President Jacob Zuma has squashed more than two years of talk about the nationalisation of South Africa's mining sector, saying state control or ownership would not work.

Asked during a televised breakfast briefing on Friday if the government planned to nationalise mines, Zuma said: "We're very clear. It is not our policy. We've been saying this inside the country, outside the country. It cannot be."

He said the ANC Youth League under the leadership of Julius Malema had raised the issue and, as was the norm, it would be discussed at ANC policy conferences.

"It is only that decision of that conference. We do not do things in secret... It does not mean that [because] one person has a view it is policy," he said.

"Please, nationalisation is not the ANC or government’s policy."

Zuma's comments lay to rest two years of debate that hit South Africa's image as an investor-friendly emerging market.

Image: Getty