Stronger collaboration, localisation and technology adoption are needed to help South Africa build a more competitive mining equipment manufacturing sector, mining equipment manufacturers’ cluster the South African Mining Equipment Manufacturers (MEMSA) highlighted at its Mind Shift Conference 2026, held at the IDC Conference Centre, in Sandton, on May 21.

The conference brings together role-players from the mining and manufacturing industries, academia, youth and labour organisations, government and the skills sector to build a shared understanding of mining of the future.

Delivering the welcome address, MEMSA chairperson Matimba Mahange noted that the cluster’s tenth anniversary came at a time when South Africa needed to move beyond consuming technology and towards developing, owning and exporting it.

“MEMSA was established to strengthen South Africa’s mining equipment manufacturing industry through collaboration, localisation, innovation and industrial growth,” he stated.

Mahange added that South Africa had already demonstrated strong mining and engineering capability through deep-level mining, but needed to take a more deliberate approach to industrial readiness.

He emphasised that companies, institutions and sectors could no longer innovate in isolation, as the future of mining would be built through connected ecosystems, shared knowledge and collective leadership.

That message shaped much of the first day’s discussions, as speakers linked South Africa’s mining competitiveness to its ability to adopt AI and other technologies in ways that improve safety, support local manufacturing, strengthen value chains and prepare workers for changing roles.

During the first panel discussion, titled ‘Mining the Future: Is Africa Ready for the AI Revolution Underground?’, digital transformation and technology company Smartops Solutions CEO Mahene Patrice Benzane framed AI adoption as a broader mining challenge, rather than a technology-only issue.

He explained that AI raised questions about safety, jobs, policy and competitiveness, particularly as mines became more automated, data-driven and dependent on real-time decision-making.

The panel also warned that AI adoption could not be separated from the sector’s readiness to use it responsibly.

Mining research organisation Mandela Mining Precinct executive director Julie Courtnage cautioned that South African mining was not yet ready for AI at full scale. She acknowledged though that no mining jurisdiction could yet be described as fully AI-native.

“Globally, mining is still between advanced experimentation, selective piloting and scaling, while South Africa remains earlier on the AI maturity curve and continues to face gaps in infrastructure, skills and governance.

“AI governance is therefore crucial,” she stressed.

That governance challenge was linked closely to safety, with speakers arguing that AI’s value would depend on whether it could help mines act earlier and more effectively.

Mine Health and Safety Council research and centre of excellence manager Fleckson Magweregwede pointed out that AI could help the mining sector move from reactive health and safety management to predictive and proactive risk management.

He noted that AI could assist mines in identifying high-risk areas before incidents occurred, but cautioned that technology should not be adopted on a whim.

Instead, each technology should be backed by a clear value proposition and a practical understanding of the problem it was meant to solve, he emphasised.

While safety was one of the clearest areas for AI use, speakers also pointed to the technology’s role in improving resource discovery and operational competitiveness.

Coal research association Coaltech CEO Avhurengwi Nenegovhela stated that AI could significantly reduce the time required for geological modelling and resource estimation work.

“Leadership needs to understand AI as a competitive tool, particularly where it could help the industry ask new questions of existing geological information and improve the speed of decision-making,” he argued.

The focus on competitiveness continued during the second panel discussion, titled ‘Smart Mines, Stronger Value Chains’, where speakers moved beyond AI readiness to consider the broader systems needed to support smart mining and localisation.

Mining enterprise development organisation Lepharo CEO Zenzo Nkomo observed that smart technology was no longer a concept for the future, but had already become the norm in modern industrial environments.

This shift, speakers noted, would affect not only mine operations, but also the manufacturers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expected to supply equipment, components and services into increasingly digitised mining value chains.

Diversified mining company Seriti Resources CEO and FutureCoal chairperson Mike Teke explained that legislation could support innovation when consultation was properly conducted and when technologies aligned with business strategy and employee needs.

The panel also considered how technology convergence could improve mining performance.

Scientific research organisation the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) mining cluster executive manager Bongi Ntsoelengoe highlighted the role of automation, sensors, digital twins and decision-support tools in improving productivity and safety.

However, mining research centre African Research Centre for Ore System Science director Professor Glen Nwaila cautioned that technology and AI alone would not solve mining’s challenges without capability development.

This need for capability extended beyond mining companies, as speakers also linked future competitiveness to communities and SMEs.

Consulting company Siyakha Consulting CEO Dionne Kerr Malherbe stressed that mining communities needed to be integrated into future value chains, rather than remaining dependent on mining operations.

For SMEs seeking to participate in those value chains, intellectual property law firm Spoor & Fisher patent attorney and partner Louw Steyn explained that proper IP protection and enforcement strategies were needed from the outset, particularly when companies showcased technologies locally or internationally.

The question of how innovation could be paid for, and whether it could support profitability, was explored during the third panel discussion, titled ‘Innovation or Margin? Making Sustainability Pay in Mining’.

Development finance institution ECIC head of business development Portia Dube framed the discussion around whether innovation could strengthen the bottom line in a capital-intensive industry facing constant cost pressure.

Technology company CrystalForge MD Ahmed Kader argued that innovation and margin did not need to work against each other, provided technologies were implemented in ways that respected engineering first principles.

He said the business case remained central to proving whether a technology would create value in a specific operation.

Professional association Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy president Gary Lane similarly cautioned that mining companies needed to keep investing in innovation for long-term sustainability and margin protection, even during periods of short-term budget pressure.

He warned that poor business cases and weak understanding of value streams could result in companies spending heavily on AI or other technologies without generating the expected returns.

The final session of the day, a CSIR fireside chat titled ‘Innovation is not a game for one’, returned to the collaboration theme raised in Mahange’s opening address, with speakers focusing on skills, commercialisation and the link between research and industry adoption.

Industry body Minerals Council South Africa senior policy analyst Brian Ncube remarked that innovation required stakeholders across the mining ecosystem to work together to increase value.