SA mining 'falling behind global peers' due to policy delays: Minerals Council

Delays in establishing a functioning cadastral system for the licensing of exploration and other mining activities are causing the South African mining sector to fall behind its global peers.

This is the grim warning that the Minerals Council gave to parliament’s portfolio committee on mineral and petroleum resources in Cape Town on Tuesday. This was during a meeting that formed part of the committee’s engagements with organisations in the mining sector.

Despite announcements of a cadastral system launch in February, mineral and petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe said in July that the migration to the new cadastre would be completed by June next year.

Minerals Council of SA senior executive for public affairs and transformation Tebello Chabana said the lack a system to keep track of licensing for mining was a key weakness in getting exploration and other mining activities going.

“South Africa must have a transparent online cadastral system. It is absolutely essential. The fact that we are one of the few countries in mining that doesn’t have a cadastral system ... our colleagues are amazed.  We are so behind on this, which is a challenge,” he said.

Lamenting policies outside the mineral resources portfolio which he said frustrated mining activity, Chabana urged the government’s various portfolios to “get on the same page” about supporting the mining sector.

“There have been some movements. The department has been securing the cadastral system. As you know it is on the way by June next year ... But there are many other areas that still need to be addressed. [These are areas like the] clarification of BEE requirements at the prospecting stage, incongruent and anti-mining legislation that we see from other departments,” he said.

Chabana lamented the lack of new mining activities in the South African market, saying that the country was falling behind its peers including Australia. He said that in 2023, mining’s contribution to GDP dropped to 6.3% of total GDP from 7.3% in 2022.

“South Africa does not have a steady pipeline of new mines and that's concerning. For a country that is greatly endowed, we do not have that pipeline. If you look at global exploration expenditure, South Africa used to get about 5% of global exploration, now we get less than 1%. Countries like Australia have risen to 5%. We should not be there.”

MK Party MP Brian Molefe charged that the lag in mining activity was due to an “investor strike” by the private sector. DA MP James Lorimer asked what the state of the local mining sector’s health was. Chabana replied that it was not where it needed to be.

South African Mining Development Association (Samda) president and businesswoman Bridgette Radebe said the lull in legislation and lack of co-ordination between government portfolios made it difficult for more mining producers and mining investors to invest and operate locally.

Committee chair Mikateko Mahlaule said the portfolio committee would engage organisations in the mining and petroleum sectors until December, including a weeklong oversight visit in Gauteng and the North West in October and a December site visit to petroleum industry operations.