https://www.miningweekly.com

21/06/2013 (On-The-Air)

21st June 2013

By: Martin Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

  

Font size: - +

It’s that time again on a Friday when AMLive’s Xolani Gwala presents another Update From The Coal-Face with Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly.

Gwala: By next Wednesday, government, business and labour must ratify a draft document that ensures sustainable mining in South Africa.

Creamer: It is a crucial meeting that took place last Friday and the who’s who of mining were there and they agreed, except for one element, Amcu which wouldn’t agree on this. The key part of the initial impact of this has got to be law and order, peace and stability and I’m sure every single South African must come behind that.

So even if there are slight modifications that Amcu want in this document, I mean I’m sure that those can be removed in the interests of peace and stability in mining, ahead of these wage talks, because this document is going to be tested as these crucial wage talks take place and we cannot have the situation where people are pulled out of their homes at midnight and paraded down streets half naked to intimidate them and we can’t have this murder and mayhem – that is crystal clear.

Then, in the medium term, they have instituted what they call the Mine Crime-Combating Forum (MCCF), and this will develop protocols for law enforcement in mining areas. So that is a more medium-term situation. Then, of course, in the longer term, they have got to look at the issue of migrant workers and migrant labour. So there are three parts to this but the immediate one is the law and order and the peace and stability and the elimination of violence. That will be tested as soon as these wage talks start to come in to play.

Gwala: The government is taking promising steps to take titanium mining to the next level in South Africa.

Creamer: You know we are the second-biggest producers of ilmenite raw material and we do take that one step up and we do create titanium dioxide but the price we get for that is negligible compared with what you can get if you go further downstream and I must say that government is putting its money where its mouth is in this case.

I mean they talk beneficiation all the time and they seem to place the load on the private sector, but not in this case – they have actually gone some way down the road, with the CSIR doing the hard yards.

They have not only researched this, but they’ve also developed it to a point where they are saying they have got a cheaper way of producing titanium powder and they have got a way that is continuous so that is a fantastic leg-up for a potential commercial partner because they have already gone some of the way and it will be great if they could do that in some of the other mining and metals. We see a pilot plant coming through, which is going to be followed by commercial plant.

This is all being done at the CSIR, so it’s at government and quasi-government expense and then they can invite the private sector in a private-public partnership, which can take it commercial. Hopefully they’ll do it with fluorspar as well, where we have large reserves, and, of course, also platinum.

Gwala: Tens of millions of rands are being earmarked for the development of satellites to enhance the management of our natural resources.

Creamer: You know, we have had our own satellite, our Sumbandila satellite, that ended sooner than we thought, in 2011. The Nigerians have now got four satellites – microsatellites in orbit – we haven’t got one. So at last now Parliament has put more than R200-million as a budget towards starting to develop a microsatellite again, in the next few years. These satellites are very important. We just saw the mosaic rolled out this week.

You know, the satellite-image mosaic given to us by France’s Spot 5, because we need that information. We only get it for ourselves now whereas if we’ve had our own microsatellite going round, we would be able to look at the whole world, which you have to do in these sort of studying circumstances. We also have to have our satellite on during this period where it goes over the South Atlantic magnetic anomaly and that’s what knocked the Sumbandila out, because the magnetic anomaly gives off a lot of radiation and that knocked out our Sumbandila satellite, but we have to keep our satellite on over that period, because we need that information.

We need it for agriculture, we need it for urban planning, we need it for crop yield forecasts. You know, there are so many issues that require satellites and now at least we starting with a definition, which will be finalised this month.

It’s been great working with you Xolani, you are exceedingly popular, an exceedingly popular guy and you’ve done a fantastic job and I think that South Africa is proud of you

Martin Creamer is publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly. He’ll be back At The Coal-Face at the same time next Friday.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Hanna Instruments Image
Hanna Instruments (Pty) Ltd

We supply customers with practical affordable solutions for their testing needs. Our products include benchtop, portable, in-line process control...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East
Weir Minerals Africa and Middle East

Weir Minerals Europe, Middle East and Africa is a global supplier of excellent minerals solutions, including pumps, valves, hydrocyclones,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.135 0.172s - 98pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now