South Africa must expedite the processes of granting licences for mineral and prospecting rights as well as have inter-departmental alignment to remove obstacles curtailing the growth of the mining industry, says Mzila Mthenjane, CEO of the Minerals Council South Africa.

“We are in an investment competition globally. We need to be able to work together as industry, government, organised labour and civil society in the right combinations to enable the speed we need to grow the mining industry,” says Mr Mthenjane.

“It is all about speed and how quickly companies can embark on exploration, prove up a viable reserve, and to be clear in terms of stable, predictable and business-friendly regulations to develop a new mine. As the Minerals Council, we work with junior companies that make up half our membership, and we spend a lot of time navigating the legislative environment, which is hugely frustrating for junior companies and investors. Unfortunately, this frustration has seen the withdrawal of some investors in some instances,” he says.

For sustainable transformation to bring in new entrants, women and youth, the mining industry must grow through the development of new mines to tap into known and yet-to-be-discovered mineral deposits.

The Minerals Council has held talks with the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources about the backlog of unprocessed mineral right applications, the development and implementation of a modern, transparent mining cadastre to efficiently manage mineral and prospecting rights, and the review of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act the regulator is undertaking.

The department has indicated that it will release its review of the Act before the end of March this year and implement the cadastre by the middle of 2025.

In a globally competitive exploration and mining environment, South Africa needs a regulatory and operating environment that is conducive to attracting local and foreign investment in exploration, mine development and spending on existing mines to increase production and or extend their lives and creating further employment and local development opportunities.

The Minerals Council supports beneficiation where it makes sense and reiterates that the mining industry cannot be coerced into beneficiation through punitive taxes or bans of mineral exports.

“Given where we are as a country, it is critical and urgent that we work towards economic growth. It won’t happen by stakeholders operating alone. The government can’t do it alone and business cannot do it alone either. Cooperation, trust, a shared vision of a prosperous future of inclusive economic growth, job creation and making the most of our natural endowments in a sensible, business-friendly way will realise that goal,” Mr Mthenjane says.