Opportunities

Investing in Limpopo

Major international mining operations contribute to 20% of Limpopo's economy, making mining the primary driver of economic activity after government services. Substantial mineral reserves include platinum group metals, diamonds, coal, chrome, iron ore and copper.

Electricity generation, such as the Matimba power station in Lephalale, is another major economic activity. Mittal Steel mines coking coal for its blast furnaces and sells the lower grade coal.

Limpopo is also one of South Africa's richest agricultural areas. Abundant orchards of subtropical fruit and nuts form the basis of a thriving agri-industrial sector. Extensive tea and coffee estates are found in the Lowveld. Other notable cash crops include vegetables, cotton and tobacco.

Trade and Investment Limpopo
Trade and Investment Limpopo is the official investment and trade promotion and facilitation agency of the Limpopo provincial government.

It is the leading business development network for local companies seeking international expansion or new markets in Africa, while to the overseas investor the organisation offers an effective platform and springboard to enter Limpopo, South Africa and the rest of Africa.

Trade and Investment Limpopo

Manufacturing
With its wealth of mineral and agricultural resources, sophisticated infrastructure and proximity to growing consumer markets in southern Africa, Limpopo offers a number of excellent manufacturing opportunities.

These include tanning, fruit, vegetable and meat processing, brick, jewellery and furniture making, and industrial chemicals and light to medium engineering.

Companies already successfully established in Limpopo include Samancor (silicon smelting), Eskom (electricity generation), Granor Passi (fruit juices), Bonanza (furniture making), Kanhym (meat processing) and Mittal Steel.

Mining
Limpopo diverse mining activities include diamonds, iron ore, coal, copper and phosphates. The world's largest reserves of platinum group metals are to be found in the centre of the province, which also has rich deposits of chrome, vanadium, nickel and titanium.

Large coal reserves occur in most of the western part of the province and are associated with significant quantities of natural gas or coal bed methane. A joint South African and US feasibility study is being conducted to assess the potential of these reserves.

The province is also the world's largest producer of antimony, a strategic element used in alloys and medicine. There are also a host of smaller operations extracting a range of minerals including gold, emeralds, mica, scheelite, black granite, potassium and silica. The potential of a new ilmenite, magnetite and vanadium mine is being assessed.

Other key investment opportunities include:

The provincial department of economic affairs has conducted pre-feasibility studies on four mining projects for which prospectuses are soon to be prepared. Extraction of platinum from chrome tailings at several mines appears to be a profitable opportunity for private sector investment.
A significant deposit of graphite in the northwestern part of the province is also awaiting development.
Very large deposits of vanadium in the western part of the province are another investment opportunity.
A pre-feasibility study has also been conducted for the mining by emergent groups of vanadiferous magnetite in the southern part of the province.

Agriculture
Agriculture offers attractive opportunities for investment, with the Polokwane International Airport offering potential for direct export. Limpopo produces key crops of mangoes, papayas, citrus, avocado, tomatoes and potatoes, while more than 700 000 tons of timber is produced every year from 170 plantations, with equal quantities of hard and soft woods. The climate is well suited for cut rose, peach and almond production.

Pre-feasibility studies indicate that peach and almond production is viable. Investigations have also been conducted into the potential for cassava and bamboo production. Soil and climatic conditions in large parts of the province are well suited to these commodities and ready markets for almost any level of production can be found in the province, in the country and in sub-Saharan Africa.

Cassava and bamboo are suitable for the production of staple foods and animal fodder. The first commercial cassava starch plantation was established in in 1999, with yields significantly higher than in the Far East and South America.

Bamboo can also be used for building materials suited to subtropical and tropical climates. Several large irrigation facilities are also underutilised and could form the basis for mutually rewarding public-private partnerships. Pre-feasibility studies of these projects indicate sound viability for subtropical fruit and citrus production.

Limpopo Department of Agriculture

Tourism
Limpopo offers a great variety of scenic contrasts. With abundant wildlife, wide open spaces, and the northern half of the Kruger National Park in its eastern region the province has the potential to become a major tourist destination.

There is a significant demand for game farms in the province, particularly from foreign investors. Game farming has become a lucrative business and has surpassed cattle farming in several areas. This is an area where tourism and agricultural activities overlap, resulting in increased returns on investment.

Three key areas have been targeted for development as tourist regions: the Golden Horseshoe, the African Ivory Route, provincial nature reserves, and the Waterberg biosphere.

Download the Department of Trade and Industry's Provincial Economic Overview (1.8 MB) here.

SouthAfrica.info reporter

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