South Africa’s mining equipment manufacturing sector marked a major milestone at the 2026 MEMSA #MindShift Conference, celebrating ten years of industry collaboration while tackling some of mining’s biggest technological and industrial shifts.

Hosted by the Mining Equipment Manufacturers of South Africa (MEMSA), the conference brought together mining leaders, OEMs, engineers, researchers and policymakers to explore how South African manufacturers can remain globally competitive in an increasingly digital, automated and sustainability-driven mining environment.

A strong message emerged throughout the event: the future of mining will depend as much on mindset, collaboration and innovation ecosystems as it will on machinery itself.

Opening the conference, MEMSA Chair Matimba Mahange urged industry players to “hunt in packs” if South Africa is to innovate and compete globally. That collaborative spirit became one of the defining themes of the conference.

Even discussions around AI carried a uniquely African perspective, with the MC referring to AI not only as “Artificial Intelligence,” but also “African Intelligence” — reinforcing the idea that Africa’s mining future must be shaped by African solutions, African innovation and African ownership.

Innovation no longer optional

The 2026 #MindShift Conference made it clear that innovation is no longer optional for mining OEMs.

South African manufacturers are facing mounting pressure from global competition, changing customer expectations, energy transition demands and increasingly digital mining environments. Yet local companies are also proving that technologies developed within South Africa’s mining ecosystem can compete successfully on the global stage.

This was reflected strongly in the Innovation for Mining and Excellence Awards, which recognised technologies delivering measurable impact in productivity, safety, sustainability and operational performance.

One of the standout examples was SAMPEC member AZTEC Innovative Mining Solutions, which received both the Excellence Award: Global Game Changer and the Innovation in Mineral Processing Award.

Its patented reactor technology enables the recovery of additional gold from as-arising leach tailings through a novel counter-current flow design. Judges described the solution as a globally unique and disruptive technology.

Importantly, AZTEC exported 100% of its production output during 2023, 2024 and 2025 before securing its first South African order in 2026, a powerful indicator of the global competitiveness of South African mining innovation.

Digital mining moves beyond digitisation

Another dominant theme at #MindShift was the integration of digital capability directly into mining equipment and operations.

Bell Equipment South Africa, winner of the Innovation in Surface Mining category, showcased this through its advanced Motor Grader platform featuring telematics, AI-ready architecture and automation integration capability.

The shift reflects how mining customers increasingly expect more than mechanical performance alone — demanding operational visibility, predictive maintenance and intelligent systems integration.

Digital innovation was also recognised through awards presented to SmartOps and Mentormate.

SmartOps received the Digital Solutions for Mining Award for its Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networking system enabling highly accurate underground positioning and real-time communication. The same technology also earned the company the Innovation in Soft Rock Mining Award.

Mentormate, winner of the inaugural Innovative Use of Data and AI category, demonstrated how AI is beginning to reshape technical decision-making in mining. Its AI-powered engineering expertise platform provides real-time technical guidance using Southern African mining legislation, standards and operational case studies.

The conference repeatedly reinforced that mining companies are moving beyond simple digitisation toward practical applied intelligence.

AI, mindset and African ownership

Discussions around AI extended well beyond technology itself.

Delegates reflected on how the mining industry may be entering the first period in history where white-collar professionals have developed technologies capable of disrupting white-collar jobs at scale.

Yet speakers consistently stressed that the future will belong to organisations capable of adapting rather than resisting technological change.

One of the strongest reflections shared during the conference was:

“A mine is never limited by the depth of its ore body first. It is limited by the depth of its thinking.”

Another recurring theme focused on the importance of mindset in shaping industrial competitiveness:

“What we feed our minds today becomes the infrastructure of tomorrow.”

Julie Courtnage, Executive Director of the Mandela Mining Precinct, noted during discussions that “no country is AI-native,” reinforcing the idea that every country is navigating the same technological transition and that South Africa has an opportunity to shape globally relevant mining technologies rather than simply importing them.

Ian MacKay, Associate Director at PwC, highlighted another strategic advantage, stressing the need “to mine the valuable data collected over centuries of mining in the country.” Delegates noted that South Africa’s extensive mining history provides enormous operational and geological datasets that could become highly valuable in future AI-driven exploration, predictive maintenance and operational optimisation systems.

At the same time, caution was raised around technology adoption without capability development. Glen Nwaila, Director of the African Research Centre for Ore System Science (CORES) at the University of Johannesburg, noted:

“Simply giving people new technology can create dependency rather than efficiency.”

He emphasised that technology alone does not improve productivity unless supported by skills, systems, understanding and ownership.

Challenges facing OEMs

While the conference celebrated innovation, it also provided a realistic assessment of the challenges facing South African OEMs.

Infrastructure instability, energy constraints, logistics inefficiencies and rising operating costs continue to affect manufacturing competitiveness. Local manufacturers are also competing against multinational OEMs with far greater scale and access to capital.

Skills shortages remain another major concern as mining technologies become more advanced and increasingly require expertise across engineering, automation, software integration and intelligent systems.

This challenge formed part of the rationale behind the Excellence Award: Future Workforce Builders category. Bell Equipment South Africa was recognised for supporting 278 apprentices while integrating digital skills into artisan training programmes.

Buraaq Mining Services, winner of both the SME Future Workforce Builders Award and the Innovation by an SME category, was recognised for its growing artisan training programme and strong culture of continuous learning.

Growth and export opportunities

Despite these pressures, the overall tone of the conference remained optimistic regarding the future of South African mining manufacturing.

Delegates repeatedly pointed to growing global demand for safer, smarter and lower-emission mining technologies as a major opportunity for local OEMs.

HydroPower Systems, winner of the Innovation Towards Zero Harm category, demonstrated this through its water-powered remote drilling system enabling safer underground ore pass development.

Wekaba Engineering’s patented Grout Flower Seal Solution, winner of the Innovation in Hard Rock Mining category, illustrated how highly practical South African innovations can achieve meaningful industry adoption, with more than 1.3-million units already sold.

Meanwhile, Gravitas Minerals, winner of the Innovation for an Energy Transition in Mining category, showcased how sustainability-focused technologies developed locally may find increasing relevance internationally as mining companies pursue decarbonisation and tailings reduction strategies.

As MEMSA celebrated its tenth anniversary, the #MindShift Conference reinforced one clear message: South Africa’s mining manufacturing sector possesses the engineering capability, operational experience and innovative capacity to compete globally.

The challenge now lies in scaling these innovations, strengthening industrial ecosystems and ensuring African mining technologies continue shaping the future of mining — locally and internationally.

As MEMSA deputy-chair Dr Lynette Magasa concluded:

“South Africa’s next mining chapter will be shaped by ideas, courage, collaboration and people willing to build.”