Weathering the ‘perfect storm’ facing the mining sector

Abstract

The South African mining industry has made a significant contribution to the country's economy for more than a century. Changes in legislation for mining licences, stricter health and safety targets, and stronger focus on reducing the impact on the environment coupled with increasing labour and electricity costs are some of the factors that significantly changed the landscape in which the mining industry now operates. Further to this, low commodity prices force South African mines to seek new, more technically advanced, cost-effective ways of increasing production without compromising occupational health and safety. Research, development, and innovation (RD&I) in the mining sector is therefore required to find solutions that are cheaper, safer, and more efficient. Alternative programmes must be developed and put in place to transform South Africa's comparative mineral endowment advantages into more sustainable and globally competitive strengths. This paper discusses the recently developed and accepted South African Mining Extraction Research, Development & Innovation (SAMERDI) strategy, which is strongly focused on productivity-related issues in order to ensure that mineral resources can be converted into mineable reserves economically, safely, and with minimal impact on the environment. Furthermore the paper will discuss the merits of revitalizing the mining RD&I environment through the strenghtening and consolidation of efforts in a manner that is collaborative and ultimately sustainable.