NYDA executive deputy chairperson Bonga Makhanya
Mining has long been one of the hardest sectors for young South Africans to enter. Ownership is concentrated, procurement networks are entrenched and access to capital is tightly controlled.
Against that reality, the decision of the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to insert itself into Mining Indaba 2026 is an attempt to confront those barriers directly, rather than work around them.
Bonga Makhanya, the agency’s executive deputy chairperson, said the move is driven by a recognition that mining and energy remain largely untransformed – and that young people continue to struggle to gain a foothold in both sectors.
“Mining and energy are industries where young people struggle to enter,” he said. “Mining Indaba becomes a very strategic platform for us to engage decision-makers on how we grow investment and funding into youth development.”
The logic is simple. The Mining Indaba is one of the few spaces where ministers, regulators, mining executives and investors are in the same room. For the NYDA, being present is not about profile. It is about access to people who make decisions about capital, policy and procurement.
The agency, Makhanya said, is using the platform to push a shift from symbolic inclusion towards practical participation. That, he argues, means intervening at three points: policy, enterprise development and skills linked to real work.
At a policy level, the NYDA wants regulators to reconsider how existing funding instruments are structured. In particular, it is pushing for portions of exploration and small-scale mining funds to be set aside for youth-led ventures, with criteria that do not automatically exclude first-time entrants.
“These are bottlenecks we’ve identified,” Makhanya said. “Relaxing certain requirements could lead to higher participation of young people in the sector.”
The second focus is procurement. Mining houses spend billions each year on goods and services, but those value chains are difficult for new players to enter. The NYDA is proposing a purchase-order financing model in which it provides start-up capital to youth-owned businesses while mining companies commit to awarding them work.
“What we are trying to do is de-risk youth businesses entering mining by pairing access to capital with guaranteed work,” Makhanya said. “That allows young entrepreneurs to complete projects they would otherwise never access.”
A similar approach underpins the agency’s thinking on skills development. Rather than funding training that does not lead anywhere, the NYDA wants mining companies to commit to internships and placements, while the state covers training and stipend costs through existing mechanisms. The condition, Makhanya said, is that young people must have credible exit opportunities.
The deeper challenge, however, lies in ownership. Mining remains shaped by legacy capital, with assets and wealth often passing from one generation to the next. Makhanya argues that breaking this pattern requires intervention at the exploration stage, where new mines and minerals are first developed.
“There are exciting discoveries of critical minerals taking place,” he said. “We believe young people should be at the centre of ownership, control and management of those mines, starting at exploration.”
The NYDA is in talks with government departments and development finance institutions to secure capital for youth participation in junior mining exploration. The proposal includes setting aside a portion of exploration funding specifically for young entrepreneurs, positioning them early in ownership rather than limiting them to downstream roles.
Another entry point is local procurement in mining towns. In provinces such as Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Northern Cape, mining activity coexists with high youth unemployment. The agency wants to support young entrepreneurs in those areas to become suppliers and contractors, building experience and scale over time.
Makhanya also points to asset transfers as a pathway, where the state facilitates the handover of mining assets from established companies to new black-owned operators. He argues that such precedents show that access can be expanded when policy and capital align.
Access, however, is not only about ownership and procurement. It is also about who gets into the room.
A standard Mining Indaba pass costs about R60 000, putting the event beyond the reach of most young people. The NYDA has focused on lowering that barrier through the Young Professionals Programme, which allows young participants to attend free of charge.
“It’s very difficult for young people to access rooms where real decisions are made,” Makhanya said. “By leveraging our relationship with the department and organisers, we’re able to create a more equitable platform.”
Through the programme, young people can engage directly with mining executives, regulators and policymakers. The agency is also pressing organisers and industry players to think beyond the event itself and to develop programmes that continue after the indaba ends.
For Makhanya, the credibility of the intervention will be tested after the conference ends. Youth unemployment remains entrenched and mining and energy sit at the centre of South Africa’s economic strategy. “The real test will be the impact and the programmes that follow after the Indaba,” he said.
The NYDA’s approach is interventionist and unapologetic. It seeks to push youth access into spaces that have long been closed, using the state’s convening power to extract commitments from regulators and industry.
Whether that translates into sustained access, ownership and opportunity will become clear in the months that follow Mining Indaba 2026. For now, the agency has placed its bet on engagement over distance and on forcing the youth agenda into mining’s most guarded spaces.
