Several owners of coal, platinum and chrome assets in South Africa have approached the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) about returning their mining rights, with the department currently determining how to use this opportunity to empower historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs)

Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane, during his first visit to a mine last week, stressed that the mining industry had an obligation to transform, which included empowering HDSAs.

He affirmed government’s commitment to restoring confidence in the local mining industry.

“We all need to work together to build a better South Africa. The time of shouting and complaining must come to an end. What is needed is a focused strategy by all mining industry stakeholders to take the sector forward,” he said during a visit to gold miner Harmony Gold’s Doornkop mine, west of Johannesburg.

The slump in commodity prices had enabled the DMR to identify certain mining assets for possible acquisition at reasonable prices, as miners had earmarked these for disposal in light of the current market conditions.

Zwane said the State-owned African Exploration Mining & Finance Corporation could potentially be used as a vehicle to manage and/or operate these projects; however, the department needed to discuss the matter further.

Additionally, in response to a question from Mining Weekly about why the Minister had decided to visit Doornkop specifically, he noted that, when briefed on his new portfolio, he had been informed about incidents that occurred at Doornkop in 2014, which resulted in the deaths of mineworkers. These included a fall-of-ground (FOG) and underground fire incident in February 2014, in which nine miners lost their lives, and a FOG incident in July 2014, which resulted in one fatality.

The Minister wanted to see for himself what Harmony had done to ensure that such tragedies did not recur in future and was “happy” that the gold producer had undertaken a thorough investigation into these tragedies and implemented preventive measures.

As of September 23, Doornkop had achieved one-million fatality-free shifts and its plant had recorded 211 injury-free shifts as of October 10.