Launch of PanAfGeo+ Country Window South Africa
The Council for Geoscience (CGS) has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO – Geological Survey of the Netherlands), formalising the PanAfGeo+ Country Window South Africa – a landmark scientific partnership set to unlock new economic, environmental, and diplomatic opportunities for South Africa. In attendance at the event was His Worship, Cllr Pule Shayi, Executive Mayor of Mopani District Municipality; Mr Mosa Mabuza, Chief Executive Officer of the Council for Geoscience; Ms Tirza van Daalen, Director of the Geological Survey of the Netherlands; H.E. Ms Joanne Doornewaard, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in South Africa; Mr Tshitekereke Matibe, MEC Economic Development, Environment and Tourism – Limpopo Province; Hon. Minister S.G. Mantashe (MP), Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources; and His Worship, Cllr Ngobeni, Executive Mayor of Greater Tzaneen Local Municipality.
The signing took place on the 7th of July 2026 in Tzaneen, Limpopo, at the launch of the PanAfGeo+ Country Window South Africa Workshop, hosted in collaboration with the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) and the EU Delegation to South Africa. The event builds on the EU – South Africa partnership on critical raw materials, signed on 20 November 2025.
The PanAfGeo+ CW South Africa project is guided by three specific objectives: strengthening national capabilities in critical raw materials – related geosciences, data management, and resource governance; supporting the implementation of national strategies on industrialisation, innovation, and the energy transition; and deepening scientific and institutional cooperation between South Africa and the European Union, particularly in securing supply chains of raw materials through responsible and transparent sourcing. Running over a three-year period from 2026 to 2028, the programme brings together EU, TNO alongside South Africa’s DMPR, CGS and the EU.
The South Africa Country Window represents a collaborative effort between CGS and TNO to translate these continental objectives into a focused national action plan, coordinated by TNO and led in partnership with the CGS and the EU. With the aim of turning geology into opportunity, this partnership is envisaged to create tangible value for communities in Limpopo to create jobs and grow the local economy, advance mineral diplomacy and global investment, as well as promoting decarbonisation efforts.
This MoU, and the launch of the PanAfGeo+ Country Window cements the Council for Geoscience’s position as an established geoscience authority on the African continent. By partnering with TNO, one of Europe’s most respected applied scientific institutions, CGS demonstrates its capability to operate at the highest levels of international scientific diplomacy. This positions South Africa not just as a resource-rich nation, but as an intellectual and technical leader shaping how the world thinks about critical minerals, carbon management, and sustainable resource development.
The project will be structured according to work packages that will guide implementation of the three-year cooperation focussed on geoscience mapping, critical mineral development, resource governance, and CCUS research through to 2028.
Mr Mosa Mabuza, Chief Executive Officer, Council for Geoscience said: “the partnership is both timely and strategically important, aligning closely with South Africa’s national development priorities. It will support the country’s role in the value chain for minerals required for electric vehicles and other clean-energy technologies, while also contributing to the secure supply of critical minerals for Europe and other strategic partners”.
“The world is changing rapidly, demand for critical raw materials is increasing, climate ambitions are becoming more ambitious, and society expects natural resource development to be conducted responsibly and transparently. In this environment, geological surveys have an increasingly important role to play by providing objective scientific evidence to support informed decision-making”, acclaimed Ms Tirza van Daalen, Director, Geological Survey of the Netherlands.
Hon. Minister S.G. Mantashe (MP), Minerals & Petroleum Resources concluded to say: “exploration is the foundation of mining, without exploration there can be no new mines, as exploration determines both the quantity and quality of mineral resources before mining begins. With this, the partnership should deliver these three tangible outcomes: increased mineral exploration, development of new mines, as well as the establishment of mineral processing and beneficiation facilities close to where minerals are extracted”
