Podcasts about african mining indaba

Nosipho Radebe is in conversation with Taufeeq Dhansay, Manager for Minerals & Energy at the Council for GeosciencesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 31st African Mining Indaba, or conference, is underway in Cape Town, South Africa with over 115 countries represented. At the forefront of many discussions are the plans of U.S. President Donald Trump, and the effect that U.S. tariffs and the freeze on foreign aid might have on Africa's mining industries. Vicky Stark was there and filed this report

The largest mining gathering on the African continent – the 31st edition of the Invest in African Mining Indaba is currently being held in Cape Town.This year’s event was convened under the theme “Future-Proofing African Mining”. Mr Matimba Mahenge, CEO of JA Engineering See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will today address the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, amidst illegal mining challenges. For over 30 years, the Indaba has been the premier platform for mining professionals and investors to tap into Africa's vast mining potential. This year's event comes amidst the challenges of illegal mining in Stilfontein, North West. To share his expertise, Elvis Presslin spoke to Frans Baleni, Chair of the Investing in African Mining Indaba and former General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)...

The Simandou project in Guinea is the largest greenfield integrated mine and infrastructure project in development in Africa. Unlike mining's traditional “pit to port” model, Simandou promises to touch every region of the country, bringing development to hitherto neglected communities and transforming Guinea into a key player in the global steel industry. Kicking off Voices of Africa in 2025, Aboubacar Koulibaly and Ismael Diakité reveal details of this monumental project dubbed the 'backbone of Guinea's economy' and progress towards production of first ore in November 2025. Produced by Africa Practice, in partnership with the African Minerals Development Centre and the Investing in African Mining Indaba.

Africa's vast reserves of critical minerals are vital to the global energy transition, but how can the continent move from exporting raw materials to leading in value-added processing? In this episode of Voices of Africa, John Magok and Deshan Naidoo join Marcus Courage and Laura Nicholson to discuss green financing, intentional collaboration, downstream beneficiation, and the policies and partnerships essential for sustainable growth. This episode was produced by Africa Practice in partnership with the African Minerals Development Centre and the Investing in African Mining Indaba.

In our special edition episode of Voices of Africa, Tatenda Mungofa, CEO of Mureza Auto Co., envisions an African industrial renaissance where local minerals, manufacturing, and innovation drive economic transformation. Join Tatenda, Africa Practice CEO, Marcus Courage, and Head of Content & Strategic Partnerships at Mining Indaba, Laura Nicholson, as they discuss Africa-led industrialisation shaping the continent, one component at a time. This episode was produced by Africa Practice in partnership with the African Minerals Development Centre and the Investing in African Mining Indaba.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. South Africa's consistently advancing mining investment company Menar has signed a memorandum of agreement with the government of Gabon. "We think that Gabon is one of the promising countries when it comes to investments in mining, especially manganese and iron-ore," Menar MD Vuslat Bayoglu highlighted during a Zoom interview with Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) "We've been looking at doing things in Gabon for a while, and we did our homework and we ended up signing an MOU. We haven't gone further than that yet. But soon, we're hoping to have a visit to the country and start talking with the relevant government authorities to look at what is available and what we can do in terms of prospecting for manganese and iron-ore, which is part of our diversification strategy. "We're hoping that we're going to add a nice project in one of these ferrous metals in Gabon," said Bayoglu. "There was a change of government. As you know, there was a coup in the country. But they reorganised as mining is a very important revenue maker for the country. "They know that South Africa is a great mining culture, so they appreciate that we're showing interest and they're very responsive. From time to time, there are some issues some glitches but in general, they're very good in terms of responding to our requests or our questions. Mining Weekly: And you managed to speak to key members of the Gabon government face to face at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town. Bayoglu: Yes, I did. I had the one-on-one meeting with them at the Mining Indaba and we're planning to visit Gabon in June. GUGULETHU PROJECT Meanwhile, in South Africa, investment in Gugulethu Colliery project has been completed, with opencast mining under way and infrastructure built. "We processed our first run of mine about three weeks ago and we're currently at the point of trying to ramp up to steady state," Bayoglu said. At steady state, the colliery will be employing 410 people. " We're employing people from the local community. We've already trained 41 new young male and female operators, so it's exciting for the community and it's exciting for the company to see the project progressing well. "We had some delays in the project because of rain and believe it or not, at some point, it snowed in that area. We're trying to catch up and it's looking very promising and we're hoping to reach the steady state in three months' time. Everything is going according to plan and we're expecting to move the first coal to the port in two to three weeks," Bayoglu added. On the rail logistics front, South Africa has seen the private sector stepping up to assist the State-run Transnet Freight Rail. How impactful do you think these public-private interventions will be? The collaboration between Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) and Transnet Freight Rail is working quite well. We actually started to help with security because one of the big issues is cable theft and that actually helped Transnet to drop the cable theft cases. Then we started talking about batteries and compressors and RBCT shareholders are helping Transnet regarding that point and the collaboration is working very well, which shows that private companies can work with State-owned entities if the will is there. In the last three to four weeks, Transnet Freight Rail consistently transported 1.1-million tonnes per week compared with the levels of 800 000 t to 900 000 t of the past. There's still a lot to be done because Transnet Freight Rail is targeting to move 60-million tonnes to RBCT this year from coalfields compared with last year's figure of 47-million tonne. Even if Transnet Freight Rail does not achieve the 60-million tonnes targeted, I'm still very hopeful that they will do better than last year. The recent changes in management have been very positively received and people who are in charge are very experienc...

Investing in African Mining Indaba is a staple in the mining industry's calendar. Once again, attendees from all over the globe met to discuss and explore the latest trends and developments in Africa's mineral industry under the theme “Embracing the power of positive disruption: A bold new future for African mining”. Join Wayne Malgas for a conversation with Jon Greenaway and Vincent Rouget, experts in our Sydney, Johannesburg and London offices, respectively, as they discuss the main issues from this year's Mining Indaba, which include topics around critical minerals and resource nationalism.

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer unpacks headlines from the Investing in African Mining Indaba, criminal syndicates identified by Transnet and noise-induced hearing loss displacing TB and silicosis as the top priority health threat in the South African mining industry

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Striving for sustainability in every facet of the gold mining industry's value chain is imperative and while considerable progress has been made in several areas, including responsible practices and reporting, as well as decarbonisation, there is still work to be done in other areas, such as gender parity and bolstering the involvement of junior miners. This was noted by industry organisation World Gold Council (WGC) climate change lead and market relations director John Mulligan. Speaking to Mining Weekly from the Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, Mulligan averred that the gold mining industry represented by the WGC's member, had shown "great awareness" of most of the key aspects of sustainability, because investors and local stakeholders had demanded it, while societal expectations for this increasing over the past few years had also played a key driving force. He emphasised that gold and the gold mining industry had a crucial, two-fold role to play in the just energy transition. Firstly, while the resource is not part of the basket of critical minerals that many governments identify as key inputs in renewable energy technologies, it certainly has a role to play in facilitating both local decarbonisation and resilience. Secondly, and importantly, Mulligan highlighted the significant role that gold mining could and had played in actually delivering renewable energy projects, with many companies undertaking projects on or adjacent to their operations. He cited the example of a large-scale solar plant at Gold Fields' South Deep gold mine, in South Africa, where the mining sector exerted pressure on the government to change regulation to allow for self-generation of energy. In the country, investing in renewable energy projects for own generation has allowed mining companies to decarbonise their operations, buffered them somewhat from the impacts of the country's energy crisis and, as Mulligan pointed out, introduced renewable technologies into areas in the country that may otherwise have been economically unviable. "Mining companies are therefore able to decarbonise their own operations, while at the same time bringing cleaner energy to remote and rural areas that may not otherwise have had capacity and access," Mulligan acclaimed, adding that this wasplaying out across the continent as well. "Gold miners can lay claim to being leaders in having brought renewable energy at an industrial scale to the process and having demonstrated to other parts of the South African economy that it is viable." To engender sustainability in other areas of the gold mining value chain, Mulligan pointed out that key for the WGC had been the launch of the Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs) in 2019. Compulsory for all WGC members, these are 51 principles and ten overarching principles, which seek to encourage good practice and high standards of performance, across the entire spectrum of responsible business practice. Mulligan highlighted that this provided tangible proof of responsible mining, as companies had to demonstrate what responsibility meant, and the performance they were designed to encourage was also independently verified. With the WGC members representing about two-thirds of all global corporate gold mining production, Mulligan asserted that, over the next reporting cycle, a considerable percentage of gold would have been demonstrated to have been produced under transparent conditions in terms of high-quality sustainability responsibility practices. He informed that reporting began gathering pace last year, after a delay from the pandemic, with about half of the members now reporting full adherence to the cycle. He also attested to the meticulousness of the RGMPs, with the council undertaking a very "consultative process" in its development - liaising with members about their performance on specific issues, as well as engagements w...

The African Mining Indaba 2024 on how to invest in the African mining sector, is taking place in Cape Town, South Africa.  Who benefits the most from the continent's expansive mining industry and is investment in mineral processing in the continent on course? There is an increase of cases of Dementia in Africa.  According to one recent report, dementia will affect over three million people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.  Countries in the region have the fastest growing older population in the world.  Is the continent equipped to deal with the rise in numbers? And we probe the rivalry between Nigeria and South Africa as they argue over who is better at entertainment..and football!

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Africa is going to have a huge amount to do to help solve the world's climate change problems, Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines executive chairperson Robert Friedland emphasised in his far-reaching 30th address to the 30th Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town. In those 30 consecutive Indaba presentations, Friedland has regularly highlighted the global need to combat climate change along with the critical role that young Africans will play in saving the planet, even though Africa has done the least to damage it. Last year, humanity experienced the highest temperatures ever recorded. "This is no joke, and it's not going away," Friedland told the full-house audience at the even covered by Mining Weekly. In current circumstances, the world's greatest commodity is, no, not copper, but water, "the most valuable commodity on our planet", with only 2.5% of it fresh and humanity facing a looming water crisis. Ivanhoe Mines is advancing mine development at the Platreef platinum-palladium-gold-nickel-copper discovery on the Northern Limb of South Africa's Bushveld Complex, mine development and exploration at the Kamoa-Kakula copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and upgrading at the historic Kipushi zinc-copper-silver-germanium mine, also on the DRC's Copperbelt. "As we survey the dry areas in South Africa, which is water stressed, we can find a lot more water and the mining industry will be involved in agricultural development. "It is, in fact, crucial in what we are trying to do to combine agricultural development with mining. Part of mining with a greater purpose is to develop agriculture around our mines," Friedland said. Each one degree Celsius increase in temperature causes about a 2% reduction in agricultural output. While the United States, through the Inflation Reduction Act, was earmarking some $3-trillion of expenditure to try to do something about climate change, two automotive companies, Stellantis and Toyota, were blasting the administration's plan for electric cars on the grounds that the very act of mining the raw materials needed to build the electric cars, is going to destroy the environment. "Renewables technology is absurdly metals intensive. A typical electric car uses about six times the minerals of a conventional car. An offshore wind farm uses nine times more minerals than a gas car. This is a huge dilemma," said Friedland. "There's a reason why underwater power cables are so expensive," he said, displaying a huge set of copper-based undersea power cables. "We're talking about just the copper wire for offshore wind being $267-billion in 2030. Now let's talk about the grid. This is a crazy statistic. "We need $21-trillion of investment in the grid building 80-million kilometres of grid to allow us to replace the global electrical grid. "If everybody would go and plug in a Tesla this afternoon, the grid could not deliver. The entire grid needs to be replaced. What are the grids made of? They're made out of metal. "We have mined as a species, 700-million metric tonnes of copper. We are scheduled to require another 700-million metric tonnes in the next 22 years. "Where the hell is this metal supposed to come from and how are we going to mine it? "The United States actually has a government agency that doesn't even have copper listed as a critical raw material. We're going to need a telescope to see the amount of copper we require in the rest of my natural lifespan. "We've lost about a million metric tonnes of copper supply just this year with the problems with the environmental aspects of a mine in Panama and other surprises. "The current copper price simply isn't high enough to do an environmentally class job of building giant coper mines in Latin America. Where's the water going to come from? "And we have the stupid system where all the copper is priced the same. How can we have the same price for copper ...

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Diamond mining and marketing company De Beers is to collaborate with Angola on opportunities to increase diamond production, support alluvial mining sector and enhance social development for the benefit of Angola's citizens. De Beers on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Angola's National Mineral Resource Agency, Angola's State-owned Endiama diamond company, and Angola's State-owned Sodiam diamond trading company, to support these objectives. "Angola continues to set an example as a country that has reformed its prospects through enhanced transparency, adoption of internationally recognised best practices and a business-friendly investment environment," De Beers CEO Al Cook highlighted following the MOU signing at the Investing in African Mining Indaba under way in Cape Town. "This is a strategic partnership with the objective of increasing diamond production in Angola to contribute towards the socio-economic development of our country," said Endiama CEO Ganga Junior. The MOU extends the partnership of De Beers with Angola beyond the two mineral investment contracts of 2022, which were for licence areas in north-eastern Angola where exploration activities are now under way. "I look forward to continuing to work with our partners in Angola through harnessing our collective expertise and ambition to support a thriving diamond sector," Cook added in a release to Mining Weekly. Key areas where the parties agree to work together to consider shared initiatives include reviewing several kimberlite deposits to reassess their economic attractiveness through the application of new De Beers technologies, promoting the transparency and traceability of diamond production, and identifying opportunities to build local community capacity by leveraging the Building Forever sustainability framework of the De Beers Group.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. Noise-induced hearing loss has displaced tuberculosis (TB) and silicosis as the top priority health threat of the South African mining industry. "I'm emphasising noise-induced hearing loss because the other diseases have gone down markedly whereas as noise-induced hearing loss has not gone down as much," Minerals Council South Africa health department head Dr Thuthula Balfour revealed on day-two of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town. The lowest number of occupational diseases reported to date was 1 924 in 2021. The 15 years from 2008 to 2021 saw a massive upwards-of-75% decrease in occupational diseases, with the biggest fall being in TB and silicosis and a lesser fall in noise-induced hearing loss, Balfour told a Minerals Council media briefing in which CEO Mzila Mthenjane, Japie Fullard, Dushendra Naidoo and Sietse van der Woude participated. While noise-induced hearing loss has overtaken TB and silicosis, it must be remembered that coal workers are exposed to lung disease from coal dust, Balfour pointed out at the media briefing covered by Mining Weekly. Of concern are the significant numbers of mine employees who continue to be exposed to noise levels above 85 decibels and key interventions to eliminate noise at the source are under way. Balfour urged that companies to desist from supplying equipment with excessive noise levels as the earmuffs meant to be worn to shield employees from loud sound tend to not be worn efficiently especially during high humidity and high temperature conditions. The elimination of excessive noise is being driven very aggressively "and we are finding a lot of progress", Balfour disclosed. Being targeted in particular are noisy rockdrill held close to the ear and through partnership, drills that emit far less noise are emerging. Coincidentally, the less noisy rockdrills on offer are also considerably lighter in weight, which has opened the way for women to become rockdrill operators.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the mining sector has seen significant growth and major transformation, with black ownership increasing from 2% in 2004 to 39% this year. Ramaphosa was addressing the 30th Investing in African Mining Indaba, currently underway in Cape Town. The 2024 African Mining Indaba, the world's largest gathering of influential stakeholders in the mining industry focuses on the capitalization and development of mining interests in Africa. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to David Van Wyk, Lead Researcher at Bench Marks Foundation

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a leading supplier of products, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. The domestic mining industry is looking at 2024 as a year of stabilisation, rather than growth, says Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane. The industry continues to face persistent challenges such as loadshedding, an ailing logistics sector, and a declining commodity market. Mthenjane spoke at a Minerals Council media briefing, held on Monday morning ahead of the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 in Cape Town. Council data, released on Monday, shows that the mining industry's contribution to South Africa's gross domestic product declined to 6.2% in 2023, down from 7.3% in 2022. Total primary sales dropped from R883.5-billion in 2022, to R786.2-billion last year. Overall, mining input costs in South Africa increased by 8.6% year-on-year in 2023 - well above inflation - softening from 13.8% in 2022. Minerals Council chief economist Hugo Pienaar noted that there were some "very small, initial green shoots" visible in terms of Eskom energy supply as 2024 kicked into gear. "Let's hope it continues." Pienaar was hopeful that the next 12 to 18 months could see an improvement in both the frequency and severity of loadshedding. He warned, however, that seeing an uptick in the logistics system would take longer. Pienaar said the Council was seeking the rapid appointment of permanents CEOs in all Transnet executive positions, and for the permanent infrastructure manager to be announced as soon as possible. "This will be the vehicle through which the concessioning of private sector involvement on rail is likely to be driven. "In a very optimistic scenario this manager is probably up and running by April, May, and then the concessioning needs to start." Pienaar also emphasised that Transnet would need funding support from national government, and that such support should be announced in Budget 2024. "Transnet's turnaround plan cannot work if there are no funds from national government." Jobs in Jeopardy Minerals Council president Nolitha Fakude said the mining industry was being "severely and negatively affected by the crisis in energy, logistics and crime". She noted that crime and corruption remained a pervasive challenge for the industry, in terms of not only personal safety for the mining sector's employees, but also around the issue of illegal mining. "If these three areas are not driven in a very focused manner by government, business and other stakeholders, it is going to be very difficult to stabilise the economic environment that we need to unlock job opportunities, but more importantly, protect current jobs." She noted that a failure to address these challenges would be "disastrous", not only for the mining sector, but for the economy as a whole. Fakude added that the mining industry paid R186.5-billioin in wages in 2023, up from R174.2-billion in 2022. Employment also rose slightly, to 477 000 people, up from 469 353 in 2022. As for the rollout of a long-awaited electronic mining cadastre, Pienaar said the Council was awaiting more detail on government's announcement last week of the preferred bidder to design and implement a functioning cadastre for South Africa. "Timelines would be useful. At best, it would be implemented in 2025." Pienaar noted that the rollout of the cadastre could be a game changer for exploration spending in the country. A minerals cadastre lists available mining or prospecting rights, properties currently under a mining or prospecting right, and the expiry of currently held rights and the ownership of these rights. It allows companies to apply for exploration, prospecting, mining and related rights, and for the regulator to process such applications. Looking ahead, Pienaar said an easing in global inflation could see a softening in interest rates in the second half of 2024, which could see economic conditions improve in 2025.

This audio is brought to you by Endress and Hauser, a leading supplier of products, solutions and services for industrial process measurement and automation. The domestic mining industry is looking at 2024 as a year of stabilisation, rather than growth, says Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane. The industry continues to face persistent challenges such as loadshedding, an ailing logistics sector, and a declining commodity market. Mthenjane spoke at a Minerals Council media briefing, held on Monday morning ahead of the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2024 in Cape Town. Council data, released on Monday, shows that the mining industry's contribution to South Africa's gross domestic product declined to 6.2% in 2023, down from 7.3% in 2022. Total primary sales dropped from R883.5-billion in 2022, to R786.2-billion last year. Overall, mining input costs in South Africa increased by 8.6% year-on-year in 2023 - well above inflation - softening from 13.8% in 2022. Minerals Council chief economist Hugo Pienaar noted that there were some "very small, initial green shoots" visible in terms of Eskom energy supply as 2024 kicked into gear. "Let's hope it continues." Pienaar was hopeful that the next 12 to 18 months could see an improvement in both the frequency and severity of loadshedding. He warned, however, that seeing an uptick in the logistics system would take longer. Pienaar said the Council was seeking the rapid appointment of permanents CEOs in all Transnet executive positions, and for the permanent infrastructure manager to be announced as soon as possible. "This will be the vehicle through which the concessioning of private sector involvement on rail is likely to be driven. "In a very optimistic scenario this manager is probably up and running by April, May, and then the concessioning needs to start." Pienaar also emphasised that Transnet would need funding support from national government, and that such support should be announced in Budget 2024. "Transnet's turnaround plan cannot work if there are no funds from national government." Jobs in Jeopardy Minerals Council president Nolitha Fakude said the mining industry was being "severely and negatively affected by the crisis in energy, logistics and crime". She noted that crime and corruption remained a pervasive challenge for the industry, in terms of not only personal safety for the mining sector's employees, but also around the issue of illegal mining. "If these three areas are not driven in a very focused manner by government, business and other stakeholders, it is going to be very difficult to stabilise the economic environment that we need to unlock job opportunities, but more importantly, protect current jobs." She noted that a failure to address these challenges would be "disastrous", not only for the mining sector, but for the economy as a whole. Fakude added that the mining industry paid R186.5-billioin in wages in 2023, up from R174.2-billion in 2022. Employment also rose slightly, to 477 000 people, up from 469 353 in 2022. As for the rollout of a long-awaited electronic mining cadastre, Pienaar said the Council was awaiting more detail on government's announcement last week of the preferred bidder to design and implement a functioning cadastre for South Africa. "Timelines would be useful. At best, it would be implemented in 2025." Pienaar noted that the rollout of the cadastre could be a game changer for exploration spending in the country. A minerals cadastre lists available mining or prospecting rights, properties currently under a mining or prospecting right, and the expiry of currently held rights and the ownership of these rights. It allows companies to apply for exploration, prospecting, mining and related rights, and for the regulator to process such applications. Looking ahead, Pienaar said an easing in global inflation could see a softening in interest rates in the second half of 2024, which could see economic conditions improve in 2025.

This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist. In 2004, the year South Africa's far-reaching Mining Charter was first introduced, black ownership in South Africa's globally recognised mining industry stood at a negligible 2%. This has now leapt nearly 20 times higher to approximately 39%, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted in his well-attended, full-house opening address on day-one of the four-day Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town which is being attended by close to 10 000 people. "It's fitting that the 30th Mining Indaba is taking place in the year that South Africa celebrates the 30th year of its democracy," said Ramaphosa in outlining the significant transformation that South Africa's mining industry has undergone in the last three decades, after being a pillar of South African's economic strength for one and a half centuries. Mining continues to account for about 60% of South African exports by value. Working with industry and labour, the President outlined how democratic government had been able to transform the sector, which was notorious for labour exploitation, human rights violations, and poor health and safety standards during the apartheid era. Today, the rights of 476 000 people employed by the mining industry are protected and a legal regime confers responsibility on mining companies to provide quality services and promote development in communities where they operate. There are also a number of employee share ownership schemes through which mineworker participation in mining companies is being promoted. "We are all acutely aware that we face strong headwinds, and a number of persistent challenges are impeding mining performance. "Globally, commodity price volatility, high energy prices, geopolitical tensions and a global cost of living crisis are playing a significant role in dampening the business operating environment," said Ramaphosa. "Domestically, the energy crisis and port and rail bottlenecks are putting serious pressure on miners' operational costs.Illicit mining, cable theft and infrastructure vandalism place a further strain on mining output and returns. "We're committed to work hard and to work together to overcome these serious challenges," the President added at the event, covered by Mining Weekly. Last year, the South African government outlined four objectives to develop the sector, improve its global competitiveness and harness the global drive towards sustainable development. The first was to achieve a secure supply of electricity and several measures to improve the performance of the existing generation fleet and to add new electricity capacity have been taken through the Electricity Action Plan. The second objective of accelerating economic reforms has resulted in the removal of the licensing threshold for embedded generation, with a third of this capacity supplying the mining load. The third objective of tackling illegal mining and damage to infrastructure by establishing a specialised police unit, working with the defence force, has resulted in a number of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of the perpetrators of this crime. The State-owned mining technology agency Mintek has sealed 251 derelict mines and shaft and closure of a further 352 shafts is targeted over the next three years. Criminal activity, and copper cable theft, has resulted in South Africa's freight logistics system undergoing a process of rapid and fundamental change to improve its efficiency and position it for the future. Working with the private sector under the auspices of the National Logistics Crisis Committee, the public sector is working to overcome the challenges with ports and rail, with the recently approved Freight Logistics Roadmap guiding this process. "By introducing competition in freight rail operations, while maintaining state ownership of the routes, we will unlock massive new investment in South Africa's rail system. This will support jo...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer provides updates on the new rail corridor agreement between RBCT and Transnet; Anglo American's partnership with large Chinese recycler GEM for a research and development project; and this year's Investing in African Mining Indaba, which will focus on new prospects under the disruption theme.

Transition minerals hold immense potential for economic growth and social development in resource-rich nations like the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, past experiences have linked the natural resource sector to human rights abuses, economic exploitation, and governance failures. In the second episode of our special series with Investing in African Mining Indaba, Marcus Courage and Laura Cornish speak with Marie-Chantal Kaninda, President of Glencore in the DRC. The DRC produces more than two-thirds of the world's cobalt output, and last year Glencore was the biggest cobalt producer in the country. Marie-Chantal explains the measures Glencore has put in place to responsibly source the commodities that advance everyday life.

Investing in African Mining Indaba is a staple in the mining industry's calendar. This year over 6,500 attendees came together to discuss and explore the latest trends and developments in Africa's mineral industry. With ESG, digitization, diversity, transparency, decarbonisation and technology being high on the agenda , one thing was clear throughout: the time for African mining is now.   Join Shawn Duthie and other experts from our Johannesburg, Paris, and Americas office as they discuss the key themes from this year's Mining Indaba, how these key themes may transpire at the 2023 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), specific countries to watch, and what risks and opportunities companies can expect to face in the year ahead. 

Investing in African Mining Indaba is a staple in the mining industry's calendar. This year over 6,500 attendees came together to discuss and explore the latest trends and developments in Africa's mineral industry. With ESG, digitization, diversity, transparency, decarbonisation and technology being high on the agenda , one thing was clear throughout: the time for African mining is now.   Join Shawn Duthie and other experts from our Johannesburg, Paris, and Americas office as they discuss the key themes from this year's Mining Indaba, how these key themes may transpire at the 2023 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC), specific countries to watch, and what risks and opportunities companies can expect to face in the year ahead. 

In this podcast, Daniel Driscoll, a legal expert in the mining and extractives industry, chats to Africa Legal's Tom Pearson about the state of play among in-house lawyers and what to look forward to at the 2023 General Counsel Forum Mining Indaba. General counsel (GC) are grappling with the legal implications of several macroeconomic challenges facing the mining industry, such as inflation, continued supply chain disruption and uncertainty in global markets. Daniel Driscoll, who will be chairing the upcoming Mining Indaba, spoke to Pearson about how these risks are affecting mining companies, and the types of legal issues that have been keeping GC awake at night in 2022. “We've seen several mining companies either go private or shrink substantially in size, but also companies that were looking at an Initial Public Offering (IPO) have had to delay those plans.” And while the economic downturn has resulted in general job losses, legal departments have been relatively safe because the headwinds facing the mining industry are keeping legal departments busy as they work through the knock-on legal implications. Driscoll then discusses some of the unique Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) challenges faced by mining companies operating in Africa. Mining has a significant impact on the local communities living close to the mine, and these impacts are increasingly being raised as human rights issues, he explains. He says good ESG practices must be woven through the DNA of the organisation and everyone has to be doing their bit. Pearson steers the conversation towards what the modern in-house lawyer wants from their business. According to Driscoll, senior lawyers want an organisation that values quality legal advice and empowers the GC to deliver value for money. Gen Z lawyers are looking for roles that provide the opportunity to grow, coupled with the same aspirations as their seniors. Mental health in the legal industry remains a critically important topic, and Driscoll shares some tips for avoiding burnout and promoting well-being in high-performing legal teams. The conversation concludes with Pearson and Driscoll discussing what can be expected from the upcoming Mining Indaba in Cape Town in early February 2023, which they are eagerly anticipating. At the indaba, there will be a dedicated segment for mining GC to discuss the unique challenges they face, as well as opportunities for networking. If you are an in-house legal compliance or risk lawyer working or interested in the African mining sector, then check out the Investing in African Mining Indaba website. Click Register. Choose the General Counsel track, and it will grant you complimentary access to the event.

High-purity manganese facing phenomenal growth, PDAC hears The commitment of at least six major motor companies to manganese-based batteries for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is elevating the demand outlook for high purity manganese phenomenally, a Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference has been told. CPM Group lead manganese analyst Andrew Zemek highlighted high purity manganese's looming high use in the battery energy market in a special presentation at CPM Group's 2022 PDAC conference in Toronto. Next story, Stage 4 load-shedding extended into weekend as illegal strike disrupts coal plants Eskom has extended Stage 4 load-shedding – initially implemented at 11:00 on Friday June 24, as an illegal strike led to the loss of more coal production – until Sunday and the utility has also refrained from providing a system prognosis for the coming week. COO Jan Oberholzer said the decision to implement and sustain 4 000 MW of rotational cuts was taken after unplanned unavailability across the fleet rose to above 18 000 MW, partly as a result of a decision to ramp down some coal generator as a result of resource constraints triggered by the labour action. In other news, Is it possible to convert old coal mines into successful farms? The rehabilitation of South Africa's closed coal mines has long been a source of contention among miners, environmental activists and affected communities. Numerous old mines were not rehabilitated at all, while many others were rehabilitated to within only the bare minimum requirements of the law, leaving the land looking restored but, ultimately, not suitable for the growing of crops, owing to the plethora of toxic chemicals and metals that remain in the soil and water. Also making headlines, TNPA embarks on ambitious R9.1bn seven-year infrastructure development programme Further to Transnet National Port Authority's (TNPA's) “reimagined” operational model, launched in November last year, and increased efficiency initiatives that are under way, the State-owned utility has announced it will spend R9.1-billion over the next seven years on capital projects in the Central Region ports. The Central Region ports comprise Ngqura, Gqeberha and East London. Next story, Sibanye's Stillwater mine suspended for 4-6 weeks The Stillwater mine, in Montana, will remain suspended for four to six weeks to allow for access to the mine to be restored following recent flooding, precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater reported on Friday. The Stillwater mine accounts for about 60% of mined production from the group's US platinum-group metals (PGM) operations. In other news, SPONSORED POST Strong investment case for country's mining sector, but issues must be addressed There are a myriad of opportunities that can be capitalised on in South Africa's mining sector and there has been notable progress in improving the state of the industry; however, to further enhance this and attract more investment, it is critical that several issues be resolved. This was the message from speakers during the South Africa Mining Investment Forum hosted by Brand South Africa. The South African Mining Investment Forum took place as a precursor to the Investing in African Mining Indaba. Also making headlines, SPONSORED POST Are you planning on implementing a Drone program, but struggle to justify the cost of obtaining and maintaining an ROC? We can assist you to conduct your own legal flight operations with substantial savings Next story, SPONSORED POST Mining and the environment COURSE AIM: To gain an understanding of the theory, concepts and legislation related to mining and the environment so that the student is able to broadly identify and develop plans to address environmental impacts associated with mining activities. In other news, Premier African enters into prepayment deal for Zulu pilot plant Aim-traded Premier African Minerals has entered into a marketing and prepayment agreement in the form of a binding he...

The first in-person listing of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange since Covid heard the African kudu horn serenade an opening bid of R6.90 a share for platinum group metals (PGMs) company Southern Palladium, which on Wednesday took its place on the JSE's main board as a secondary listing under the SDL code. It did so shortly after the JSE recounted its rousing journey from a mining tent 135 years ago to a trading pace that now averages 300 orders a second and 20 million orders a day. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.) Community members, labour union mineworkers and investors closed ranks below the big screen after JSE CEO Dr Leila Fourie had expressed great excitement at being able to list Southern Palladium, which is chaired by seasoned PGM campaigner Terence Goodlace. Southern Palladium MD Johan Odendaal highlighted the newly listed company's tight arm-locking with the admirably persevering Bengwenya community, of the Steelpoort and Burgersfort area, which hosts one of the largest remaining shallow platinum deposits on the eastern limb of the Bushveld Complex. Bengwenyama-ya- Maswazi is a major partner with a 30% direct interest and further indirect ownership through a 12.3% shareholding in Southern Palladium. The timing of the tide-turning listing coincides with a world needing PGMs cleans up its act still further by transitioning to clean and green energy. Alicia Greenwood, the CEO of JSE Clear – the entity within the JSE group that is responsible for the risk management, clearing and settlement of all transactions in the equity, currency, interest rate and commodities derivatives markets – emphasised the JSE's deep liquidity – “which means that which means that a lot of people are interested in trading the companies on our exchange”. JSE trading operations manager Martin Koch spoke of exchange's trading engine literally functioning as fast as the speed of light and how the R6.90 a share orders for Southern Palladium were being sent across for the rest of the world at a maximum speed of 300 milliseconds. “We hope that listing on our main board is the beginning of another prosperous chapter in your company's history and that it serves as a springboard to your next phase. We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial journey,” stated Fourie. “At the JSE, we remain very committed to creating an effective environment for companies such as Southern Palladium to raise capital and to grow,” Greenwood said at the event covered by Mining Weekly. While Koch conceded that the JSE was more technology orientated than it was in the tent back in the day, he remains adamant that its main function of facilitating the buying and selling of shares in the best possible manner continues to be firmly intact. “These are the celebrations that really get to the crux of what we do at the JSE,” said Greenwood, who added that the JSE tam had returned from last month's Investing in African Mining Indaba “so pumped up and excited by the level of debate and the plotting, planning and activities that the mining community has for its sector” – a sector that is responsible for the JSE coming into existence.. Certainly, us at the JSE were very excited coming away from those forums to play a role in supporting mining to reach those goals, to play a role in providing a platform for mining companies to raise the capital and the money that you need to drive those dreams into realities. The JSE is a robust exchange, we've been around for over 130 years, starting out with the gold mines in the centre of Johannesburg, and we are the largest exchange in Africa, with deep liquidity, which means that a lot of people are interested in trading the companies on our exchange. We're also a very good venue of choice for companies like yourselves that is seeking a secondary fast-track listing, particularly when those companies already are in jurisdictions such as Toronto, the UK and Australia. JSE head of origination and deals Sam Mokorosi, who served as master ...

Yearly production of clean hydrogen would need to increase more than sevenfold for the world to hit net zero in 2050, say the leading founders of McKinsey & Company's platform for climate technologies, Bernd Heid of Cologne, Martin Linder of Munich, and Mark Patel of San Francisco, who add that reaching net-zero emissions will require “an immense effort” to invent, refine and deploy climate technologies expressly intended to accelerate decarbonisation. In South Africa, PwC states that 80% of South African organisations surveyed by it have not yet made a net-zero commitment and are lagging their global peers in adopting environmental, social and governance (ESG). Regarding green hydrogen, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed South Africa's keenness to harness the opportunities of the green hydrogen economy, declaring in his keynote address to the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town that South Africa aims to be an important hub for the production and export of green hydrogen and green ammonia. In February of this year, the South African Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), published a Hydrogen Society Roadmap, and DSI estimates that up to three-million jobs can be created from green hydrogen. PwC ESG lead for Southern Africa Lullu Krugel emphasised in PwC South Africa's report that the risks associated with climate change –­ which green hydrogen can help to combat – have many social implications, including unemployment, food insecurity, increasing health risks and migration. “All of the risks mentioned also increase the risk for social unrest and upheaval, emphasising the need to evaluate the social impacts of climate risk, rather than dealing with it in isolation,” says Krugel in the PwC release to Mining Weekly. PwC's twenty-fifth ‘Global CEO Survey' found that six out of every ten of South Africa's CEOs polled are also moderately, very or extremely concerned about physical and transition risks associated with climate change. However, eight out of ten respondents indicated that their company had not yet made a carbon-neutral or net-zero commitment. The McKinsey team emphasise that global long-duration energy storage capacity, which supports the use of renewable energy, must increase by a factor of 400 by 2040 to help the power sector achieve net zero by that year. Moreover, in a scenario where the world reaches net zero by 2050, capital spending on equipment and infrastructure with relatively low emissions intensity would average $6.5-trillion a year – more than two-thirds of the $9.2-trillion in annual capital spending during that time. Almost all of those low-emissions assets, they point out, would likely include these ten groups of climate technologies: solar, onshore and offshore wind and grid innovation; electric-vehicle batteries and long-duration energy storage; hydrogen electrolysers, fuel cells and methane pyrolysis; advanced biofuels and e-fuels; battery recycling, chemical cellulosic recycling, heat recovery and plastics recycling; monitoring and verification for forests, peatlands and mangroves; building technologies involving geothermal heating, heat pumps and electrical equipment; point-of-source carbon capture and direct air capture; electrification of heat sources, green steelmaking and green cement production; and precision agriculture, crop preservation, regenerative technology and alternative proteins. “This is not to say that innovation and the adoption of climate technologies will be straightforward. More likely, these processes will be disruptive. During the net-zero transition, the world's energy system, as well as its stock of emissions-intensive equipment and infrastructure, will be re-engineered—through climate technologies—to work with renewables instead of fossil fuels. That means not only making and using renewable energy but also transporting it to end markets from production centres, such as sunny regions that generate solar power inexpensively. A...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer attended the Investing in African Mining Indaba, in Cape Town, this week and unpacks the top stories coming out of the Indaba.

Any just transition, particularly in Africa and South Africa, needs to be job centered, says World Coal Association CEO Michelle Manook. Speaking at the Just Transition & The Future of Coal in Africa panel at the Investing in African Mining Indaba 2022, held this week, she noted that coal-fired power plants employed 113 000 people directly in South Africa alone, with the sector supporting another 340 000 indirect and induced jobs. Manook said that any just transition to clean energy had to consider the impact on communities and their future. This was especially true as more than 90% of jobs in the renewables sector were temporary. These numbers signalled a warning not to rush through a transition without weighing local costs and benefits. Manook added that it was necessary to rethink the assumptions held around fossil fuels – especially its importance to emerging markets and developing economies. “There is no one silver bullet to realise climate ambitions, and no one perfect pathway for all of us to reach our destination. “We recognise that more action is required from the [coal] industry itself . . . coal can abate 99% of its pollutants with commercial technology that exists today. We clearly need to do our job better to educate people. “While some believe [coal's future] is nonexistent, I believe it is one that is strategic, coordinated, needs to be inclusive and, obviously, responsible.” Manook said the dialogue between the coal industry and those supporting renewable energy had become exceedingly binary. “We're all on the same side. We need an agnostic approach. We need the debate to be agnostic.” Coal miner Exxaro Resources CEO-designate Dr Nombasa Tsengwa noted that the meaning of a just transition “is to leave no-one behind”. Council for Geoscience CEO Mosa Mabuza echoed this sentiment. He said that any just transition must be looked at through the prism of the “poorest of the poor in society”. He said South Africa had committed to a lower-carbon future on the global stage, but that the country had to find “the appropriate means” to transition from a high- to low-carbon trajectory. Mabuza believed society needed to have a dialogue on whether this necessarily meant “no coal”. Minerals Council South Africa Environment, Health and Legacies senior executive Nikisi Lesufi added that it was important that pragmatism prevailed in a just transition, and that South Africa should not compromise its energy, or job security, in moving to a lower-carbon economy.

South Africa's first hydrogen corridor now under development has the potential to generate a minimum of 14 000 jobs, $400-million in gross domestic product and $900-million in taxes a year by 2050. In an addition, there is potential to grow platinum group metal (PGM) demand by between 1% to 2% within the valley. “That touches on some of the aspects why we as Anglo are interested in hydrogen and see it perfectly aligned with our purpose of reimaging mining to improve people's lives,” said Anglo American market development principal Fahmida Smith during a media briefing at the Investing in African Mining Indaba covered by Mining Weekly. Emphasising that the hydrogen economy is being advanced to mitigate against climate change, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter told journalists: “We are sitting here with climate change being probably the single biggest risk that we are facing from the company and country-level perspective and clearly if we do nothing, the results of climate change will end up being catastrophic at a particular point. We all accept the science of climate change and the need for the just energy transition.” The green hydrogen needed is produced by electrolysis using renewable energy sources and the process splits water into hydrogen and oxygen. It doesn't have any greenhouse gas emissions. While at the moment green hydrogen is still costing between $5/kg and $6/kg and grey hydrogen from coal between $1.50/kg and $2/kg, it is contended that economies of scale and cost focus would bring them down to a much lower level. Why is South Africa so ideal for green hydrogen? “We think that South Africa will become a global player in the game of green hydrogen. The reason for thinking that is first of all we rank in the top ten sunniest countries in the world, making us very well placed to produce renewable energy from photovoltaics and from wind,” said Baxter. South Africa has a significant resource and reserve base of PGMs, which are used in fuel cell technology and based on this country's experience in using the Fischer-Tropsch technology through Sasol, we possess the know-how. Already if you look at it on a grey hydrogen basis, South Africa, through Sasol, already produces 2% of global grey hydrogen. In countries such as Germany, Japan, South Korea and others, the level of solar radiation is considerably lower than what South Africa has, which gives the country a comparative advantage in the production of green energy, which can be theoretically translated into the production of green hydrogen. “We also possess in the mining sector large volumes of water on mine sites at, for example, Kumba Iron Ore in the Northern Cape, and at gold and platinum operations,” said Baxter. “We have access to sufficient water required to do the hydrolysing and we are working hard on the process because the benefits could be quite substantial.” In fact, the Minerals Council commissioned a consulting company, Singular, to do some detailed work which pointed to South Africa's green hydrogen economy sector potentially being 25 times bigger than this country's iron-ore mining industry by 2050. Going through the just energy transition and reducing carbon intensity in production were all cited as being critically important components of the hydrogen economy, which would bring a big market for PGMs. “So, it's really a big area of focus. It has a huge job creation potential as well as significant economic potential from a country-level perspective. “We estimate that the green hydrogen economy in South Africa could generate something like 20 000 to 40 000 extra jobs as we go forward,” said Baxter. A number of other countries have already embarked on green hydrogen strategies. Australia already has offtake agreements for green hydrogen with South Korea and Japan, as well as a hydrogen road map and a hydrogen strategy in place. South Africa has the Hydrogen Societal Road Map, which Minerals Council South Africa participated in developing...

While the Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (Miasa) supports the just transition to clean energy, the region must ensure it is pragmatic in its approach, says newly elected president Sokwani Chilembo. Chilembo is also the CEO of the Zambia Chamber of Mines. Speaking at an Investing in African Mining Indaba media conference on Wednesday, Chilembo noted that there was a need to ensure the protection of communities' livelihoods, and that the upscaling of renewable energy had to be “pragmatic” and “carefully considered”. “We must not leave any of our regional citizens behind.” Chilembo said the region had recently seen a “very hard stop approach” from the world in its consideration of coal and gas projects – this during a time when Southern Africa's endowment of the latter was growing. “This is concerning to us. Access to energy is a key component in improving the quality of live of our citizens. In the absence of energy, people may do what they can, leading to deforestation. “It is really important that, as a region, we do not lose out on the opportunity to lift enough people out of poverty to a reasonable standard of living, and then become more custodial in our way of thinking.” Hydrocarbons had to continue to be a key component of energy resilience in the region, emphasised Chilembo. “As you know, when one area in the region is affected, the Southern African power pool is affected. If we pull a hard stop now, the consequences will be felt across the entire region.” Chilembo noted that another area of concern for Miasa was persistent allegations around illegal financial flows from, and within the mining industry, and the participation of the corporate mining sector – to the detriment of casting a spotlight on “outright illegal mining”. “Illegal mining is growing in scale in the region. We are not paying enough attention to this, in preference for the easier story to sell, which is that of persistent corporate malfeasance.” A third and final concern Chilembo raised was around the recently released Fraser Institute's Annual Survey of Mining Companies. This investment attractiveness index “really gave Africa the short end of the stick”, he said, with several African jurisdictions dropping in the ranking, and Morocco, out of left field, popping to almost the top. Zimbabwe – in Southern Africa – was at the bottom. Chilembo said Miasa acknowledged the report, but believed that it should be more geographically spread, so that countries which had remained steadfast in their policies were not affected negatively. He said the report could benefit from being more interactive, cooperative and inclusive, especially as its stature, value and efficacy were highly valued by the mining industry.

Members of Minerals Council South Africa have agreed to commit to a climate change response strategy that will reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier. Minerals Council South Africa senior health and environment executive Nikisi Lesufi on Tuesday briefed the media on the Mineral Council's dual approach to energy, explaining that it is a common but differentiated approach. “There are those who are leaders and those who are laggards and our responsibility as a Minerals Council is to assist those who are behind the curve to be able to be at the same pace as those who are able to lead us faster into the just energy transition space,” Lesufi told journalists at the Investing in African Mining Indaba being covered by Mining Weekly. “We also commit that they will implement mitigation into their businesses and mining operations and support the integration of climate solutions into internal management practices,” he said of Minerals Council members who include coal-mining members. "They also commit to collaborate with business and supply chain partners to support a reduction of Scope 3 emissions and adoption of climate resilient management approaches. “We also encourage and commit them to continuously improve the transparency of their public reporting so that they can be held accountable for the commitments that they have made,” Lesufi added. Regarding the contribution to just energy transmission efforts, the Minerals Council has committed itself to expand on its mine project strategies because from a just energy perspective, mine closure is always related to the creation of new economies post-mining. The just energy transition involves fast-tracking the preparedness for the closure of mines but also ensuring that employees and communities are not left behind. Economic succession plans to replace those mine opportunities as they faded out over time would thus have to be developed. There are five key areas in which the Minerals Council believes that the mining industry will make a difference. The first is in the technology space, where it believes that the development and adoption of leading technologies for greenhouse gas emission reduction and climate change succession in mining operations will facilitate South Africa's transition to a low carbon future. The second is its belief in policy development, where it is supportive of policy regulatory research and an investment environment that enables the mining sectors' climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Third is the development and growth of key commodity pools for a low-carbon future and encouraging globally competitive exploration, extraction and processing of minerals of the future. Fourthly, the Minerals Council supports the accountability measures of improving reporting and disclosure mechanisms, and finally also the development, collaboration, and partnerships with others so that communities and other stakeholders are not left behind.

It is just amazing to see the innovation that the mining industry is capable of scaling up, President Cyril Ramaphosa told the Investing in African Mining Indaba in his enthusiastic address on Tuesday. “Last week, I attended the launch by Anglo American of the world's largest hydrogen-powered mine haul truck. “This truck will be powered by an entire ecosystem of hydrogen production around the mine itself, and I got so excited and so taken away that when Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi remarked on seeing the photograph of me in this massive truck that I looked like a young boy excited over a toy. “I said to President Masisi, when I get fired from my job, I'm going to apply to go and work on this type of truck,” Ramaphosa quipped as he digressed from his keynote address which drew considerable applause. “Yes, President Masisi, I still get excited over things like that,” he reiterated to the Botswana President, who was in the packed auditorium with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema and Democratic Republic of Congo President Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, “We are keen to harness the opportunities of the hydrogen economy,” said Ramaphosa, who highlighted that the Mining Indaba is taking place at a time when the world is having to adapt to new circumstances, confront new challenges and be prepared to seize new opportunities. “The mining industry also needs to manage the risks and potential benefits of rapid technological change, shifting market demand, climate change and geopolitical uncertainties that abound. “After more than 150 years, mining remains a critical pillar of our economy. I often refer to it as a continuous sunrise sector of our economy,” said Ramaphosa, who drew attention to mining being a significant contributor to export earnings, an important source of foreign direct investment, while directly employing nearly half a million people. “And we expect mining's significance and contribution to our economy to continue growing,” he emphasised at the Indaba address covered by Mining Weekly. Like many other parts of the African continent, South Africa was abundantly blessed with vast mineral deposits that form the basis of the most important applications used in society and economies today. Mining companies still saw the potential in South Africa and Southern Africa, President Ramaphosa added. At the fourth South Africa Investment Conference earlier this year, investments valued at around R46.5-billion were pledged towards mining and mineral beneficiation. But in addition to the great prospects for South African mining, the industry also faced significant challenges. “It is a matter of grave concern that South Africa has fallen into the bottom 10 of the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index rankings. “We are currently standing at seventy-fifth of 84, which is our worst-ever ranking. “This ranking underlines the fundamental reality that South Africa needs to move with greater purpose and urgency to remove the various impediments to the growth and development of the industry. “We understand very clearly the need to fix the regulatory and administrative problems that have crept into the system. “We need to clear the backlog of mining and prospecting rights and mineral rights transfer applications, put in place a modern and much more efficient cadastral system, and implement an effective exploration strategy. “We understand very clearly the need to significantly improve the functioning of our railways, which have fallen into disrepair, and ports, which are not performing at the level that we want them to perform, and the vital importance of ensuring a secure and reliable supply of affordable electricity,” Ramaphosa said. These tasks were, he added, at the forefront of South Africa's economic reconstruction and recovery efforts, which he described as being now firmly underway as part of Operation Vulindlela, an initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury, working in partnership with the Department of Mi...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says mining remains a big contributors to the economy and jobs in South Africa, and currently contributes half a million jobs. Meanwhile, as the African Mining Indaba continues, gangs are stealing copper from cables deep underground, disrupting the mining industry's operations. To discuss this further we're now joined on the line by the head of investor relations at Sibanye-Stillwater James Wellsted

The Investing in African Mining indaba takes place at a time when the Fraser Institute has highlighted that South Africa has lost its investment appeal. Business Day TV spoke to Henk Langenhoven, Chief Economist at the Minerals Council SA about changes needed in the sector to improve investor sentiment.

South Africa has a significant implementation crisis. A number of government departments and parastatals were hollowed out. Capacity is a significant issue in almost every parastatal – water authorities, Eskom, Transnet and across the board. “We're not rushing into takeover activities because government doesn't want us to. We've been working with government to open the space for greater private sector participation, particularly in energy and increasingly in rail,” Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter stated during a media briefing at the Investing in African Mining Indaba on Monday. “In our view private sector participation is going to be the thing that changes the game for South Africa going forward because we're not convinced that the existing model is going to solve the issue,” said Baxter in response to Mining Weekly. “Private sector participation is the way that we can get ourselves out of the mess that this economy's in at the moment. I still believe that South Africa's got a 2% potential growth rate, only 2%. “If you look at a typical endogenous production function and growth model for South Africa, total factor productivity in the economy was negative for the last three years owing to network industries – rail, port, pipelines – and until we get much greater private sector participation in those areas, we're not going to solve the issue. “I can say very confidently from a business perspective that I was part of the six-business-leader team that met with President Cyril Ramaphosa in February to highlight what we are really looking for, and it's no longer about identifying what the specific solutions are, it's about implementing what's been agreed. “On the infrastructure side, I can say what's been agreed is how we get much greater private sector participation on energy and then on the rail side, trying to get the existing core established and there is a process under way to allow private sector participation in rail. “At this stage, we're not convinced it's going to change the game, but that's a pressure point that we're pushing on government. “Unlocking private sector capability in municipalities. There is not a single municipality that is in a mining area that is not helped by the mining companies. We can't take over the responsibility of the State but we help with water, engineering and financial services and others to make sure that those local authorities and municipalities are stabilized because it also affects the morale in communities and particularly our workforce,” Baxter added. “We're doing our bit and we're doing it in a reach-out partnership way with government. What we're doing is going with construction solutions to try and get practical outcomes but it takes time. “We've been working on some of these issues for from three to five years and if we could have a little bit more expedited processes in various areas, we could get certain things a lot quicker. “In certain areas we have seconded in people to assist local authorities, but when it gets to regulatory issues like licensing, it's quite difficult for the Minerals Council or the mining companies to second people into government because there is a direct conflict of interest. “But there are other ways that you can solve the challenges by getting Operation Vulindlela and government to make sure that in certain areas they are applying more capacity,” he said.

The energy transition currently under way presents a fresh opportunity for South Africa to build a clean and inclusive energy ecosystem that can create new and significant economic opportunities for the African continent. This continent, with its vast natural reserves of abundant sun and wind, provides an unmissable opportunity to both decarbonise and create significant new economic sectors – and Anglo American is committed to play its role in making that opportunity a reality. Such shifts need all in the private and the public sectors to think outside the traditional model, with the opportunity for mining and other industries to pool its expertise with government to build greater capacity and resilience in the public sector. In March, Anglo American announced a partnership with EDF Renewables – a global leader in renewable energy – to work with government towards developing a regional renewable energy ecosystem in South Africa to provide between 3 GW and 5 GW of renewable generation capacity. This ecosystem involves the construction of on-site photovoltaic solar plants and off-site wind farms for green hydrogen production. The energy ecosystem will generate a wide range of new economic opportunities to ensure that the value created is shared inclusively. The collaborative regional development – or CRD – fosters economic activity beyond mining by creating community economics that endure well beyond the life of the mine through the so-called Impact Catalyst, with the Industrial Development Corporation as a financial partner, alongside government, nongovernmental organisations and other businesses, including Exxaro. Partnership with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has laid the foundation for an adaptive approach in working together to improve service delivery and ultimately contribute to improved quality of life of communities, where millions of people will experience the effects of the energy transition. The programme is helping address inter-related challenges across nine municipalities in South Africa, including the impact of climate change, food security, the creation of sustainable livelihoods and jobs, and the financial stability of municipalities. Holistic thought is being given to what the ‘just transition' could bring for millions of people in this region. These and many more profound points were driven home impressively by new Anglo American CE Duncan Wanblad in his far-reaching keynote address to the Investing in African Mining Indaba on Monday. He also spoke of: mining not just being a ‘part' or a ‘cog' of the future of the global economy and the planet but its very bedrock; the planet being a silent but most delicate stakeholder; mining needing to go about satisfying the demand for metals and minerals in harmony with the needs of society and the natural environment while creating and sharing enduring value in an inclusive way for all stakeholders; mining providing the feedstocks necessary for zero-carbon decarbonisation in the cleanest and most socially responsible way possible; and a 2 oC climate pathway – and not even the 1.5 oC pathway envisaged by the Paris agreement – requiring investment of $2-trillion in capital over the next 15 years to bring to market the green metals and minerals that are abundant in many parts of this continent. “The last two years of pandemic-related disruption has certainly tested all sectors of society, but I am very proud of how our industry responded in terms of our broad social role in so many communities around our operations all over the world,” said Wanblad. “Never before has there been such an obvious and urgent demand for what we do and, more specifically, what we make possible. “Just try and imagine a world without airplanes, vehicles, and mobile phones – all of which are manufactured from mined materials. “The mining industry, as the foundation for industrial development and growth, must continue to transform itself at pace to achieve this ...

Extractives in Focus International lawyer Jacqueline Musiitwa, the founder and director of Kalene Hill Resources, speaks to Tom Pearson, Africa Legal's Chief Commercial Officer, in a podcast introducing the Extractives GC Forum on June 29 and 30. Jacqueline is a global expert in African commercial affairs working across jurisdictions. Her unique insights into the complexities and challenges of the extractives sectors and their impact on developing world environments has her well placed to co-chair the upcoming virtual forum. In this podcast discussion she said that while mining and oil and gas were facing many challenges, the single most pressing issue was the environment. The upcoming forum offered an opportunity for lawyers working in these sectors to reflect on how to meet this challenge and chart a way forward. Whether this reflection fell under the broader rubric of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) or was more focussed on the upcoming COP 26, the way things were done and the impact this was having on the broader environment had to be challenged. “This could be in relation to the sectors' carbon footprint or asking what it means to coexist with nature,” Jacqueline said. “Both mining and oil and gas have not been viewed in the best light and there is now a huge opportunity for the sectors to come clean and demonstrate what they are doing to get to ‘net neutrality'.” Tom asked what changes could motivate these sectors to move to a commitment to deal with environmental issues. Jacqueline highlighted how there was growing pressure on investors to “do the right thing with their money” – and this was important because without the threat of losing money, there was a tendency to “always take the slow approach”. Consumers too wanted to know the route products or food had taken to market so that they could spend in ways that supported the best interests of the broader social and natural world. The discussion moved to the social impact of mining and oil and gas extraction and Jacqueline explained that while communities had been vocal for a long time on the impact of these sectors on their worlds, companies were, at last, starting to hear their voices. It was now that Africa's lawyers needed to sit up as their role was changing from one that simply offered legal advice to one where they had to provide guidance on regulation, risk and governance at the local, national and global level. “African lawyers need to stay on top of current trends in their field across the world, not just in their own jurisdiction…By staying on top of the trends and knowing what is happening in other places, lawyers have the opportunity to provide great value to their clients,” she said. It was an exciting time for lawyers as they were the go-to professionals on the continent with the power to shape outcomes that would impact the lives of all Africans. Register for the Extractives GC Forum here. The forum is being hosted by Africa Legal with the Africa Oil Week and Investing in African Mining Indaba.

Today, saw the end of the 2020 Africa Mining Indaba. 40 African countries were represented at the Investing in African Mining Indaba event in Cape Town to promote their mining sectors to a global audience of investors, suppliers and other key stakeholders.  Exxaro executive head Mzila Mthenjane explains what stood out for him at the mining indaba.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.