Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi made it clear when Mining Weekly interviewed him on camera at the Electra Mining Africa exhibition that the government was taking a serious look at decoupling oil and gas legislation from general minerals legislation. Read on page 15 of this edition of Mining Weekly of the Minister also expecting imminent action on the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act Amendment Bill, which has still to be signed into law by President Jacob Zuma. Ramatlhodi revealed that the consideration given to a separate legal framework for oil and gas after six weeks of ‘lab’ work on potential oil and gas legislation. The Minister also made clear the dependence of South Africa’s extraction industry on foreign investment, which in turn requires legislative clarity. Ramatlhodi visited the stands of local mining equipment provider Becker Mining South Africa; industrial gases, welding and safety products group African Oxygen; and electric motors and drives supplier Zest WEG Group. He was also presented with work apparel by the Dickies work wear brand.

New Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown has expressed concern about the management of South Africa’s State diamond mine Alexkor. Read on page 16 of this edition of Mining Weekly of the Minister’s reference to the cash constraints that might be confronting the Northern Cape operation. Also worrying Brown is the expression of an unqualified audit opinion on Alexkor’s noncompliance with legislation, along with internal control inadequacies and the organisation’s lack of preparedness for the carrying out of the audit process. The Minister made no mention of Alexkor’s decision, announced at a media conference a year ago, to enter into several joint ventures with emerging black-, women- and youth-owned mining start-ups to develop operations that would mine and deliver high-grade limestone and coal to State-owned power utility Eskom.

The emergence of new industry techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing for the supply of gas and the discovery of oil in sub-Saharan Africa is set to increase capital spending on automation and control systems, says global growth consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Read on page 45 of this edition of Mining Weekly of the consultancy finding that there is greater urgency among end-user businesses to find new tools to decrease the rate at which oil and gas are being depleted and improve efficiency in these operations. Automation and control systems, which earned revenues of $151.8-million in 2013, are expected to record revenues of $273.9-million in 2019. East Africa, where several projects are expected to get under way before the end of 2018, is seen as an areas of opportunity.

Rough-terrain machinery and material handling equipment supplier Manitou Southern Africa launched what the company said was the world’s largest telehandler Electra Mining Africa as can be read on page 42 of Mining Weekly. Visitors to the show were able to interface with the company’s global mining teams from Russia, Australia, India and South America.