The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has signed a memorandum of agreement with UAE-based natural resources company International Resources Holdings (IRH), in a bid to improve the efficiency of SA mining operations.
The strategic collaboration could boost economic growth, job creation and sustainable development by bringing the IRH’s extensive technical and financial expertise to key constraints on the local mining industry, the company said.
A key focus of the agreement is to bring underperforming and undeveloped mining assets to full production capacity by ensuring best practices are applied across the industry, while using advanced technologies to identify new mining opportunities.
For example, the deal lays out plans to establish a “cutting-edge geoscience company”, which will enable extensive geological surveys and research through the implementation of artificial intelligence and data analytics.
The agreement also seeks to increase SA’s export capacity over the next few years by targeting the country’s transport and logistics infrastructure — particularly for critical bottlenecks in key mining corridors leading to the Richards Bay, Saldanha and Durban ports.
Finally, the collaboration aims to support SA’s decarbonisation transition and the development of sustainable energy sources within the country. Developing sustainable green energy in the country is a key step to offset the energy production capacity of coal-first thermal plans that are set to be decommissioned.
PIC chief investment officer Kabelo Rikhotso was optimistic about the MoU's contribution to alleviating key constraints on SA’s economic growth, job creation and sustainable development, saying: “By leveraging our combined financial and technical expertise, we hope to contribute to the broader development goals of SA and Africa as a whole.”
IRH’s collaboration with the PIC follows a similar move in Zambia, where the resources company completed its acquisition of the Mopani Copper Mine early in 2024. By implementing new technologies — including artificial intelligence — to the project while addressing infrastructure constraints (namely, its telecommunication network), IRH aims to decarbonise the project while simultaneously boosting copper output over the next few years.
“IRH has shown its value and technological capabilities in Zambia with the extraordinary turnaround of the Mopani Copper Mines,” said Rikhotso, adding “we look forward to moving this MoU forward to definitive agreements”
IRH CEO Ali Rashdi called the partnership with the PIC a “breakthrough agreement, which will see both parties work together to unlock value across the mining sector and accelerate new sustainable energy initiatives”.
“This MoU represents a step forward in realising SA’s full economic potential and addressing the current energy and logistics challenges the country is facing,” Rashdi said.
“With a business model centred on leveraging cutting-edge technologies and AI throughout upstream, midstream and downstream processes, we are able to address critical industry challenges and are dedicated to creating substantial in-country value for the communities, companies and nations with which we partner.”
IRH is a subsidiary of United Arab Emirates’ (UAE’s) most valuable listed company, International Holdings Company (IHC), which has a market value of about $240bn.
IHC is chaired by a senior member of the ruling UAE family, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who also chairs First Bank of Abu Dhabi, which Business Day reported earlier in 2023 was seeking a banking presence in SA.
Nahyan, who is also the UAE’s national security adviser and deputy ruler, was appointed earlier in 2023 as chair of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the main sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, said to manage assets north of $800bn.
With Kabelo Khumalo
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