A systematic framework for compilation of critical raw material lists and their importance for South Africa

Mineral resources are important contributors to the global economy and societal wellbeing. Directly, they provide employment, revenue and taxes through the extraction, processing and sale of minerals. Indirectly, they are essential to all modern industries, including: energy, manufacturing, construction, biotic and abiotic resource extraction and agriculture. The principle that ‘one cannot understand the value of what they have until they measure it’ is particularly relevant with critical raw materials (CRMs). CRM is a concept that categorises select resources (mainly minerals and metals) as critical in the sense that, at a national level, they are essential and difficult to replace, and their supply is prone to disruption. It is becoming increasingly recognised that the continuity of civilisation and living standards as some have envisioned them in the future is constrained by the quality and quantity of various minerals. National-level strategic planning, including energy policy, foreign relations policy, geopolitical operations, national defence, education and infrastructure planning, among others, all require knowledge of the requirement and supply of raw materials towards a practical strategic implementation. Hence, a national CRM framework is essential for a prosperous, productive and stable future. To effectively manage the supply and use of CRMs, it is important to comprehend both their formal (e.g., economic) and informal (e.g., social and environmental) values, and to measure and monitor these values effectively over time. This study examines international practices and methodologies as components of a comprehensive CRM framework. We then propose a prototype CRM framework for South Africa as such a framework is currently missing.