South Africa's narrow-reef mining operations are facing challenges such as volatile commodity prices, operational cost increases in excess of inflation, health and safety issues, and depletion of less geologically complex reserves. These challenges have resulted in declining production profiles for many mining companies. Data collected and modelled from South Africa's three principal gold mining companies, AngloGold Ashanti, Harmony Gold, and Sibanye Gold, indicates that 592 Mt of mineable gold resources remain, with up to 496 Mt of potential reserves available if miners adopt mechanized systems. These resources have the potential to extend the life of gold mining operations beyond the year 2045. A similar situation exists in the platinum sector, where 360 Mt of production can be exploited with the application of non-conventional mining methods. During investigations as part of the Phakisa initiative, it was noted that current industry challenges require solutions that are specific to the South African tabular mining environment. These solutions include increasing local mining research and development capacity, encouragement of local equipment manufacturing and associated procurement, and technology and skills transfer. Owing to the magnitude of the changes required to establish a sustainable mining industry, stakeholders agreed to a collaborative approach through a public-private partnership. This paper seeks to provide a background to the Mining Phakisa initiative and the drivers behind collaboration of various stakeholders to ensure sustainability of the South African deep-level mining industry. The collaboration drivers are discussed by highlighting challenges in South Africa in relation to mining.