The Northern Cape’s mining sector is growing and can contribute positively to the country, but challenges such as aged infrastructure, poverty, high unemployment, inequality and illegal mining must be addressed, while exploration needs to be scaled up.

This was said by Mineral Resources and Energy Deputy Minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, at the Northern Cape Provincial Mining Investment Conference, in Kimberley, on March 10.

Nkabane emphasised that the conference must look at how exploration could be scaled up, as it was pivotal to the region’s investment drive.

“There are already numerous mining companies across the country, but the drill and shovel will stop when the known mineral reserves get depleted. That is why we must look into ways of fast-tracking exploration in this investment conference.

“On our part, we hope the Exploration Strategy will pave the way in this regard, and we will endeavour to ensure that relevant legislative instruments are in place to ease mining investment,” said Nkabane.

She said collective efforts and dialogue must result in a re-invigorated engagement between the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the provincial government, as well as social partners, to jointly drive the growth and development of the sector.

Nkabane acclaimed that the Northern Cape was a commodity-rich province with a wide variety of minerals, including, among others: diamonds, manganese ore, iron-ore, lithium, rare earths, fluorspar, zinc, copper, lead and molybdenum ore, with these widespread over a vast georgical area.

She acclaimed that these mineral resources could help catapult the provincial economy to become a major contributor to the national gross domestic product.

She also highlighted that mining was growing at a steady rate in the province. For example, between 2011 and 2021, the Northern Cape office received more than 204 applications for mining rights, over 3 145 applications for prospecting rights and over 960 applications for mining permits.

However, she said that one of the key issues that must be dealt with was the number of non-operational mines in the province, for reasons that include a lack of investment, disputes among stakeholders, life-of-mine having been reached and mineral resources having been exhausted, as well as some cases of financial distress.

Some of the strategic interventions that the DMRE must commit to were, among others, to fast-track Section 11 applications, as well as to facilitate arbitration in disputes in collaboration with other institutions, Nkabane said.

She said that pivotal to these efforts would be for the DMRE to engage with the sector more actively, especially the emerging and junior sectors beyond the areas of regulation and policy only.

“The department must actively seek to facilitate, promote, and retain investments in the sector, in a deliberate and focussed manner,” emphasised Nkabane.

She also highlighted the importance of transformation in the sector. With regard to social and labour plan (SLP) projects, she said it was important that the local communities must be central to these developments, and must jointly identify the types of interventions to be undertaken.

Moreover, she said that mines should collaborate more closely and co-invest in high-impact and high-value economic infrastructure development projects that contribute to further economic expansion in these areas.

Nkabane also called for continued and enhanced mining exploration as the cornerstone to the future of the mining industry in South Africa.

“Working with the industry, we have compiled an Exploration Strategy which among others aims to ensure that we attain at least 5% share of global exploration expenditure within the short to medium term,” she noted.

In terms of energy use, Nkabane said that currently, the sector’s reliance on coal as a primary source of energy was at 75%.

“We have committed to progressively contribute our fair share as part of our approved Nationally Determined Contributions, and we aim to reduce coal consumption in the power generation sector to below 60% by the year 2030,” she informed.

Nkabane outlined challenges impeding the mining sector in the province as including inadequate infrastructure such as rail, resulting in the transport of bulk minerals such as manganese and iron-ore by road, degrading the road infrastructure.

She also mentioned challenges regarding communal property associations (CPAs), such as disputes among CPA executive members and claimants or communities.

“There is also the problem of multiple community structures, and a continuing tension about who leads or should lead community efforts and engagement with the sector,” she noted.

Illegal mining is another problem and areas affected by illegal mining in the province include Namaqualand, Buffelsbank and Kimberley, Nkabane added.

“The department is in the process of developing a legal framework for artisanal and small-scale miners, but illegal mining is a criminal matter that is to be addressed separately.

Mining permits have been issued to the artisanal miners of Batho-Pele Mining Primary Co-operative and Goedemood Trading Cooperative, which must contribute to the redress of inequality in the mining sector,” she informed.

Nkabane called for collective pursuit of solutions to these challenges, including other risk factors which include water use licence delays, protests, objections and appeals, as well as access denial by land owners.