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South Africa is a super dynamic and super fast-moving market, says Siemens Large Drives global solutions head Oliver Beck, who has just completed a week of discussions with customers to highlight sustainability solutions for mining.

From his perspective, South African mining economy is at the leading edge, which is one of the reasons why Siemens has set up a digital hub in South Africa, which is allowing mining companies to attain visibility of everything from the pit to the port, Beck, accompanied by Tim Walwyn, the country CEO of Siemens Large Drives in South Africa, told Mining Weekly en route to flying back to Germany from Johannesburg International Airport. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

On the sustainability front, Siemens, which has been part of South Africa’s mining ecosystem from almost the very start, has just launched a new segment of its organisation that enters the area of green hydrogen production in addition to the far-reaching digital services and solutions it can now offer mining.

The German multinational has a long history of supplying power generation solutions and mechanical and electrical equipment for some of South Africa’s earliest mining activities. It has moved through second, third and fourth industrial revolution advances, always adapting to local conditions and engineering locally to meet South Africa’s mining requirements.

“We really bring everything from heavy rotating equipment, electrical drive systems, power distribution, moving up the levels into automation, process control and optimisation of mining processes, and what we’re really excited about now is the scope of digital services, which span everything from advanced analytics, condition monitoring, optimisation of management processes within the mines and management information systems throughout the entire lifecycles, starting in the early design concept phases, moving right through to operations, modernisation, and maintenance of those operations,” said Walwyn.

The first of Beck’s objectives was to learn about the South African mining market to enable Siemens Large Drives to establish its roadmap – and he believes that objective has been met exceptionally well.

Mining Weekly: What impressions of the South African mining industry will you be taking away with you?

Beck: It was a really exciting week and I have to say that I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity. The team and I visited many customers and partners, had a lot of very interesting discussions to understand the market trends. What I can say is that South Africa is a super dynamic and super fast-moving market. That’s my impression. There are a lot of customers who are early adopters of new technologies. They are trying out new ideas here in South Africa, and then also exporting them and bringing them to other operations around the world. From my perspective, the market and the mining economy is at the forefront, at the leading edge, of this business, and this is really, really cool to see and experience and also be part of. That’s partly the reason why we have such a strong set up in South Africa. We have one of our digital hubs here, where colleagues are driving our digital transformation for customers, with customers.

In what way is Siemens driving sustainability?

In our product portfolio and solutions portfolio, the sustainability part is, I would say, already inherent. For example, if we’re talking about electrical motors, frequency converters, all of those are made to ensure energy efficient production, energy efficient operations. From that side, I would say, it’s already in our DNA. We are still providing diesel-electric propulsion systems, which have much better fuel efficiency and reduce the burn rate of mining trucks. That’s a side where we have been driving sustainability and, on the other side, we’ve just launched a new segment in our organisation for hydrogen production because this really is an important part of, let’s say, circularity and how we ...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the country’s economic/crime paradox that was highlighted at a recent Anglo American meeting; new green hydrogen end-demand pushing platinum into a meaningful deficit; and the development of the R1-billion fuel cell factory which could break ground next year.

The strategic role of platinum group metals (PGMs) in the creation of a hydrogen economy is the key supporting element of the just energy transition investment plan unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection researcher Dr Nqobile Xaba emphasises in an op-ed.

Given the criticality of PGMs in achieving global net-zero emission targets, Xaba questions the sufficiency of South Africa’s gearing to leverage off its PGM endowment.

Green hydrogen electrolysers and fuel cells are poised to increase demand for PGMs, which are used in electrolysers to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen, and in fuel cells to generate electricity from the hydrogen, with both playing key decarbonisation roles.

Emphasised by Xaba is that green hydrogen technologies will likely not be fully implemented until this cleanest form of hydrogen can be produced competitively.

To that end, the procurement of wind and solar renewables needs to be accelerated, along with development of infrastructure, including hydrogen distribution and storage infrastructure.

The basis of South Africa’s Hydrogen Society Roadmap is the use of hydrogen and hydrogen technologies to promote economic development and as South Africa moves to implement the roadmap’s strategies, it has the potential to become a participant and scientific thought leader in the emerging global hydrogen system.

Because South Africa will be competing for the same markets with other countries in the Southern African Development Community, Xaba emphasises that an acceleration of pace is needed by South Africa to ensure that it derives optimum benefit from green hydrogen export opportunity.

Xaba contends that current policies do not adequately factor in the availability of materials for both the renewable energy transition and the adoption of the circular economy.

To realise the green hydrogen ambitions outlined in the just energy transition investment plan, she highlights the need for South Africa to build mineral beneficiation value chains to meet hydrogen economy requirements.

“South Africa should ensure that it retains its competitiveness in the PGM sector for its economic sustenance and for its low carbon transition strategies. This can be done through the creation of a thriving hydrogen economy,” says Xaba in advocating:

PGM beneficiation through catalyst development for fuel cell and electrolyser applications to ensure that mineral value addition occurs in South Africa;

support to enable South Africa’s research and development efforts to be channelled towards product commercialisation; and

an enabling environment for a thriving hydrogen economy, with both the Presidential Climate Commission’s framework for a just transition and the Hydrogen Society Roadmap setting out implementation steps.

In addition, South Africa's mineral beneficiation strategy provides a framework, she says, for using mineral endowments to support the overall competitiveness of the economy and promoting greenness.

The creation of an enabling environment must, in her view, include funding support for research and development, and skills development programmes to ensure that there will be a capable hydrogen economy workforce.

“It must also include science diplomacy initiatives that ensure engagement with international partners and facilitate the deployment of hydrogen technology demonstration prototypes of fuel cells and electrolysers for energy needs,” she adds.

These need to be rolled out across the country to support service delivery meaningfully, and to encourage engagement with the new technologies.

Connecting all these requirements should be a strong government, research institution, the private sector and civil society partnership.

“These partnerships are critical in ensuring that projects succeed, a common vision is maintained, and that South Africa’s hydrogen economy is guided by the just transition framework,” Xaba concludes.

South Africa’s economic paradox is that it cannot grow economically if it has a burgeoning crime crisis but it is unable to solve the burgeoning crime crisis if it is not growing.

That was the opening comment of outgoing Mineral Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter, who anchored the second of two panel discussions at on United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 that focuses on the need for peace, justice and stability.

“This is the paradox that we need to grapple with as business and as government,” Baxter told the meeting moderated by Anglo American government relations head Bheki Khumalo and covered by Mining Weekly.

Also participating were Department of Justice DG Adv Doctor Mashabane, South African Council of Churches general secretary Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana, Business Leadership South Africa executive director Busisiwe Mavuso, Anglo American management board chairperson and Minerals Council South Africa chairperson Nolitha Fakude, Anglo American Platinum CEO Natascha Viljoen and many other government and corporate representatives who took part in table hosted discussions on the two main panel discussions.

“The mining industry and the country are under siege because of the deteriorating security and crime crisis that we’re facing.

“Surging rates of murder, extortion, kidnapping are amongst the signs that organised crime is creating an existential threat for South Africa’s democracy,” said Baxter, who added that the mining industry is at the brunt of it.

“Just talking to some senior executives yesterday, what the industry is having to do over the last couple of years to respond to particularly the extortion crisis – the criminal mafia – has become a much bigger part of our business,” he said.

In 1996, South Africa was the 23rd least corrupt country in the world; it is now the 70th.

In the Fraser Institute survey, South Africa was the worst ranked country of the country’s that had security rankings and South Africa’s 40 murders per 100 000 population is now higher than that of Colombia.

Illegal mining is costing the country R20-billion and in 2019 there were 22 armed attacks on precious metals facilities in South Africa by gangs of between 20 to 30 people armed with high calibre rifles.

This year, a gang of 150 armed with AK47s and other types of weapons attacked the Cooke Shafts of Sibanye-Stillwater, with the fire fight lasting for four hours.

“This is an attack on our democracy. This type of attack should not be happening in a society like South Africa’s.

“The impact of the criminal mafia tactics on the industry is that it is having a huge dampening effect on investment. Companies simply can’t press the investment trigger on a number of projects because of security issues related to the procurement mafia – and the procurement mafia often masquerade as business forums,” said Baxter.

While the industry did not mind engaging with legitimate business forums in the interests of working with local communities, but when the “range rover brigade” from Bryanston rustle up communities to shut down mines so that they can distort a 30% share of the services to that mine, it becomes a typical mafia extortion process.

Moreover, copper theft has been a major setback for rail services and the mining sector is having to spend R2.5-billion a year on security.

The slogan that Minerals Council South Africa has adopted to counteract the crime is “be the change that you want to see in the world” and mining company CEOs were leading from the front to put an end to crime.

“We are focusing on getting this economy to grow at a much faster pace – but again it’s that paradox. How do we do that when crime is burgeoning,” said Baxter, who recalled that the South Africa economy grew at 5% in 2008.

“If we could repeat that, we double the size every 12 years, so we would go from at $500-billion to a trillion dollar economy if we could achieve growth rates at that sort of level, and the private sector is a willing partner,” he added.

A bankable feasibility study has opened the way for the building of a factory for the local manufacture of fuel cells that are designed to provide low-carbon electricity to decentralised users at affordable prices throughout the African continent.

Innovative South African Mitochondria Energy Systems, headed by founder and CEO Mashudu Ramano, expects to break ground for the R1-billion development in the first quarter of next year, with the first fuel cells being produced in 2024, with full-scale commercialisation expected in 2028.

Established in 2018, Mitochondria is a developer and marketer of hydrogen-based technologies.

An area of Emfuleni, which has been earmarked for declaration as a special economic zone (SEZ) by the Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC), is the site of choice for the manufacture of the energy systems, aimed at decentralising electricity generation in the same way as cellphone systems decentralised telecommunications.

Funders of the first phase of the project include South Africa’s State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DFSA) and Mitochondria itself, Ramano outlined in an interview with Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

Discussion is underway with potential funders of the second phase, a far-reaching R3-billion augmentation project involving the local manufacture of fuel cell stacks.

The just energy transition is a major project consideration and much collaboration has also taken place with local communities amid the potential for most of the components required to be locally sourced.

In South Africa for the Mitochondria Technology Day were representatives of AVL of Austria and Ceres Power of UK, companies that are partnering Mitochondria in the introduction of what is described as “an affordable, reliable, decentralised and sustainable energy solution for the African continent”.

Green hydrogen is seen as the ideal eventual fuel for the multifuel stationary electricity generating fuel cells that form an integral part of simultaneous trigeneration of baseload power, heat and water in fulfilment of ten of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“The more you move towards hydrogen and on-site generation, the more you are able to get better efficiencies in the energy system,” explained Ramano.

On the choice of Mitochondria as the company’s name, Ramano highlighted that the word mitochondria refers to every cell in the human body having a power generation capacity.

“Every time I use the word Mitochondria, I’m calling forth a new energy generation era for the world. This is the prosumer, where you produce and you also consume and so Mitochondria is about the new emerging energy era in the world where there will be so many energy generators, but all networked like the mitochondria in my body, which are generating power right now as I’m speaking to you,” he added.

Early on in his study of fuel cells and hydrogen, he visited Japan consecutively to 11 years to understand the fuel cells that were being introduced into homes.

Then five years ago, his company decided not to follow the model implemented elsewhere and requested that AVL do a prefeasibility study using the latest technologies that could be competitive with coal in South Africa, which pointed to the need for a decentralised solution as had proved so successful with telephony, which catapulted Africa into the modern era. From a communications perspective.

Mitochondria’s fuel cells are high temperature fuel cells that make use of steel-based nickel-bearing cerium alloy developed by Ceres in solid-oxide ceramic-based fuel cells that offer 60% efficiency in generating baseload electricity. With heat added, the efficiency is said to exceed 90%.

“The core technology we use is like the size of my hand with a hundred thousand holes in it and that is what splits the atom into protons and electrons, and then electrons flow from the cathode to the anode and that’s electricity,” Ramano...

Latest news from Sedibelo Platinum Mines in North West province is that the company’s Pilanesberg platinum mines situated in the Bushveld Complex, 207 km west of Johannesburg, will not only have abundant solar power on site plus a world-first smelterless processing technology that consumes 82% – yes, 82% – less electricity than conventional platinum group metals (PGMs) smelters, but it will also be powered by wind energy.

“We have committed now to a wind project. We have signed the contract,” Pallinghurst Group managing partner and cofounder Arne Frandsen confirmed to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The company has secured an allocation of off-site wind power to augment already announced on-site solar.

In a mining investment world increasingly dominated by environmental social and governance (ESG) demands, the resolve of Sedibelo Platinum Mines to be a green platinum group metals producer was firmed up last year by the timely first-of-a-kind appointment of a chief ESG officer.

“As you know we have Lael Bethlehem as our chief ESG officer. She is in charge of our renewable energy drive, and she has some very interesting prospects for solar on our site and I'm really excited about that.

“The first solar step will be of significant size, and I like the combination of solar and wind because quite often when the sun is not shining, the wind is blowing and it's a very good combination. It is also about showing clear intent, which is to ensure we can produce the greenest ounce of PGM available.” Frandsen emphasised.

Frandsen chairs the Sedibelo Platinum Mines Limited in South Africa’s North West, as well as leading the New York- and Toronto-listed Nouveau Monde Graphite, which operates out of Quebec. He has spent years co-developing a strategy to deliver a zero-carbon battery grade graphite mine in Canada, and in South Africa, he’s overseeing the expansion of Sedibelo’s Pilanesberg platinum group metals (PGMs) mine, which is also commissioning new smelterless technology on site right now amid a decade of research, development and plant piloting.

Sedibelo launched its involvement with Kell at its launch at the premises of the South Africa’s State-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) ten years ago.

Sedibelo shares an interest in Kell with the IDC and founder Keith Liddell, who conceived the smelterless concept many years ago, when working at South Africa’s State-owned mineral research organisation Mintek, in Malibongwe Drive, Randburg, Gauteng.

“We’ve done all the testing, all of the development together, and the key thing for Sedibelo, as the user, is to have it up and running as soon as practically possible.

“We are also a co-owner of the technology within the Southern African Development Community and it's also about our bigger strategy.

“We don't want this magic potion for ourselves alone. As you know, we are talking about nearly 90% of the world's PGMs being in our beautiful part of the world and that means this has to be the home for Kell in respect of PGMs,” is the sharing sentiment expressed by Frandsen. “At the end of the day, it’s all about doing the right thing, being sustainable and being responsible in the way that we use our electricity.”

Kell’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from concentrate to final refined metals are only 19% of the CO2 emissions caused by the current smelting and refining route.

Mining Weekly: Is the introduction of green hydrogen at Sedibelo much further off?

Frandsen: No, it's not much further off. We have committed, as a company, to that vision. We have a team that is looking at the green hydrogen initiatives and, for sure, we want to be right in the middle of the entire hydrogen highway concept that is that is being introduced. This is going to be very important and not only for the mining industry but for South Africa and neighbouring countries as well.

The Pallinghurst Group now has within its fold all the key elements needed for lithium-...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the Motsepe Foundation's $2-million Green Energy competition; Palabora’s partnership with Mzansi energy to develop a solar PV plant with an energy storage system; and Venetia's underground project which is hoping for first production next year.

In the light of clean, cost-efficient, stable electricity supply being critical, Palabora Mining Company is partnering with Mzansi Energy to develop a 132 MWp solar photovoltaic plant and battery energy storage system capable of storing 310 MWh of electricity.

Mining Weekly can report that the Marula Green Power plant is heading for two-stage implementation – construction followed by operation and maintenance development.

Financial close is likely in the second quarter of 2023, with operational commencement in the second quarter of 2024.

The current timelines are preliminary at this stage and may change based on the outcome of the detailed feasibility study.

Once deployed, the project will be one of South Africa’s largest private independent power producers (IPPs) and is intended to provide the mine with both security of supply and affordable energy, which will result in significant cost savings.

Wessel Wessels, CEO of Journey2Green – a founding partner in Mzansi Energy – says a long-term power purchase agreement will be finalised between the parties at the end of the detailed feasibility study, which is expected in May next year. Mzansi Energy will design, finance, install, operate and maintain the plant for 12 years.

The plant will be based within the municipal jurisdiction of Ba-Phalaborwa, Limpopo, just outside Namakgale township, and about 20 km from the mine, a location chosen to allow for direct supply to the mine without connection to the Eskom grid.

The project promises cost-efficient, secure, green energy and significant social upliftment for Ba-Phalaborwa communities in Limpopo province.

GREEN ENERGY SUPPLY

Tumi Mogoera, associate director of Summit Partners – another founding partner in Mzansi Energy – says the project is one step towards helping South Africa address its electricity challenges. “Additionally, the Marula Green Power plant will contribute to our nation’s Just Energy Transition (JET) net zero carbon emissions strategy,” Mogoera points out.

Mzansi Energy has partnered with the local traditional authority as per the study performed for identification of the ideal location subject to final environmental-impact assessment.

The authority will host the solar power plant on its land and enter a long-term lease - the long-term lease is conditional on specific socio-economic benefits for all local Ba-Phalaborwa communities in areas such as business opportunities for small enterprises, skills transfer and development as well as job creation.

During the implementation phases, many direct and indirect employment opportunities will be created through the Marula Green Power project and the local suppliers in Ba-Phalaborwa region will also be exposed to available business opportunities. Based on initial estimates, the project is expected to create about 500 to 750 fixed-term employment opportunities during construction and 35 permanent jobs during the operation and maintenance over the 12-year period.

Mzansi Energy has developed a community development roadmap to stimulate the local economy through skills development and employment of locals. This applies during the development, construction and operation of the solar plant in the Ba-Phalaborwa area. Built on these solid community relationships, Mzansi Energy’s corporate social responsibility roadmap includes employment creation, allocation of funds for skills development, youth development and community development initiatives, and agrivoltaics farming to improve food security and reduce poverty among local people.

Agrivoltaics uses, in combination, a portion of the land for solar photovoltaic power generation and agriculture. The detailed plan shall be consulted with the stakeholders to ensure that the process unfolds in a fair manner for the benefit of the local communities.

Harmony Gold Mining Company’s disaggregated Tshepong North and Tshepong South gold mines stole the proverbial show by both delivering strong operational performances in the three months to the end of September.

The two Free State mines provided 37% of group operating free cash flow and drove much of the improvement in Harmony’s optimised underground South African portfolio.

Owing to better recovered grades, Tshepong North's operating free cash flow margin improved to 11% this quarter from -13% in the last quarter of the financial year to June 30, while Tshepong South's operating free cash flow margins improved to 22% from 9%, with the two mines together bringing in R314-million of free cash.

In fact, it was the South African underground and surface operations that did it for Harmony this quarter, when production from its international segment slumped 28% to 32 537 oz.

As a rand-cost producer, the gold price received continued to move in Harmony's favour, increasing 1% to R954 916/kg from R944 671/kg in the previous quarter, resulting in a 1% increase in gold revenue to R11 226-million.

Collectively, improved performances at South African high-grade and South African optimised underground operations resulted in a 17%-higher total group operating free cash flow to R857-million.

Adjusting for the closure of the Bambanani gold mine, the remaining South African underground production increased by 2% to 8 467 kg (272 219 oz), supported by a 1% increase in underground recovered grades to 5.35 g/t.

Production at the South African surface operations increased 4% to 1 917 kg (61 634 oz) on the improved performance of Mine Waste Solutions.

The loss from electricity loadshedding was 100 kg (3 215 oz) this quarter, the Johannesburg- and New York-listed company stated in a release to Mining Weekly on November 17.

The free cash flow contribution of R407-million from the high-grade Mponeng and Moab Khotsong gold mines represented 48% of total group operating free cash flow, with Hidden Valley in Papua New Guinea generating R82-million.

Group all-in sustaining costs increased by 5% to R907 864/kg ($1 657/oz) mainly from lower production at Hidden Valley, Kusasalethu and Target 1.

Net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased to 0.26 times in this quarter from 0.1 times in the previous quarter on currency translation and working capital movements. Net debt increased to R2 070-million from R731-million.

A 1.4-million- to 1.5-million-ounce gold producer with near-term copper prospects, Harmony remains on track to meet cost, grade and production guidance.

Continued focus is placed on delivering safe production and value creation through execution and productivity initiatives.

To boost its copper footprint, Harmony last month announced the acquisition of Eva Copper in Australia.

Alongside the Wafi-Golpu project in Papua New Guinea, this investment introduces near-term copper into the portfolio.

For four consecutive quarters, the lost-time injury frequency rate has been trending below 6. This quarter it is at 5.58.

The vision of Africa’s aspirant tech-metal champion AfriTin Mining is to fast-track lithium production, as it expands its footprint in Namibia.

The six months to the end of August has seen the London Aim-listed company focus on bringing lithium and tantalum byproducts into production.

In ramping up tin concentrate production beyond the 1 200 t/y mark in the next six months of the financial year, lithium and tantalum will be extracted from the processing streams of the now-completed Uis Phase 1 Expansion Project – something which presents the company with an opportunity to become the Aim’s only lithium producer.

AfriTin is capitalising on a globally significant resource to bridge the lithium supply gap, CEO Anthony Viljoen made clear in a release to Mining Weekly on November 17.

While tin prices have dropped drastically in recent months, the opposite has been true of lithium, which further cements AfriTin’s strategy of accelerating lithium and tantalum while continuing to grow organically and moving into a lower unit cost position.

In the six months to August 31, AfriTin lifted tin output – also a component of the world’s decarbonisation revolution – by 23% to 454 t of concentrate.

But revenue of £4.7-million – compared with £5.1-million in the corresponding six months of 2021 – was impacted by tin’s price fall plus the timing of settlement adjustments, which lowered the average price achieved to $25 227/t compared with the $36 910/t of the corresponding six months of 2021.

Inflationary pressures of high fuel prices and higher maintenance costs also lifted half-year cost of sales above the £4-million of 2021 to £5.7-million.

After the end of the period under review, AfriTin negotiated a potential funding package of $53.6-million, which could help to accelerate organic tin growth, fund lithium and tantalum byproduct opportunities, continue the regional drilling programme, and initiate the feasibility study for the Phase 2 production step at Uis.

The funding package embraces debt, convertible notes and an equity raise of $22.8-million through a placing and subscriptions, a process that closed on September 16.

As announced in earlier this year, the Development Bank of Namibia has approved a conditional $5.8-million lending facility, which provides another component of the funding package.

Additionally, asset management firm Orion, which has been proposed as a key strategic investor for AfriTin, has a history of cultivating sustainable shareholder value in the mining sector.