It’s time Govt. stepped up to global mining challenges

EVERY year, for the past few decades, the world’s mining heavyweights have come to South Africa at the beginning of February, expressed their displeasure with our overregulated, troubled, bureaucracy-laden environment, then jumped on their private jets and headed to other climes. After slugging back a glass or two of the wonderful chenin blancs from the Western Cape, of course.The year would trundle along. The government would make noises about improving the mining applications (cadastral) system. The Minerals Council South Africa would have a fight with the minister about making things better for the industry. Before you knew it, the heavyweights would be back and the big banners proclaiming the Mining Indaba’s return would be all over Cape Town.Wash, rinse, repeat. Things did not get much better, whether it was the disastrous minister Mosebenzi Zwane (the fellow who stiff-armed Glencore on behalf of the Gupta family) or the ebullient Gwede Mantashe.Those days are gone. US President Donald Trump was inaugurated two weeks before last year’s Mining Indaba got under way and he is not just on the hunt for critical minerals, he is also on a project to remake the world. Most important of all, he has had South Africa in his crosshairs from January 20 last year, when he was sworn into office.That brings to bear pressures, external and internal, on minerals minister Mantashe that have not always been present. He, and the government, cannot continue with their usual lackadaisical approach.The first issue to deal with is the lawlessness that has become such an everyday part of South Africa and its mining environment. Last week Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi and members of his provincial cabinet were at the Sporong informal settlement in Randfontein, where — hold on to something, please — they had come to relocate 600 residents from their homes to new, safer, serviced land. The residents’ homes had been invaded by zama-zamas. The police and the state apparatus were not doing anything about the illegal miners.The state was fleeing. It was clearing the area for the zama-zamas to operate freely.It’s worth noting that the Minerals Council has estimated that zama-zamas cost the country more than R70bn annually in lost gold sales, tax and royalties. There are 30,000-40,000 zama-zamas nationally. The government has no clue what to do about this growing lawless industry — except flee.There are other pressing “challenges” that the government (and industry) will need to face. It will need to show it is dealing with them when mining’s big shots arrive on February 9. Top of the agenda, after general lawlessness, is to show movement in resolving the fights over the Mineral Resources Development Bill. The government and industry don’t have to agree on whether prospecting and exploration companies must have mandatory BEE ownership. They must show that they can reach agreement that can lead to a workable environment after the signing. For most of last year, the parties behaved as if they were chalk and cheese. That is not true, and their disagreement causes uncertainty and chases away investment. Adults need to enter the room.The same needs to happen regarding how South Africa deals with the US and other mining investors on critical minerals. There is no way South Africa can succeed when domestic players — industry and the government — are at loggerheads about the way forward. Trump is, and will remain, a formidable and central player. But responding to his antics as a divided country will lead to a bloody nose for all stakeholders in South Africa.In August 2025 a few top mining executives proposed a strategy to offer the US access to South Africa’s critical minerals to bolster relations. Mantashe rejected this plan, accusing the industry of putting private interests first, and instead released a state-focused, domestic-centric critical minerals strategy.Neal Froneman, then still CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, told Bloomberg at the time: “Both our foreign and local mining industry policies and the truculent manner of the minister make South Africa a destination of little interest to foreign mining capital investment, especially from the US.”This is an all-round terrible look for South Africa. The government and the mining industry should be in lockstep when Mining Indaba delegates arrive. They need to talk. Otherwise, as has happened for 20 years now, the mining bigwigs will quaff our wine, enjoy the excellent Cape weather, get on their jets and invest their money elsewhere.This article first appeared in the Financial Mail.The post It’s time Govt. stepped up to global mining challenges appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com