SNUFFING OUT AN INDUSTRY

The proposed electricity tariff rises of 45% a year for the next three years on top of the strong rand have the power to snuff out the mining industry and a lot more with it. Harmony Gold CEO Graham Briggs says the tariff proposal in its present form will close smelters, stop mines and set off a new round of inflation and wage demands. "It will be a sad situation if it is allowed to eventuate. There must be many ways of dealing with the issue," Briggs remarks to Mining Weekly. Harmony, Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti are already at one on the issue and need to continue to engage with Eskom and government through the Chamber of Mines in order to reach a better solution.