Chinese firms bet on African gold as prices surge in the face of uncertainty
Observers say mining investments in South Africa and Ghana could help Beijing weather geopolitical instability and potential sanctions
The mine is located in South Africa’s Witwatersrand basin, home to one of the world’s largest known gold reserves.
The Chinese firm invested 200 million rand (US$11 million) in the resuscitation of the gold processing plant, a move that is expected to create nearly 4,000 jobs in South Africa. The plant is part of a 2 billion rand investment in the company’s Orkney mine operations in the country’s North West province.
“Our ongoing efforts to lure investments and address the scourge of unemployment and poverty is yielding desired results, particularly in economically depressed communities like this one,” the province’s premier, Kagiso Lazarus Mokgosi, said at the plant’s opening in mid-November.
A delegation of investors from central China’s Henan province will visit the North West province on Thursday to engage in various business opportunities in mining, tourism and agriculture, which are the province’s three main economic drivers, according to Mokgosi.
