Overcoming great odds to make it in mining

Pinagare Mogodi is a South African born businessman and CEO of a multi-billion
Rand mining company, Matsapa-A-Botshelo. But he wasn’t always wealthy, and nor was he
born into an empire.

Struggling through post-apartheid South Africa, Mogodi was chased out of various
boardrooms, many in which he was the only young black businessman at the table. His ideas
were rejected and his solutions were discarded of.

Humble beginnings

Mogodi grew up in a small home in South Africa. He had a loving mother who worked
multiple jobs just to provide him with an opportunity to go to school and try to fit in with the rich
kids. His father was absent most of the time, and even when he was around, he was angry,
drunk, abusive.

He had a rich uncle – Ignatius Oupa Mphomane – who he observed closely. Pinagare looked up to this uncle and aspired to be an honourable man like him. He studied him and learnt valuable business lessons from his uncle.

Mogodi founded Matsapa‑A‑Botshelo (MAB) in 2010. The early years of his business were marked by financial hurdles and project setbacks, yet his resilience and long-term vision steered the company through adversity. He has two children and remembers struggling to pay their school fees during those years.

Construction forms the basis of his business which is now predominantly focused
on mining with newer developments in the telecoms and energy sector. Today, the group owns three mines, each with a lifespan exceeding 30 years, and employs over 500 people (both directly and indirectly). While operating the construction business in South Africa, they reportedly completed 512 projects before shifting purely into mining.

Entering the mining sector

The mining industry is known as South Africa’s largest sector, and consists of some of the
world’s most expensive asset classes. Mining requires a degree of geological, chemical,
financial and economic acumen.

MAB undertakes opencast mining along with crushing, screening, and bulk earthworks. The
company markets both washed and unwashed coal, with blending options supplied against
SCoTA/RB grades (RB1 – RB4). For chrome, MAB states it has distributed beneficiation facilities
with a secured 135,000 tonnes per month ROM feed, a 90,000 tonnes per month concentrate
output capacity, and a total processing capacity of 250,000 tonnes per month including tailings.
These volumes place MAB among the strongest performers in South Africa’s junior mining
sector.

The company has steadily expanded its logistics network to manage its growing output. With a fleet of 150 leased trucks and access to nearly 700 subcontractor vehicles, MAB moves ore from pit to plant, to siding, and ultimately to port. Coal is exported primarily through Richards Bay Coal Terminal and the Multi-Purpose Terminal, while chrome exports have also been reported through Durban.

MAB’s resources are drawn from South Africa’s most important mineral regions: coal from the
Karoo Supergroup coalfields and chrome from the Bushveld Igneous Complex in the Steelpoort
Valley. With a supply chain structured around Asian and European demand, Richards Bay
remains the primary export hub, while Mogodi has signalled intentions to expand commercial
operations into India. The company’s integrated approach – combining mining, processing, and
logistics – has made it a reliable supplier in the international commodities market.

Vertical Integration

In 2025, MAB began pursuing vertical integrations that stretch its business model far beyond
mining. MAB Energy, its new fuel supply arm, is rolling out diesel import and storage
infrastructure across Africa, while MAB Connect, the IT and connectivity division, is targeting
over 100,000 learners in underserved provinces with affordable internet, and continues to show
keen interest in externalizing his logistics operations that have thus far only been preserved for
internal use.

Backed by new shareholders, the company’s market valuation has doubled to R11.3 billion. For
Mogodi, these moves are not only about scaling revenue but about building interconnected
ecosystems that will power fleets, educate future generations, and cement MAB’s place as a
continental force in mining and beyond.

For Mogodi, the journey has never been just about profit. It has been about purpose, uplifting
people, creating jobs, and proving that the future of African industry can be written by African
leaders themselves. His legacy, still in the making, is proof that even from the most difficult
beginnings, it is possible to build a business that powers nations and inspires generations.