Cape Times 2023-02-07

SOUTH Africa is renewing its frontier status as a mining exploration destination, with the production of many minerals expected to surge as the world shifts to renewable energy and decarbonisation. Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe said yesterday at the opening of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town – the world’s biggest mining conference – that South Africa’s exploration landscape is becoming more fertile following recent discoveries of world-class deposits of minerals for the future such as lithium, rare earth minerals, copper, nickel as well as the expansion of mineral systems of manganese fields of high-grade quality. A theme fast emerging at the Mining Indaba this year is the many opportunities arising from the substantial additional mineral resources that will be required as the world transitions towards renewable energy…

WITH A MASSIVE increase in mining imminent for the “transition” minerals required for global decarbonisation, African countries should not to fall into the same value traps as they did previously, where communities were left out of the benefits, the Mining Indaba heard yesterday. The conference heard yesterday that the global transition to renewable energy and decarbonisation is resulting in massive shortfalls in certain minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, lithi- um and graphite, and many African countries hold significant unmined reserves of these minerals. Daniel Mulé, Oxfam’s policy lead for extractive industries tax and transparency, told delegates that the international civil society organisation has scaled up work to promote and accelerate a just energy transition, and also as it pertains to extraction of minerals that will be required for the…

THE RAND plunged to a seven-week low yesterday amid the risk-off environment over rising concerns about the impact of South Africa’s power crisis on the country’s outlook. Investors are still concerned about the government’s plan to end load shedding as there is still no decision on declaring a national state of disaster on Eskom, following a Cabinet lekgotla. The South African currency plummeted 0.4% to R17.61 against the US dollar around lunchtime yesterday, its lowest since mid-December, 2022 as a tangible solution to the energy crisis was still not in sight. Rolling power cuts enforced by Eskom to curb a total grid collapse have increased across the country and continue to plague businesses and undermine economic growth, while also fuelling food inflation. Last month, the South African Reserve Bank slashed…

THE SOUTH African business industry has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to scale down the size of his Cabinet and appoint capable ministers in his Executive. This comes amid a looming reshuffle of government following the swearing-in of four new ANC Members of Parliament yesterday, including Paul Mashatile, who is touted to take over as the country’s deputy president. Though Ramaphosa has managed to streamline his Cabinet from 36 ministers to 28, it still remains bloated with 34 deputy ministers who all earn more than R2 million a year. In a joint letter written by chief executives of Business Unity SA (Busa) Cas Coovadia and Business Leadership SA (BLSA) Busi Mavuso, business said the reality was that a small and focused team can achieve much more than a large…

THE Department of Social Development lost its Gauteng High Court, Pretoria bid to appeal an order issued in October to reinstate a well-known Christian organisation’s accreditation as a child protection entity. Judge Anthony Millar earlier found that the department had acted with an “ulterior purpose” in simply withdrawing the status of the Christelike Maatskaplike Raad North. Judge Millar, in his order for the department to revoke the organisation’s child protection status, at the time also awarded a punitive costs order against the department, saying: “I am satisfied that the conduct of the department falls sufficiently short of that which is expected of it…” The department withdrew the status following an investigation after eight complaints about the conduct of social workers at the organisation. It then lodged an application for leave…

Anti-mining activists from the Right to Say No as well as People’s Dialogue campaigns gathered outside Parliament yesterday in protest against the annual Investing in African Mining Indaba, saying communities were being stripped of their land and resources for the enrichment of the few. Africa is home to about 30% of the world’s mineral deposits, including the critical minerals needed in green technologies and renewable energy. The mining indaba kicked off yesterday under the theme “Unlocking African Mining Investment: Stability, Security, and Supply”. National organiser from the Right to Say No campaign, Matthews Hlabane, read out a statement outside Parliament, calling for the development of “sustainable peoples” alternatives. “The purpose of the indaba is to serve as a platform for these companies to promote extractivism and to discuss…