JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – South African mining needs what is often referred to as a one-stop shop to ensure that an applicant is not sent from one department to the other but goes to one place where the application is submitted and the applicant receives communication from one source.

“That’s a process that needs to take place as quickly as possible,” Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane highlighted during a media conference that followed the council’s 134th AGM in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

“That will make the cadastral system much more efficient and from that I think we’ll begin to see growth in terms of investment in existing operations, as well as investment for growth into the future,” added Mthenjane.

The questions Mining Weekly put were:

• What steps does Minerals Council South Africa intend taking to rebuild South Africa’s shrinking mining industry?
• What mistakes have been made that have caused the mining business to diminish in size?

Regarding the mistakes that have caused the decline, he said: “We do need to rethink the role of mining and the role of mining going into the future.

“It needs to be firmly placed as one of the key drivers of South Africa’s economy and, as I outlined in my speech, the multiplier effects are uncontested and these can be realised.”

Outlined during his speech is that a R1-million increase in mined output results in 2.5 economy-wide job opportunities, which means that seven to ten people live with dignity and escape the clutches of poverty that prevails in the country, based on household dependency of three to four individuals per employee.

“The mistake of not categorically listing mining as one of the key drivers of our economy needs to be addressed, and we need to put mining up there as the number one and number two item to discuss for future economic growth."

Regarding the steps the council intends taking to rebuild South Africa’s shrinking mining industry, he said what the industry is doing currently in terms of addressing the challenge of the need for enabling infrastructure is really the first step, because that’s going to give confidence then to invest into the future.

“When it then comes to what we need to do for long-term growth, that’s where a significant amount of effort needs to be placed on exploration.

“The cadastral system has been a huge focus but one area for me that is a concern, even before the cadastre, is the legislative arrangement, not only in so far as the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is concerned, but how that DMRE engages with other departments,” he said, citing the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, which need to be part of the single point of entry and exit imperative and application streamlining necessity.

DEVELOPMENT OF ALL SOUTH AFRICANS

South Africa’s mining industry can unlock the potential inherent in the industry for the development of all South Africans, with outgoing Minerals Council president Nolitha Fakude emphasising that the attention-getting catchwords, #Mining Matters to South Africa, have never been more relevant than they are today.

Over the past decades, the mining sector has worked progressively to help to create an inclusive socioeconomic future for South Africans going forward.

Management of the industry has transformed, with 83% of management being historically disadvantaged South Africans.

Also, on the mine ownership front, transformation since 1994 has yielded top-ranking black-owned and -managed companies such as African Rainbow Minerals, Exxaro Resources, Seriti Resources, Kalagadi Manganese, Siyanda Resources and Thungela Resources, “to name a few”, Fakude said.

Moreover, the industry has many small black-owned and black-women-owned and -led junior companies included in the membership of the Minerals Council. Of the 38 junior council member companies, 12 are wholly black-owned.

But opportunities have been missed owing to a less-than-ideal operating and legislative environment.

The slow pace of approvals of mining and exploration rights, erratic and expensive electricity supply, and declining rail and port functionality have prevented the mining industry from reaching its full potential.

Despite that, the Minerals Council continues to engage with government in collaboration with other business formations to address these issues through improved operational performance, and structural and regulatory reforms – “with small green shoots of progress starting to show”, added Fakude.