By: Miningmx

The world’s 40 largest mining companies delivered a strong performance in 2025, with aggregate revenues climbing 3.3% to $909bn and net profits reaching $120bn.

This suggests an industry in reasonable health. But PwC’s Mine 2026 report, released yesterday, says that for the industry to grow further it will require governments to provide a predictable policy and investment environment, as well as capital constraint and technology investments by the mining companies.

Geology alone no longer determines competitive advantage in mining. “Countries lucky enough to possess these minerals are assumed to hold a structural advantage over those without them,” the auditing group says. “But in fact, success in critical minerals also depends on factors that countries can control.

Governments need to set policy in motion, developing the incentives and regulatory frameworks that support stable investment and mining profitability.”

While not directly aimed at South Africa, it is a message that should not be lost on the country’s policymakers. Commenting on South Africa’s Critical Mineral Policy released last year, PwC says that the country’s policy is “more diagnostic than demonstrative”.

If that is not clear enough, PwC’s analysis of nine countries across five dimensions ranks South Africa at the bottom end on both strategic importance and implementation credibility. China and Canada lead the field; Australia follows closely. “South Africa sits apart, its geological endowment offset by the absence of the policy coherence that converts resource potential into investment reality,” says PwC.

On a global industry basis, PwC argues that if the industry doesn’t progress it will not attract the capital required for growth. Mining development capital stood at approximately $55bn in 2024 — less than one-eighth of global investment in solar photovoltaics and less than one-tenth of spending on data centres, two industries that are heavily dependent on minerals. PwC forecasts that this gap will persist: while annual metals and mining infrastructure investment will rise 39% by 2050, renewables outlays will climb 52%.

Closing that deficit requires jurisdictions that can pass three tests, argues PwC: a credible risk-adjusted return relative to private sector hurdle rates; a structured path to secure cash flow; and a permitting and processing environment that institutional investors will actually back.