Opportunities for mining projects in South Africa to create and sustain jobs are being jeopardised by a lack of necessary planning by key government departments, and clashing of policies that prevent the right decisions being made in good time. The industry risks losing momentum if these challenges are not addressed urgently, according to chairman of SRK Consulting, Roger Dixon. He said a comprehensive plan to support and develop the industry is required – to ensure that the various government departments can contribute in an integrated way, and to build better co-operation between the industry and state bodies.
“The provision of infrastructure is one symptom of our lack of a co-ordinated approach,” said Dixon. “We have generated interest among foreign investors and mining companies, for instance, in terms of our policy to promote more beneficiation from minerals. But when these companies want to develop projects here, they often discover that we cannot guarantee the transport, water and energy services they need. Even when we seem to be making efforts to address these shortfalls – such as improving our rail networks – industry often finds it difficult to find detailed information on what parastatal bodies are planning. We need to advertise the fact that we are working on the problems, and let the private sector – both here and abroad – know about our plans,” he said.
A strategic plan for the sector would also help government departments to make decisions that do not conflict with each other. Pumping water out of mines and addressing water pollution is a key issue for the sector, but government decisions coming from the relevant departments can be at odds with each other, he said, due to an absence of a common policy goal.
“Water resources exist on the West Rand, but will be expensive to treat,” said Dixon. “Mining companies battle to find someone to engage with so that a workable solution to this issue can be jointly developed. There is often an ‘us-and-them’ attitude that erodes the possibility of constructive co-operation between the public and private sector.”
There also seems to be contradictory policy on the future of coal mining in South Africa. “On the one hand, the country’s energy plans rely on coal-fired power stations,” he said. “On the other, we committed in Copenhagen to actions that would result in a 34% emission reduction below business-as-usual by 2020 and 42% by 2025. Are these two commitments mutually compatible?”
Better collaboration would also help to implement existing policies, he said. Mining charter targets, for instance, have had a positive effect on employment equity and social development; but unless there is shared responsibility with the state, the life of many mines will be reduced by this burden.
“If industry can work more effectively with government agencies on various levels, we have a better chance of extending the life of the industry and improving its empowerment impact – instead of having to choose between the two,” said Dixon. “Government also needs to take a hard look at how empowerment efforts in ownership terms is benefiting the ordinary mineworker; to date we don’t seem to have a good record of ensuring that empowerment trickles down to those that really need it.”
Finding and implementing out a shared vision for the sector means boosting government capacity with specialised technical skills that relate to minerals development and its related disciplines – including areas like environment, licensing and health and safety – he said. “By taking a pro-active and collaborative approach we can achieve much more. The survival of our industry depends on it.”
