It is quite possible to ask the question: “What other exchange rate arrangement would have actually withstood those tensions?” If anything, fixed exchange rates would probably have increased those tensions or would at least have politicised them more strongly.
The mining industry, largely supported by gold, diamonds, coal and the platinum group of metals, has for more than a century contributed significantly to the national economy. It has provided the impetus for the development of physical infrastructure, as well as the establishment of the country’s secondary industries. South Africa is a leading supplier of a range of minerals and mineral products.