Johannesburg - South Africa's improved ranking as a mining destination is due to the efforts of Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu and her department, the Chamber of Mines said on Tuesday.
"We are... pleased by South Africa's improvement as a mining destination from last year's 67th ranking out of 79 jurisdictions to 54th out of this year's 93 jurisdictions," said chamber CEO Bheki Sibiya in a statement.
Canada's influential Fraser Institute conducts an annual survey of mining companies, focusing on the attractiveness of mining destinations based on countries' policies.
"We see this as a reflection of the sterling work done by the Minister of Mineral Resources, the Honourable Susan Shabangu, and the officials of the department of mineral resources," Sibiya said.
The improvement could encourage greater investment in South Africa. However, much work still needs to be done to address issues such as community problems, the administration and interpretation of existing regulations, and the duplication of statutes regulating the mining industry.
"The fact that these were outlined in the survey meant they were considered as constraints by the investment community."
The Fraser Institute report highlighted fears over policy changes and labour militancy as concerns in South Africa, according to miningreview.com.