Khwela Capital’s Bold Investment in South Africa’s Manganese Sector Strengthens Country’s Influence in the Global 4IR Market

The news of DeepSeek’s launch sent shockwaves from Wall Street to Silicon Valley. The stock prices of American Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies tumbled. DeepSeek, a new Chinese AI application, outdid tech giants in the US.  

DeepSeek is free and open source. Its launch came just a day after Trump announced his $500 billion AI venture. Meanwhile, the company behind DeepSeek claims to have developed it with a mere $6 million budget – an amount that sounds absurd in comparison. Of course, the claim is not convincing. But DeepSeek’s success is undeniable. Behind its success lies an ancient principle captured in Sun Tzu’s classic The Art of War: “The greatest victory is that which requires no battle.” 

With this open-source AI tool, China delivered a devastating blow to American tech giants without firing a single shot. Similar tactics have been used before. For example; during World War II, Nazi Germany launched operation, a scheme to destabilise Britain’s economy by producing high-quality counterfeit banknotes. They planned to airdrop fake £5, £10, £20, and £50 notes, flooding the market and triggering inflation. 

China has mastered the art of staying ahead of the game by producing goods cheaper and faster. Using the same tactic, it overtook the British textile industry and started producing German cars.  Now, China is producing AI developed by Americans at an accelerated pace with less capital.  

Whether it comes from the Americans or the Chinese doesn’t matter. The fact is AI is changing the narrative. Are we moving toward the dystopian future seen in science fiction, or are we at the gate of a new paradise where machines handle life’s burdens, allowing humanity to focus on higher pursuits? One thing is certain – the world is changing. 

Apparently, South Africa has no place in the AI race. But we can build prosperity and contribute to the growing 4IR economy in other ways. Recently, the Steel & Ferroalloys Conference brought together industry leaders and experts to discuss Africa’s central role as a supplier of essential raw minerals that support the global steel industry. We attended this conference as Khwela Capital, a new investor in South Africa’s Ferromanganese sector. We have acquired Samancor’s Metalloys complex under the brand Khwelamet.  

South Africa holds the world’s largest manganese reserves. The country already supplies over 30% of the global market, and Metalloys is positioned to capitalise on this strength. The global steel industry depends on ferromanganese – over 90% of manganese production goes into steelmaking. Infrastructure growth in China, India, and Southeast Asia drives increasing steel demand, ensuring long-term market stability. Electric vehicle (EV) batteries and renewable energy storage create new demand for manganese-based technologies. The world’s demand for ferromanganese is rising, and South Africa is perfectly positioned to meet it. 

The Menar team attended the 20th Annual Southern African Coal Conference. This week, we are attending the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference, one of the world’s largest mining and natural resources gatherings. The future energy projections of developed countries – once based on green policies and energy-saving bulbs are no longer viable. While governments and big companies plan for a future of saving energy and raw materials, the rise of AI and robotics is taking us in the opposite direction. It is driving energy and resource demand back to levels we have not seen since the first Industrial Revolution. 

We are not just upgrading old systems – we are building a whole new way of production from scratch. Energy demand levels initially forecasted for 2050 are likely to occur two decades sooner than expected. This shift is reshaping politics, influencing elections, and shaking global paradigms. Trump even wants Canada for its hydro resources. The new world demands even more of our coal and minerals to keep running. 

All these events show that we can become a global powerhouse by supplying the natural resources and raw materials this new world needs. To achieve this, we need uninterrupted energy for production and properly functioning railways that will deliver the goods we produce to the ports. Additionally, we need ports that run optimally and qualified people in the right positions. South Africa has the talent to drive innovation. We should keep these engineers and technicians here. We must stop the brain drain and tell the world about our strengths, attracting the best minds and capital to build with us.