VerifiedMining engineering is one of the best-funded degrees in South Africa. Nearly every mining company runs a bursary, the sector has its own SETA, and the National Union of Mineworkers runs a trust of its own. The catch is that almost all of it is conditional: on working for the funder afterwards, on spending your holidays underground, or on coming from a particular community.
It is also a field with a second qualification after the degree. Running a mine in South Africa requires a certificate of competency issued by the state, not just an engineering qualification.
Where you can study mining engineering
Four institutions teach it: the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Pretoria, the University of Johannesburg and the University of South Africa. Wits runs one of the largest mining engineering schools in the world.
The BEng is accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa, which is what makes it count towards registration as a professional engineer and gives it international recognition under the Washington Accord. The University of Johannesburg also offers a BEngTech in mining engineering and qualifications in mine surveying, which is a separate profession.
Check that the qualification you are applying for is ECSA-accredited before you accept a bursary for it. A mining qualification that is not accredited does not lead to registration as a professional engineer, and several bursaries name the accredited programmes specifically.
Mining Qualifications Authority
The MQA is the sector education and training authority for mining and minerals, and unlike some SETAs it takes applications from students directly rather than only from employers.
It runs two separate rounds, which catches people out. The university round has closed at the end of July, and a separate TVET round opened in October. If you are at a college rather than a university, you are applying to a different cycle.
See our page on what the MQA bursary pays for the amounts.
Union and foundation trusts
- The JB Marks Education Trust Fund is run for the children of National Union of Mineworkers members and funds undergraduate and postgraduate study. It usually opens in March and closes on 1 July, which is months earlier than the company schemes. If a parent is a NUM member, this is the first application to make.
- The Thebe Foundation Dr EJ Mabuza Scholarship closed its 2027 round on 22 September 2026 at midday.
- The Dr Xolani Mkhwanazi South32 bursary funds engineering and environmental engineering. Its 2026 intake closed on 26 September 2025, so watch late September.
Mining company bursaries
| Funder | Notes | Last confirmed closing |
|---|---|---|
| Valterra Platinum | Formerly Anglo American Platinum. Applications after the closing date are rejected | 31 July 2026 |
| Glencore | Engineering and chemical engineering, from school level up | 1 July 2026 |
| Anglo American Coal | Continues under Thungela, administered by Career Wise | 31 August 2026 |
| Afrimat Nkomati Anthracite | Mpumalanga anthracite operation | 23 August 2026 |
| Columbus Stainless | Stainless steel, at Middelburg | 28 August 2026 |
| Kumba Iron Ore | Preference for the Northern Cape host communities | 3 October 2025 |
| Assmang | Mining, electrical and geology alongside rock engineering | 12 December 2025 |
| Tharisa | Full funding plus a graduate internship | 18 February 2026 |
| Harmony | Core technical fields including mining engineering | 27 February 2026 |
| African Rainbow Minerals | Split by campus between UP and NWU | 6 March 2026 |
| Mbuyelo | Khashani Colliery, with preference for the Ga-Nala community | 30 March 2026 |
| Marula Platinum | A social and labour plan scheme, with vacation work at the mine | 9 January 2026 |
| De Beers | Mining, mechanical and electrical engineering, metallurgy and mineral resource management | 21 January 2022 |
| Canyon Coal | Coal operations in Mpumalanga and Gauteng | 25 October 2024 |
These also fund mining engineering without a recently confirmed date: Gold Fields, Impala Platinum, BHP, Exxaro, Seriti, Lonmin, Northam Zondereinde, Keaton Energy and Rio Tinto Richards Bay Minerals.
Conditions attached
- Work-back. Usually one year of employment for each year funded. Leaving early converts the bursary to a debt.
- Vacation work. December and July holidays spent at the mine, which is where most of the practical training happens.
- Host-community preference. Many schemes exist to meet a social and labour plan, a legal commitment tied to the mining right, and are reserved for applicants from named municipalities.
- Commodity-cycle risk. Intakes shrink or stop when the metal price falls. Do not assume a scheme that funded thirty students two years ago will fund any this year.
Valterra Platinum has also run tuition support for outstanding student debt, which is separate from its bursary and is worth knowing about if you are blocked from registering or graduating by historic fees.
Construction and supplier bursaries
Mining engineers also work for the contractors and equipment suppliers, and several of those fund the degree without the host-community restriction.
- Concor — the construction group. Its annual closing date is 31 October, so it is open now.
- Basil Read — construction and opencast mining contracting.
- Baker Hughes — energy technology.
- PPC — cement and aggregates, which run on the same mining legislation.
- Rosond — drilling services.
Government bursaries
The Department of Mineral Resources bursary, now the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, funds the engineering and science disciplines it regulates. Its rounds have closed in late November and in December.
Certificates of competency
A mining engineering degree is not by itself a licence to run a mine. The Mine Manager’s Certificate of Competency is described by the department as a licence to practise at a South African mine, issued to a competent person who can be legally appointed to perform the duties of a mine manager under the Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996.
The department is the custodian of these Government Certificates of Competency, and the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate administers the examinations under Commissions of Examiners. Separate certificates exist for mine overseers, mine surveyors, blasting, and mine engineers on the electrical and mechanical side.
Plan for this from first year. The certificate requires practical experience underground as well as examinations, which is one reason the vacation work attached to a mining bursary is worth more than it looks. Details on the department’s GCC examinations pages.
Related qualifications
- Metallurgical engineering. See our metallurgy bursaries page.
- Mine surveying. A separate profession with its own certificate of competency. See our mine and mineral surveying bursaries page.
- Geology. The exploration side of the same industry. See our geology bursaries page.
- Rock engineering and ventilation. Usually postgraduate specialisations, named by Assmang and Siyanda Bakgatla.
- Mining trades. Fitter and turner, boilermaker, millwright and electrician qualifications, funded by the MQA and by most of the companies above.
When to apply
| Period | Action |
|---|---|
| March – July | The JB Marks trust opens in March and closes 1 July. Glencore and Valterra close. The MQA university round has closed at the end of July. |
| August – September | Anglo American Coal, Afrimat and Columbus Stainless close. The Thebe Foundation and South32 schemes close in late September. |
| October – December | Concor closes 31 October. Apply to NSFAS. Kumba, Assmang and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources close. The MQA TVET round opens in October. |
| January – March | Marula, De Beers, Tharisa, Harmony, ARM and Mbuyelo close. |
See also our engineering bursaries page, geology bursaries, and government bursaries.
