Ramaphosa opens a zinc plant that doubles a Northern Cape mine
Vedanta's Gamsberg Phase II lifts ore capacity from 4 million to 8 million tonnes a year. The president wants the next step to be refining the zinc at home.
Aggeneys — President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday opened the second phase of Vedanta Zinc International's Gamsberg concentrator plant at Aggeneys in the Northern Cape, a project that doubles the mine's capacity, SAnews reports.
What it adds
- Annual ore capacity rises from about 4 million to about 8 million tonnes.
- Zinc-in-concentrate capacity rises to about 500,000 tonnes a year.
- More than 1,500 people worked on construction, and 800 to 1,000 jobs are expected to be sustained in operation.
- It was built, Mr Ramaphosa noted, without a single fatality.
The expansion comes from a commitment of about R21 billion that Vedanta made at South Africa's first investment conference in 2018. "South Africa is open for investment," the president said.
Next: refining at home
Mr Ramaphosa said South Africa should move beyond exporting raw and semi-processed minerals and keep more of their value by processing and manufacturing at home. He welcomed Vedanta's plans for a zinc smelter in the Northern Cape, which would turn concentrate into refined zinc metal.
He said that will need affordable electricity, reliable infrastructure and supportive regulation, and placed the plant at the centre of wider plans: the Namakwa Special Economic Zone, with Vedanta as anchor investor, the proposed Boegoebaai port and the Northern Cape Industrial Corridor.
He also called for local people to fill more skilled jobs, for local firms to become competitive suppliers, and for the province's ecosystems to be protected.
Zinc is used to galvanise steel and in construction, vehicles and energy technologies.
Sources: SAnews, Northern Cape mine propels SA's position in global zinc industry and President Ramaphosa calls for more mineral beneficiation in Northern Cape, 16 October 2026.
