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DMR to be more flexible with small-scale mining applicants

SHAFT SHUTTING CAMPAIGN The Department of Mineral Resources has spent a great deal of time and resources sealing and resealing old mining shafts used by illegal miners throughout the country

Photo by Bloomberg

GODFREY OLIPHANT The Council for Geoscience and Mintek have been working tirelessly on the DMR’s rehabilitation programme to close all dangerous mining related holes’

7th April 2017

By: Ilan Solomons

Creamer Media Staff Writer

     

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The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) will “amend and relax” some of its conditions in issuing mining permits to small-scale miners, said Mineral Resources Deputy Minister Godfrey Oliphant last month.

He was speaking following the conclusion of a one-day workshop on illegal and artisanal mining in Johannesburg. The workshop was hosted by the DMR in partnership with the State-owned Mine Health and Safety Council under the theme ‘Combating illegal mining and promoting artisanal mining in South Africa’.

He revealed that the DMR would also facilitate access to funding from State-owned financial institutions, such as the Industrial Development Corporation, for small-scale miners.

Oliphant stated that it was the view of government that addressing illegal mining in the country should include curtailing markets used by national, regional and international syndicates.

“These initiatives will undoubtedly require extensive collaborative efforts by all stakeholders,” he said.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the Deputy Minister told the media in a press briefing on the sidelines of the workshop that, while government was committed to finding a reasonable solution to regulate the artisanal mining sector in South Africa, this would only apply to surface projects, and not to those undertaken in underground areas by the many illegal miners referred to as ‘zama-zamas’.

“There is no ways that we, as the DMR, can in good conscience grant permits to artisanal miners for deep-level mines, which, in most cases, are being accessed using old, abandoned shaft infrastructure, which is unsafe. We would essentially be sending people to their deaths.”

He said the DMR spent a great deal of time and resources sealing and resealing old mining shafts throughout the country. Oliphant pointed out that, in Gauteng alone, the DMR had, over the past few years, closed 69 old, abandoned shafts and would be continuing these efforts.

He noted that State-owned entities the Council for Geoscience and Mintek had been working “very hard” on the DMR’s rehabilitation programme to close all “dangerous mining-related holes,” which was an ongoing programme.

Moreover, Oliphant remarked that, during the course of the workshop, a number of proposals had been made by government entities and other industry stakeholders regarding workable solutions to tackling illegal mining and promoting artisanal mining in South Africa.

“Our aim is to allow artisanal miners to undertake mining on surface deposits by supporting them in attaining the required permits and procuring the necessary personal protective equipment,” he commented.

Oliphant revealed that the DMR had already done this in eight areas where the rehabilitation of old mining areas had been completed, as well as at locations where the department had identified mineral outcrops and/or residue on the surface in Gauteng.

He added that the department was also engaging with mining companies to identify if they had tailings dumps that were not being processed and whether those dumps could be sold off to artisanal operators.

Further, Oliphant noted that Mintek had developed a process called Retreatment Flowsheet for Gold and Uranium Tailings (Reflaut) that could potentially be of use to artisanal operators. The Reflaut plant removes gold, as well as harmful sulphites and radioactive uranium, from tailings, thereby significantly reducing the mineral content that is responsible for generating this type of acid mine drainage.

Another proposal raised was that a moratorium be granted to illegal miners to register as certified artisanal miners. However, Oliphant stressed that this would require consultation with the South African Police Service and the Department of Home Affairs, besides others.

“We are receiving many innovative proposals; however, currently, we do not have conclusive solutions to announce,” he stated.

Oliphant said illegal mining was a “seasonal occurrence”, in that, if commodity prices increased, the number of illegal miners tended to increase, and when prices declined, so did the number of illegal miners.

He highlighted that the problem remained that illegal mining – whether widespread or more isolated – was a danger to the miners, infrastructure, local communities and the environment.

Moreover, Oliphant asserted that it fuelled illegal commodity syndicates, drug dealers and other criminal elements locally and worldwide.

He further noted that, while the exact economic cost of illegal mining in South Africa was very difficult to determine, according to reports made available to the DMR, the loss of revenue to the State and mines as a result of just the smuggling of gold out of the country was around R6- billion a year. “Obviously, one can only imagine what the total would be if we factored in the illegal mining that occurs in other commodities as well.”

Oliphant added that it had been proposed that the DMR engage with communities where illegal miners live and/or operate to determine how best to address this problem.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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