South African Business 2018 edition

A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF
LIMPOPO
The proclamation of a Special Economic Zone
in the far north of South Africa’s northernmost
province could have major economic consequences
for Limpopo Province.
A large investment by diamond miners De
Beers at its Venetia Mine in the same district also
promises significant spinoffs for local communities
and businesses.
Limpopo is a huge province that ranges across
the north of South Africa and shares borders with
Mozambique, Botswana and Zimbabwe. The Great
North Road passes through the middle of the province,
so places like Polokwane (the provincial capital)
and Musina (on the northern border) are natural
bases for logistics companies.
The province has superb natural resources, from
coal, platinum and chrome to avocadoes, tomatoes
and macadamia nuts. Wonderful vistas in very varied
landscapes, golf estates and adventure tourism
underpin the tourism industry.
Key sectors
Subtropical fruit like mangoes, paw-paws, litchis,
bananas and pineapples are in abundance in the
province and make up the bulk of export income.
Cattle, sunflowers, cotton, maize, peanuts, avocados,
tea, tomatoes, citrus and macadamias are
among Limpopo’s key agricultural resources.
Mining is a key sector of the provincial economy
and routinely accounts for between 25-30%
of provincial GDP. Limpopo has a very rich and
varied mineral asset base. Platinum occurs on
both limbs of the Bushveld Igneous Complex
(BIC), and the Waterberg district is seen as the
answer to South Africa’s coal needs for the next
several decades.
Major investments in Limpopo include an ongoing
project by De Beers in Musina to convert its
Musina mine from an open-pit mine to a vertical
shaft mine and a multi-billion-rand new platinum
mine project led by Ivanplats. A key focus area
is to try to ensure that 20% of procurement in
the mining sector goes to small businesses and
co-operatives.
In August 2016 Unit 6 of the Medupi power station
came on stream. The Medupi power station
project is one of the biggest engineering projects
undertaken in South Africa. Medupi is located in
Lephalale in the far west of Limpopo, and next to
an existing power station where coal is abundant.
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