Programme Director,

Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Mr Gwede Mantashe

Director General of the DMPR, Mr Jacob Mbele

Captains of Industries

Distinguished Guests

We have come to the end of our engagements, which have proven to be successful insofar as every speaker and panellist contributed valuable insights into the future direction that G20 members and partners should adopt in order to achieve prosperity and sustainable development.

It is now clearer than ever before that every mineral that is mined is critical for various reasons and will play a critical role in our future.

The G20 Critical Minerals Framework will greatly benefit from your insightful inputs and contributions, thereby make it a practical blueprint that influences a more balanced global critical minerals value chain in a manner that is beneficial to all countries.  

As noted by the Minister and other speakers, the framework’s pillars and guiding principles embody the shared values and principles of the G20 membership and partner countries. Consequently, our collective responsibility is to ensure that these pillars and guiding principles are integrated into our future endeavours.  

The promotion of responsible mining practices that uphold human rights and labour standards, as well as support biodiversity goals remains a pressing imperative for all stakeholders. This entails ensuring the health and safety of workers and investing in the socioeconomic development of both mining-affected communities and labour-sending areas, for which the provision of Social and Labour Plans (SLPs) serves as an exemplary model.

It is essential to emphasise the importance of local beneficiation, value addition and economic diversification, particularly in developing and producer countries, to leverage critical minerals as catalyst for sustainable development and broad-based economic growth, rather than merely exporting raw minerals.  

The inclusive and equitable participation of all countries at every stage of the critical minerals value chain, from exploration and mining to processing must be prioritised. Additionally, the meaningful participation of women and the youth, who bear the brunt of poverty, unemployment, and inequality, must be actively promoted by the global community.  

It is unequivocal that good governance, accountability, and transparency are crucial for translating critical mineral wealth into concrete and sustainable development. To eradicate illegal mining, we must adhere to this principle by strengthening our regulatory and institutional frameworks. This will further ensure that transactions throughout the critical mineral supply chains are conducted fairly and transparently, thereby enhance investor confidence, public participation, trust and equitable revenue management.

Addressing the challenges in critical mineral development will require the support of G20 members and partners in the development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies, including those that facilitate exploration, mining, and cleaner processing of these critical minerals.

As we conclude our meeting today, let us continue to engage on these critical issues and further enrich the G20 Critical Minerals Framework to ensure it achieves its intended purpose and is integrated into the G20 agenda.  

Without further ado, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to all of you for attending and participating in today’s meeting. We eagerly anticipate continued discussions with you going forward.