More importantly, in depressed conditions it is even less likely that the government will engineer the much-needed transition to a more diversified and low carbon economy. Given the dependence of the rest of the economy, especially other industrial sectors such as steel, equipment, petroleum products, and several others, the decline of mining can accelerate tendencies towards deindustrialisation. All of this points to the urgent need to develop an alternative industrial and development path that can address both SA’s jobs and environmental crises.