator plant, 16 October 2026, SAnews, Northern Cape mine propels SA’s position in global zinc industry, 16 October 2026, SAnews, President Ramaphosa calls for more mineral beneficiation in Northern Cape, 16 October 2026, SAnews, President Ramaphosa to inaugurate Vedanta Gamsberg Phase II Expansion Project, Vedanta Zinc International, Black Mountain Mining, Vedanta Zinc International, Gamsberg Phase II ground-breaking, 5 August 2022, Vedanta Zinc International, Namakwa Special Economic Zone, US Geological Survey, final 2025 List of Critical Minerals, US Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Zinc, Miningmx, Power price key to Vedanta’s Gamsberg smelter decision, 12 October 2026, Miningmx, Vedanta to study zinc smelter project, 2 May 2018, Business Day, Ramaphosa backs Vedanta’s zinc smelter in Northern Cape, 19 October 2026. Exchange rate: Friday 16 October 2026 close, 16.4881 rand per US dollar. All retrieved 19 October 2026.

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