Despite gold's price slump, strong copper and iron ore prices lifted MINING.COM's ranking of the world's 50 most valuable miners to a new record high of $1.35 trillion.
The southern African nation, one of the top crude producers on the continent, has become a focus for the US in its campaign to secure critical minerals such as copper as it competes against China.
Efforts are part of India's membership under the US-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), which New Delhi joined last year to ensure critical minerals supply.