A government-initiated fund for prospectors and developers is under discussion with the Public Investment Corporation and the Industrial Development Corporation, Minerals Council South Africa emerging mining head Grant Mitchell said this month.
Speaking at a media conference at the Investment in African Mining Indaba, Mitchell said coordination efforts were under way to establish a private sector-pubic sector partnership.
“As it stands, we have 24 companies on our junior and emerging miners’ desk and we also have three organisations that, in turn, also have in excess of 200 smaller companies as their membership that also benefit from some of the things that we do,” Minerals Council executive Tebello Chabana told Mining Weekly.
The desk has a mentorship programme where retired mining company CEOs coach junior miners that require that assistance.
It also runs a help desk, not just for members but for anybody interested in mining.
Workshops are also held that are important for junior miners and companies providing services them.