South Africa Metal Prices Today
Prices in Rand (ZAR) · Reference market: Closed LPPM
Home to the richest gold deposit ever discovered and, today, the world's dominant platinum producer by a wide margin.
Gold Price — Last 30 Days
From Gold Capital to Platinum Capital
The Witwatersrand Basin around Johannesburg was, for over a century, the source of a huge share of the world's gold — South Africa has since been overtaken as the top gold producer, but it remains the dominant global source of mined platinum, supplying roughly seventy percent of the world's total.
When the Power Goes Out, So Does Supply
South Africa's periodic electricity shortages ("load-shedding") have directly disrupted mine output in recent years — a genuinely unusual case where a country's domestic infrastructure problems show up as a global platinum-supply risk.
Chasing Gold Nearly Four Kilometres Down
South Africa's Mponeng mine near Johannesburg — currently operated by Harmony Gold — is the deepest mine on Earth, with workings roughly 3,891 metres below the surface and still being extended further. Mining at that depth means working in rock temperatures hot enough to require industrial-scale cooling systems just to keep the tunnels survivable, a genuinely extreme illustration of how far South Africa's century-old gold industry has had to dig to keep producing at all.
Metals & Mining Industry
Platinum and historic gold aren't the whole picture — South Africa also holds the world's largest reserves of both chrome ore and manganese, and ranks as a leading global producer of each. Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Sibanye-Stillwater dominate the platinum-group side, while Exxaro and others work the chrome and coal side of the business. That combination — gold history, platinum dominance, plus chrome and manganese reserves large enough to matter globally on their own — makes South Africa's mining sector genuinely broad, not a one-metal story, even though platinum gets most of the attention.
Consumption & Trade
South Africa is a major net exporter of mined metal, and its trade patterns follow its production: platinum-group metals go mostly to automakers in Europe, China, Japan and the US for catalytic converters, while chrome ore ships heavily to China to feed ferrochrome and stainless-steel production. Domestically, South Africa also runs a genuine vehicle-assembly industry — BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota all build cars there, partly for export — which pulls in steel and aluminium as inputs even as the country exports far more raw mined metal than it imports overall.
Metals Produced & Consumed Here
Which of this site's tracked metals South Africa is a notable producer or consumer of, based on each metal's own profile.
Did You Know?
South Africa's platinum dominance is a big reason the LPPM market (covered on this site's Markets page) is so sensitive to South African mining and power news specifically.
Sources
- South Africa supplies roughly 70% of world platinum — Platinum mine production South Africa (2025)
- Mponeng mine, Harmony Gold, 3,891m deep — Mponeng Gold Mine (2024)
- Largest reserves of chrome ore and manganese — African Green Minerals Observatory: South Africa (2024)
Frequently Asked Questions
The gold price in South Africa today is R2,288.82 per gram as of September 21, 2026, converted from the live international spot rate into ZAR.
Yes — South Africa is the world's dominant platinum producer and was historically the top gold producer, with the richest gold deposit ever found near Johannesburg.
Prices for South Africa are shown in Rand (ZAR), converted daily from live international spot rates — not a fixed or manually-updated exchange rate.
LPPM (London Platinum and Palladium Market) is the nearest tracked reference market for South Africa. This doesn't mean prices on this site are sourced directly from it — see its market profile for how it actually works.
