At this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was able to foster communication and create an understanding between government departments and trade unions about the beneficiation of natural resources, DTI trade and investment deputy director-general Yunus Hoosen tells Mining Weekly.

This was achieved during a dialogue in which the DTI, the Department of Labour, the National Union of Mineworkers and Solidarity participated; the dialogue was also open to the participation of miners, who were part of the audience.

“Through the dialogue, we wanted to establish a first-hand approach to the policy environment in terms of how the country is moving mining and mining beneficiation forward. Stemming from the communication, there was an understanding of where and how government wants to move up the value chain in beneficiation.

“It was especially good to impart first-hand knowledge to foreign and domestic, as well as junior, mining companies,” he says.

Hoosen mentions that, in addition to the dialogue, the DTI also hosted various Ministerial delegations from different countries, bilateral meetings and meetings to introduce local companies to global companies and governments.

Further, the DTI sponsored 20 local companies’ attendance at the 2015 indaba.

“The indaba is a great platform through which to articulate our vision and policy for what we want to drive in the next few years. It helps us with setting the framework in terms of the mineral beneficiation action plan, rolling out special economic zones and providing an update in terms of the policy environment, the issues of concern and how government plans to address them,” he states.

The DTI says it is pleased to have ensured that the 20 local companies working in the mining industry were exposed to international networking, partnerships, funding, trading and the other opportunities that usually materialise at a global event of this magnitude, which hosted about 7 000 delegates.

Hoosen tells Mining Weekly that the DTI, in partnership with the departments of science and technology and mineral resources, started including the Mining Indaba in its National Pavilion Programme – aimed at exposing local companies to various exhibitions and conferences worldwide – last year.

Through the pavilion programme, the department supports the attendance of various local companies in all fields of business at about 30 global exhibitions and conferences, relevant to their sphere of specialisation, throughout the year. Companies apply to be part of the programme and are chosen after being subjected to a thorough departmental selection process.

The 20 companies that were sponsored through the pavilion programme to attend the indaba included organisations like the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Council of Geoscience and the State Diamond Trader.