Despite continued global media coverage on strikes across the entire sector in a drive to push up wages, the South African Mining industry has experienced a positive growth in recruitment in the last quarter of 2013, with a pipeline that does not seem to be diminishing for early 2014 either.

So says Lucy Donald, who is Director of the Mining division for WRS, a specialist resourcing consultancy for the global Mining industry. “The end of 2012 and beginning of 2013 was very tough in South Africa and now it is our strongest market”, she explains. “We have seen a significant increase in recruitment activity within the South African Mining industry over the last quarter of 2013 and no foreseeable slow down for early 2014 either. Canada is, in fact, now demonstrating the downturn we witnessed in South Africa in 2012 through to mid 2013 so I am hoping this will also be a temporary blip and things will improve there too in the really positive way they have done within South Africa.”

The discovery of the first diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 was the spark that ignited the explosion of mining in South Africa. By 1886, gold and diamond rushes were quickly turning Mining into the nation’s staple economy and this growth has led to a high demand for industrial support which has since shaped the South African economy. And Mining remains a vital part of this economy today, with products from mining making up 38% of all South African exports in 2012 and the sector and surrounding industries employing more than 1 million people*.

On a recent State Visit to Canada, South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, focused on the positives for the industry in a media interview, commenting that much progress has been made in changing South Africa’s Mining from a “sunset business” into a “sunrise industry”. He cited the achievements of almost 20 years of democracy having helped to transform archaic industry practices, which had been designed to benefit employers at the expense of the poor.

Lucy says this is definitely the experience her team have had in recent times, “Even with continued disputes over workers’ wages, we must not forget that, as a major role-player globally, mining in South Africa boasts a high level of technical and production expertise, as well as wide-ranging research and development activities. The country has world-scale primary processing facilities, covering carbon steel, stainless steel and aluminium, as well as gold and platinum.”

Obviously an industry with the longevity of South Africa’s Mining can mean that processes and legislation do not keep up with technological and commercial needs of the sector today. However steps are in place to rectify some of the issues the industry faces if it is to compete on a global scale in terms of working conditions, pay and opportunities for new businesses to develop. Lucy elaborates, “When the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) is amended, it will also overhaul the licensing processes so that companies apply for mining licences at a single office, with the water use licence and the environmental-impact assessments processed simultaneously, ensuring a shorter turnaround time for junior operators within the sector.  In addition, there are plans afoot to change the working cycles of miners, who often work far from home and family and have to live within mine compounds, so that a shorter 6 month work cycle can be implemented to improve their lives. These may seem small steps but they will improve both production and working conditions over time.”

South Africa is currently the world’s largest producer of chrome, platinum group metals, manganese, vanadium, and vermiculite and is the second largest producer of ilmenite, palladium, rutile, and zirconium.  In addition, gold mining in South Africa accounts for over 10 per cent of the world’s gold production and the country is also the world’s fourth largest producer of diamonds. With this rich source of a very wide variety of commodities, the South Africa Mining industry has very varied requirements for skills and knowledge and the Mining Division at WRS includes some specialist consultants who give their thoughts on the recent growth in recruitment activity for this region:

Ruth Byrnes, a specialist in coal and diamond mining, says, “Exports of these commodities still continues to be a large proportion of South Africa’s income and the coal produced in South Africa is also bought by their government for domestic use making junior mining operators still highly profitable when larger companies are struggling due to external international influences. Whilst South Africa does not currently have the strongest market with regards to currency and economy, growth and resourcing within Mining has remained consistent despite this. Because the mining sector is very isolated within South Africa, this drastically narrows the talent pool that companies have to source from as political restraints urge companies to employ South African nationals. I have developed close working relationships and have a lot of influence with very niche networks of client contacts and suitably skilled candidates, which in a larger worldwide market can be hard to achieve.”

In Ruth’s specialist areas the main recruitment has focused on Senior Mine Planners as well as Asset, Mine, General, Environmental and Plant Managers.

Nikitta Bellingham focuses on production, geology, metallurgy, engineering and projects works with operators/contractors and consultancies within the non-ferrous metals and iron ore commodities, including platinum, chrome, manganese, iron ore, nickel and copper. She comments, “Like Ruth, my specialist areas favour employing local as opposed to expat talent, which means my network is also predominately South African nationals. A benefit of this is the ability to really get to know my clients and candidates so I can readily source the best of the best local talent for business critical roles.”

For Nikitta the recruitment activity has been varied across production, metallurgy, geology and projects, with the most the most critical roles being ticketed rock engineers and open cast production professionals, skills for which are a rare commodity.

Neil Nixon recruits for skills related to the EPCM project management of mining and mineral processing projects, as well as operational skills related to gold and uranium mining and finally skills related to critical mining infrastructure such as rail or pit-to-port initiatives. The main recruitment activity for these niche areas has included many engineering roles covering Mining, Rock/Geotechnical, Construction, Metallurgic/Process, Rail and Bulk Material Handling. In addition Neil has seen a consistent requirement for Project Managers, Surveyors, Construction Managers and Project Controls and Planning professionals.

Having now worked for WRS for over 3 years Neil has seen many developments within the South African Mining industry during that time. He says, “With the deepest gold mines in the world, South Africa has given rise to some of the top mining talent in the industry and continues to do so. It’s common to find South Africans working all round the world within the Mining sector now. South Africa’s strength is its balance between opportunity and stability, the blend of untapped resources. A well-established infrastructure and political security ensures strong career potential. Recently this has been accentuated by the fact that any project houses, mining operators and equipment suppliers have established headquarters in South Africa utilizing the strong local infrastructure in order to target the fastest growing mining market in the world.  Like anywhere it has its challenges but with its considerable access to some of the most exciting projects and mining opportunities in the world South Africa remains an exciting and rewarding place to pursue a career.”

South African Minerals to Metals Research Institute