Who We Are?
The Junior Miners Forum of South Africa (JMF) is a Not-for-Profit, peer-to-peer industry platform and collective voice for South Africa’s junior mining ecosystem.
We bring together artisanal miners, prospectors, explorers, small-scale and junior miners, mid-tier mining participants, mineral-rights holders, communities, project developers and mining shareholders to collectively address the challenges that constrain participation and growth in the mining sector.
Born from industry collaborations during the Mining Charter III consultation process, JMF has evolved into a formal national platform dedicated to advocating for, connecting and enabling junior miners.
Our purpose is simple: to help junior miners progress from mineral opportunity to sustainable mining enterprise, greater ownership and meaningful participation across the mining value chain — from pit to port.
What We Do
JMF connects the junior mining sector to the people, institutions, resources and opportunities required to grow. We provide a collective platform through which junior miners can engage Government, regulators, financiers, investors, mining houses, communities, offtakers and private-sector partners.
Our work focuses on:
- Advocacy & Representation — Giving junior miners a collective voice in policy, legislation and regulatory matters.
- Government Engagement — Facilitating constructive dialogue between junior miners and Government.
- Access to Finance — Connecting viable projects with funding and investment opportunities.
- Market & Offtake Access — Supporting access to sustainable markets and commercial opportunities.
- Project Development — Facilitating access to technical, commercial and professional expertise.
- Infrastructure & Logistics — Promoting solutions to infrastructure, transport, processing and port-access challenges.
- Collaboration & Partnerships — Connecting members with strategic partners, investors, service providers and industry stakeholders.
- Capacity Building — Promoting knowledge-sharing, mentorship, training and peer-to-peer learning.
- Economic Participation — Promoting greater participation and ownership by emerging mining enterprises throughout the value chain.
What Is A Junior Miner?
The term “Junior Miner” encompasses a broad and diverse group of participants within the mining ecosystem.
JMF recognizes junior mining as a continuum that begins with the earliest stages of mineral exploration and can progress through development, production, processing, beneficiation and participation in larger mining operations.
Classified junior miners broadly as exploration companies or operational mines with an annual turnover below R500 million.
A junior miner may be an artisanal miner, prospector, explorer, mineral-rights holder, project developer, small-scale producer, junior mining company, emerging mid-tier operator, community or group holding mineral rights, or an equity holder in a mining enterprise.
CATEGORIES OF JUNIOR MINERS
- Artisanal miners
- Prospectors
- Exploration companies
- Emerging mining companies
- Small-scale miners and mining enterprises
- Mineral-rights holders
- Communities and community-owned mining initiatives
- Groups developing mining projects within their tenements
- Mining entrepreneurs and project developers
- Shareholders and equity holders in mining companies
- Mid-tier mining companies
- Other participants supporting the junior mining ecosystem
Our Founders
Our History
The origins of the Junior Miners Forum can be traced back to the Mining Charter III consultation process, where like-minded participants and stakeholders within the junior mining industry began collaborating around common challenges, opportunities and initiatives affecting emerging and junior miners.
These early engagements demonstrated that, despite differences in commodities, geographic location, business models and stages of development, junior mining stakeholders shared many of the same challenges.
The collaboration subsequently developed into engagements with government and industry stakeholders and culminated in the establishment of a Secretariat within the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).
One of the important outcomes arising from these engagements was the development of the Junior Miners Funding initiative in collaboration with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which has since been implemented.
This represented an important recognition of the need for dedicated interventions to support junior mining enterprises and their participation in the broader mining economy.
Over the years, the Forum and its stakeholders have participated in various industry engagements, initiatives, consultations and excursions aimed at understanding and addressing the challenges facing junior miners.
A Decade of Progress
2026 marks a significant milestone — a decade since the initial gathering and collaboration that gave rise to the concept of a dedicated platform for junior miners.
After years of industry engagement, collaboration and development, the organisation has now moved into its next chapter through the formal registration of the Junior Miners Forum of South Africa.
The formalisation of the Forum represents a commitment to building a sustainable, representative and credible institution that can serve as a mouthpiece, convening platform and industry partner for junior mining stakeholders across South Africa.
JUNIOR MINERS CHALLENGES
- Access to capital and appropriate funding instruments;
- Regulatory and administrative bottlenecks;
- Access to prospecting and mining rights;
- Access to geological and technical information;
- Access to infrastructure;
- Environmental and social compliance requirements;
- Access to processing and beneficiation facilities;
- Offtake and market-access challenges;
- Logistics and transportation constraints;
- Skills and technical capacity;
- Access to mining equipment and technology;
- Community and stakeholder relations;
- Access to established mining value chains; and
- Difficulty progressing from exploration and prospecting into commercially sustainable mining operations.