South Africa Resource Reserves (2026)

1982

2025

What to know

As of 2023, coal dominated South Africa's reserves at 10.9 billion short tons recoverable. It also held 0.015 billion barrels of oil and 0.530 trillion cubic feet of gas. Over the last decade, coal reserves declined significantly (-69%). EIA stopped publishing oil and gas proved reserves in 2023; the figures above use the latest archived release, while coal continues to update through 2023. Beyond fossil fuels, South Africa is the world's largest producer of Manganese and a top-ten producer of Iron Ore, part of a critical-minerals base spanning 8 commodities tracked by USGS. It also holds top-five reserves of Gold and top-ten reserves of Phosphate Rock.

Key reserves

Oil reserves (2021)

0.01 B bbl

Natural gas reserves (2012)

0.53 TCF

Coal reserves (2023)

10.9 B ST

Manganese reserves (2025)

550.0 Mt

Gold reserves (2025)

5.0 kt

Phosphate Rock reserves (2025)

1.5 Gt

Key terms

Proved reserves: — Quantities of crude oil or natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions.
Recoverable reserves: — Coal that can be technically and economically extracted with current mining methods at current prices. Excludes inaccessible deposits.
Billion barrels (B bbl): — Unit for oil reserves. One barrel equals 42 US gallons or about 159 litres.
Trillion cubic feet (TCF): — Unit for natural gas reserves. One TCF is roughly 28.3 billion cubic metres.
Million short tons (M ST): — Unit for coal reserves. One short ton equals 2,000 lb or 907 kg.

Crude oil proved reserves

In 2021, South Africa had 0.015 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves. Over the prior decade, those reserves held roughly steady.

Natural gas proved reserves

In 2012, South Africa held 0.530 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves. Reserves grew significantly over the prior decade (+52900%).

Coal recoverable reserves

As of 2023, South Africa's recoverable coal reserves totaled 10.9 billion short tons. That declined significantly compared with a decade earlier (-69%).

The bottom line

South Africa's reserve base was dominated by coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel by energy content. Reserve estimates had trended lower, reflecting extraction outpacing new discoveries.

Critical minerals (USGS)

South Africa produces Manganese, Gold, Iron Ore, Zinc, plus 1 more among USGS-tracked critical minerals.

USGS marks 2025 production figures and all reserve estimates as estimated; some earlier production years are USGS estimates as well. Each commodity below charts its own mine-production history, with the 2025 reserve shown beneath its chart.

Cobalt production

Nickel production

Manganese production

Gold production

Iron Ore production

Zinc production

Phosphate Rock production

Reserves only (2025)

USGS reports 2025 reserves for these commodities but no mine-production history for South Africa, so they have no chart.

Rare Earths reserves

860,000 metric tons

2025 (est.)

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration · Updated June 2026

What to know

Key reserves

Oil reserves (2021)

0.01 B bbl

Natural gas reserves (2012)

0.53 TCF

Coal reserves (2023)

10.9 B ST

Manganese reserves (2025)

550.0 Mt

Gold reserves (2025)

5.0 kt

Phosphate Rock reserves (2025)

1.5 Gt

Key terms

Proved reserves: — Quantities of crude oil or natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty are recoverable under existing economic and operating conditions.
Recoverable reserves: — Coal that can be technically and economically extracted with current mining methods at current prices. Excludes inaccessible deposits.
Billion barrels (B bbl): — Unit for oil reserves. One barrel equals 42 US gallons or about 159 litres.
Trillion cubic feet (TCF): — Unit for natural gas reserves. One TCF is roughly 28.3 billion cubic metres.
Million short tons (M ST): — Unit for coal reserves. One short ton equals 2,000 lb or 907 kg.

Crude oil proved reserves

In 2021, South Africa had 0.015 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves. Over the prior decade, those reserves held roughly steady.

Natural gas proved reserves

In 2012, South Africa held 0.530 trillion cubic feet of proved natural gas reserves. Reserves grew significantly over the prior decade (+52900%).

Coal recoverable reserves

As of 2023, South Africa's recoverable coal reserves totaled 10.9 billion short tons. That declined significantly compared with a decade earlier (-69%).

The bottom line

South Africa's reserve base was dominated by coal, the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel by energy content. Reserve estimates had trended lower, reflecting extraction outpacing new discoveries.

Critical minerals (USGS)

South Africa produces Manganese, Gold, Iron Ore, Zinc, plus 1 more among USGS-tracked critical minerals.

Reserves only (2025)

USGS reports 2025 reserves for these commodities but no mine-production history for South Africa, so they have no chart.

Rare Earths reserves

860,000 metric tons

2025 (est.)

Mozambique

Zimbabwe

Namibia

Botswana

Lesotho

Eswatini

What to know

Key reserves

The bottom line

Critical minerals (USGS)

Reserves only (2025)

Mozambique

Zimbabwe

Namibia

Botswana

Lesotho

Eswatini

What to know

Key reserves

The bottom line

Critical minerals (USGS)

Reserves only (2025)