President Cyril Ramaphosa opened a second concentrator plant at Vedanta Zinc International’s Gamsberg mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape on 16 October. The expansion doubles ore processing from about four million to eight million tonnes a year and raises capacity to about 500,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate; the Presidency says this makes Gamsberg one of the world’s largest zinc operations. Vedanta, whose first phase at the mine opened in 2019, plans to add zinc smelting capacity in the province. Refining at home would let South Africa sell zinc metal rather than concentrate, but Ramaphosa said this depends on affordable power and efficient rail and ports.
Sources
- SAnews: https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/northern-cape-mine-propels-sas-position-global-zinc-industry
- DFA: https://dfa.co.za/news/2026-10-17-gamsberg-expansion-ramaphosa-urges-more-northern-cape-manufacturing-and-beneficiation/
- DFA: https://dfa.co.za/news/2026-10-12-gamsberg-expansion-puts-northern-cape-zinc-mining-in-spotlight-ahead-of-ramaphosa-visit/