South Africa will encourage companies to process raw minerals before they are exported, the mines minister said on Tuesday, to increase value added jobs in the resource industry.

Africa's largest economy is keen to diversify its mining sector through the processing of raw minerals before export, known as beneficiation.

Ms Susan Shabangu told a news briefing on the sidelines of an annual mining conference that "A beneficiation strategy has been adopted by government. Five minerals which will be a priority are manganese, iron ore, coal, platinum and titanium.”

She said the strategy would not lead to a "complete ban on exports", but did not give futher details.

South Africa accounts for about 80% of global platinum supply, so any move to add value to the precious metal will be keenly watched by markets.

(Sourced from Thomson Reuters)