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.

These included:

• 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.

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), chaired by the then Deputy Minister, Hon. Godfrey Oliphant.

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.