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Orion Minerals CEO Errol Smart offered the familiar refrain of South Africa’s mining industry needing a functional and accurate cadastre.

“We cannot manage our minerals with a GIS system,” he said during the Q&A session following his keynote address at the 2022 Council for Geoscience (CGS) Summit on Wednesday.

He expressed ongoing frustration with the fact that “some of the most commercially successful mining cadastre developers in the world are based here in South Africa, and yet we don’t have a cadastre”.

Moreover, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) is only negligibly closer to replacing its defunct system, as it published an invitation to tender earlier this year.

“Botswana started speaking about a cadastre at the same time that we started speaking about a mining cadastre. We’re still speaking about speaking about speaking, and Botswana has an active cadastre.”

Similarly, there has been very little progress in terms of the six points outlined in the exploration reform proposed by the CGS and Minerals Council South Africa.

“The CEO of CGS and I sat in a room two years ago, trying to answer the question about what we need to do [to attract exploration investment and reignite exploration]. We came up with six points. Those six points are still not acted upon,” he said.

Aside from implementing a functional cadastre and halving licensing times, one of the six points is the need to address ambiguities in the law.

“The Minister stands with me on every stage around the world, and he'll tell people that it is not sensible to have BEE overlay on prospecting rights. He makes a clear statement, regularly on stage, that BEE is not required for prospecting. And I go to the international investment community, and I tell investors that BEE is not required for prospecting in South Africa. I have not received a single prospecting right that hasn't had an insistence on Section Two D, in compliance with the new Minerals Charter. That creates uncertainty and unhappiness among investors."

He also asked that the DMRE take responsibility in terms of Section 54 and help address the impasse between landowners and prospectors – landowners who are sterilising prospecting opportunities.

Smart stated that unless action was taken, South Africa would continue to lose out on investment to neighbours like Botswana and Namibia, not because they have better geology, but because they have better administrative systems.

BENEFICIATION

Smart noted that in South Africa everybody “waffles on about beneficiation”, with some looking to increase metals smelting capacity, even though the challenges plaguing State-owned utility Eskom all but guarantee that it will never be able to power said smelters.

“To me that’s not where the value is, the real value is understanding that value chain of a battery precursor.”

He provided the example of cell phones, noting that the 3 μm to 6 μm iron micro flakes that are used in a single phone costs the cell phone manufacturer as much as all of the cobalt found in the phone.

“Iron, currently [around] $100/t, but the same stuff goes into your cell phone for microwave attenuation and is trading at $100 000/t. The nickel that's used isn't the big ingots, its microfibres. That's what we need to be doing.”

He cited technologies and innovations that open up other avenues for beneficiation. “The nickel in your cell phone comes from massive plants where they take a big lump of nickel and go gasify it to produce little microbeads.”

He said that similar beneficiation activity can occur using concentrates.

”So there are two different technologies, but they happen the same way, almost identical reactor vessels. You've got a vaporisation vessel, a bunch of pipes and a distillation tower. It's the same stuff that Sasol does, the same process, the same technology, the same reactor, and it's done around the world on a huge scale.”

He noted that pursuing these technologies and beneficiation strategies would be viable, cost-effecti...

Diversified mining and marketing company Glencore, in response to recommendations received, will take four steps to advance its climate reporting amid the world facing a rapidly closing window to meet the Paris Agreement’s climate goals.

The London- and Johannesburg-listed Glencore simultaneously released its third-quarter production of 41% higher cobalt, 15% higher nickel output, and 4% more ferrochrome on consistent smelter performance.

Regarding climate, Glencore will:

publish its climate progress report on the same date as its annual report in March 2023 to ensure alignment and consistency across both reports;

enhance disclosures in the climate progress report on planning and execution of climate strategy improvement;

provide more governance detail of climate matters by the Glencore board and management; and

engage further with key proxy voting advisers to seek an improved understanding of climate strategy in various areas.

Shareholders will be updated on climate strategy progress at the full year results presentation in February, and further details on Glencore’s response to the outcome of its Climate Resolution vote will be provided in the 2022 climate and annual reports in March.

Glencore’s investor update will be held on December 6.

On third-quarter production performance, Glencore CEO Gary Nagle drew attention to the impacts of extreme weather in Australia, industrial action at nickel assets in Canada and Norway, and the emergence of significant supply chain issues in Kazakhstan, stemming from the Russia/Ukraine war.

Full-year 2022 production guidance has, accordingly, been reduced for affected commodities.

Anticipated in the second half is a significantly reduced, but still above-average, contribution, which will likely exceed $1.6-billion, being the top end of the pro-rated long-term earnings before interest and tax guidance range of $2.2-billion to $3.2-billion a year, the company stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

In the three months to the end of September, copper output was down 14% year-on-year to 770.5 kt, zinc 18% lower at 699.6 kt, lead down 21% to 136.9 kt, gold down 15% to 504 koz, and silver down 25% to 17 878 koz.

Third-quarter cobalt production rose to 33.1 kt, nickel to 81.6 kt and ferrochrome to 1 110 kt.

Climate sensitive coal production was 7% higher at 81.9 mt and oil 16% up in barrels of oil equivalent (boe) at 4 822 kboe.

Changes in fourth quarter production guidance involve mainly a tightening of the ranges, with zinc forecast to be 6% down, nickel 8% down and coal 9% down.

In the three months to September 30, own sourced copper production was 770 500 t, own sourced zinc production 699 600 t, own sourced nickel production 81 600 t, and attributable ferrochrome production 1 110 000 t.

Coal production totalled 81.9-million tonnes and entitlement interest oil production 4.8 million boe.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) mining and marketing company Impala Platinum (Implats) on Friday expressed determination to maximise the tailwinds of strong prevailing PGM prices and deliver its guided business performance for the benefit of all stakeholders.

Six-element (6E) concentrate volumes were a 2% higher 824 000 oz in the three months to the end of September made up of unchanged managed volumes of 593 000 oz, 2% higher joint venture production to 141 000 oz, and 14% higher third-party receipts of 91 000 oz.

Aligned with scheduled processing maintenance, gross 6E refined and saleable production volumes declined by 5% to 705 000 oz, while 6E sales volumes of 708 000 oz were largely unchanged from those in the prior comparable period.

Electricity load curtailment by power utility Eskom necessitated adjustments to hoisting, concentrating and smelting rates, and socio-economic pressures were compounded by rising global inflation and local currency depreciation.

But notwithstanding the complex operating environment, Implats CEO Nico Muller reported good progress across the company’s suite of mining and processing projects, with revenue expected to remain robust and discussions with core customers confirming expectations of rising demand for key products over the coming year.

Guidance parameters for the financial year to the end of June have been maintained amid group unit costs and capital expenditure remaining vulnerable to sustained rand depreciation.

“We are determined to maximise the tailwinds of strong prevailing PGM prices and deliver our guided business performance in FY2023, for the benefit of all our stakeholders,” Muller stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

PRODUCTION

Gross tonnes milled at managed operations improved to 5.85-million tonnes on volume gains at Impala Rustenburg and Zimplats, stable production at Marula, and marginally lower mill throughput at Impala Canada.

Milled grade declined marginally to 3.61 g/t, resulting in unchanged 6E concentrate production of 593 000 oz at managed operations.

Concentrate production from the Mimosa and Two Rivers joint ventures improved by 2% to 141 000 oz, while third-party 6E concentrate deliveries to Impala Refining Service rose by 14% to 91 000 oz. Consequently, Group 6E-in-concentrate production increased by 2% to 824 000 oz.

Refined 6E production, which includes saleable ounces from Impala Canada, was impacted by scheduled processing maintenance and ongoing power disruptions in South Africa and declined by 5% to 705 000 oz. The scheduled maintenance was successfully completed in July and August, with smelting rates impacted by the increased frequency and severity of load curtailment in September.

Refined production of platinum declined by 4% and palladium by 3%, with a more notable reduction in refined volumes of rhodium and other minor PGMs. This timing difference was directly owing to the longer duration of the refining process for these precious metals and the impact thereon of the maintenance programme during the period.

IMPALA RUSTENBURG

Milled production at Impala Rustenburg increased by 2% to 2.65-million tonnes, but milled head grade declined by 4% to 3.85 g/t owing to changes in the ore mix across the shaft complex. As a result, 6E-in-concentrate production declined by 2% to 310 000 oz.

Production momentum at Impala Rustenburg was impacted by unprotected industrial action among the contractor workforce at the end of FY2022 and again in September 2022 when a two-day dispute arose with permanent workers as a result of the individual tax status of certain permanent employees, which impacted the quantum of their employee share ownership trust payouts. Production was further impacted by Eskom loadshedding during the reporting period and safety stoppages following the fatality at 16 Shaft.

Refined 6E production of 300 000 oz was 3% higher during the quarter, up from 292 000 oz in the prior comparable period.

ZIMPLATS

Zimplats’ tonnes milled increased by 3% to 1.7...

This week, Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the funding milestone achieved by mine development company Orion Minerals; the Department of Science and Innovation's suggestion that South Africa should make green hydrogen part of its Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan; and US company Plug's platinum-using green hydrogen and fuel cell solutions.

Three women who have been in logistics collectively for more than 30 years have formed a company intent on helping to smooth out rail and port logistics in the Southern African region.

The three are Nosipho Damasane, Nyameka Madikizela and Ncumisa Dube, who have formed Indlela Connections. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

All three have worked in both the private and public port and rail sectors and have local and international experience.

Indlela is intent on improving rail and port turnaround times and well cargo movement. Real time monitoring of the rail infrastructure is undertaken to maximise rail time and save money.

“We detect material faults before they happen,” Damasane told Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview.

Where rail authorities have insufficient rolling stock capacity, Indlela will also invest in locomotives and wagons.

Currently, it is negotiating to buy wagons and locomotives in tranches to support three railways in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), with one rail authority this week accepting the company’s offer and the other two in advanced stages of negotiation.

The company is partnering with a listed Swedish company that provides performance management units that help to streamline performance, with a pilot being run to facilitate connectivity.

Indlela CEO Madikizela outlined how the sensors have been successfully put to work on wagons and wheels on the rail line from Swaziland to the Maputo port in Mozambique, with real-time information becoming available as the trains are traversing.

“We use the same trains, but we reduce the number of days,” said Damasane.

The specific focus of the first phase is on rail as a prelude to looking from pit-to-port, taking in trucking.

“The key driver is to improve turnaround time, to give customers satisfaction and to make sure that the customers can get their cargo from pit to port at the right time and plan so that they can improve the logistics themselves,” added Damasane, who is well known as the nonexecutive chairperson of Richards Bay Coal Terminal.

South Africa should leverage the hydrogen opportunity as part of its official economic reconstruction and economic recovery plan.

Dr Cosmas Chiteme, the director of hydrogen and energy at Department of Science and Innovation, highlighted this as the top key message on the way forward at the conclusion of his address to the Seventh Platinum Group Metal (PGM) Roundtable, hosted by South Africa’s Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra). (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The theme of the event was exploring opportunities within the PGMs sector to support a just transition to a climate-resilient and sustainable South African society.

Disclosed during question time was that South Africa will have a stand at the fuel cell expo scheduled to place in Tokyo in March 2023, where South Africa's private sector will also be participating

In addition, green hydrogen and green ammonia collaboration has been initiated with Germany and Japan, and locally, fuel cell power is to be introduced along Malibongwe Drive, northwest of Johannesburg, to alleviate major traffic congestion.

There will also be continued deployment of fuel cell systems in schools, clinics, government facilities and increased engagement with local authorities as an advance towards 10 kW systems is progressed.

“A few years ago, our focus was largely on fuel cell technology and PGM beneficiation. Now a wide array of issues is coming to the fore, including the production, domestic use and export of green hydrogen, feedstock for industrial processes, and energy sources for industrial and domestic use,” Mistra executive director Joel Netshitenzhe said as he emphasised the multiple uses of green hydrogen.

“Two issues also stand out for continuing reflection. The first is about the statutory platform to facilitate the emergent industry. As a major centre in the value chain of fuel cell technology and green hydrogen, South Africa will indeed have to be among global first movers in ensuring that hydrogen applications are harmonised, safe and interoperable through both hard and soft regulatory mechanisms,” Netshitenzhe told the online event covered by Mining Weekly.

“The second issue is about skills development. It is estimated that across the spatial dimension in the Platinum Valley and the Saldanha and Boegoebaai hubs as well the sectoral applications in mining, steel production and electricity generation, some 20 000 jobs can be created in the hydrogen economy by 2030,” he added.

These jobs would range from science, technology and innovation to artisanship services, which demanded that training in all related areas needed to be systematically pursued and the extensive experiences that South Africa had garnered over the years built on.

Cooperation with educational institutions, equipment manufacturers, and state parties across the globe needed to be strengthened.

“In the bold programme of the Department of Science and Innovation to convert large numbers of buses, trucks and forklifts to green hydrogen by 2025, in the programme to promote domestic fuel cell and hydrogen demand and in the initiatives to ensure localisation in fuel cell manufacturing, let us not find ourselves constrained by a skills deficit that we can more intently start addressing today,” added Netshitenzhe.

SECURITY OF PGM SUPPLY

This year, the science agents of the United States department of interior placed PGMs among commodities critical to its economy and national security and flagged supply risks as an area requiring attention.

A few months ago, when the Shanghai platinum and precious metals centre was initiated, companies were encouraged to secure long-term PGM supplies.

As such, given South Africa’s large PGM endowments, the country had a responsibility to ensure security of supply, which would, Netshitenzhe said, require social compacting between mining companies, workers and communities.

HYDROGEN SOCIETY ROADMAP

Higher Education Minister Dr Blade Nzimande, who led a delegation to ...

Mine development company Orion Minerals has achieved a vital funding milestone in very difficult market circumstances, S2 Research’s Simon Hudson-Peacock states in an analysis of the convertible loan of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and a valuation update.

Orion’s Prieska copper/zinc mine is now firmly on its way towards commercial production in the Northern Cape following the R250-million IDC kickstart in exchange for what S2 Research estimates is an effective 16.5% economic interest in the mine.

Facilities are now in place for the advancement of both the Prieska copper/zinc mine project and the Okiep project, which is also in the Northern Cape.

The Prieska mine is funded beyond the early works bankable feasibility study (BFS) and dewatering programme.

S2 Research describes the valuation of Orion as remaining robust at reduced commodity prices and calculates the valuation per Orion share at current market commodity prices and exchange rates to be 132 cents per share (cps), compared with the current share price of the ASX- and JSE-listed company of 21 cps.

“I am very surprised that the market did not react more favourably to this news,” Hudson-Peacock said in an email to Mining Weekly amid Prieska copper/zinc being largely funded and further dilution for this project being limited.

“The financing risk has been substantially reduced, a keystone investment partner locked in and progress towards commercial production can now ramp up,” he added.

NORTHERN CAPE

The Northern Cape is a major mining investment opportunity and there is a lot more to come in the province from a mining development point of view.

South Africa has the mining skills that can turn the Northern Cape opportunity to positive account, as well as financial institutions that can serve as the cornerstones, such as the IDC and others.

At the end of the day, funding mine development projects in the province generates employment and the entire mining value change, which serves as a power catalyst for economic growth and the generation of crucial foreign exchange.

Mining value chains entwine themselves around communities so meaningfully that near-mine people become part of mining.

The new copper/zinc mine that the IDC is helping to fund in Prieska will create economic activity from which many will benefit.

The ambition is to see more than 70% of employees of the near-term operation being from the Northern Cape and as many as possible from the local Prieska community.

The host community being an agricultural community needs to be reskilled and retrained, which takes time.

Orion, headed by CEO Errol Smart, will be running many training programmes over the next five to six years because the company wants to employ good, stable local people not only as core employees but effective development partners.

As a 5% shareholder of the Prieska copper/zinc mine, the community will benefit from the IDC funding paying for that 5% participation as well as what is a win-win development.

PROSPECTIVITY GALORE

Prieska copper/zinc is being developed on one of the world’s biggest volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) ore deposits of its kind and it is open in every direction.

There is a VMS resource of 30.49-million tons at 1.2% copper and 3.7% zinc and a reserve of 14.5-million tons at 1.1% copper and 3.2% zinc.

An updated BFS completed in May 2020 showed a 2.4-year payback period from first production and an all-in sustaining margin of 47%.

Orion has stopped drilling because it has enough ore for 12 years. It has done the geophysics which show that there is 50% more than that, and it remains open.

So, this is a long-life operation and that is what makes it so particularly special.

It has already endured for 20 years and will probably endure for another 20 years.

What it does is create a development hub and only 65 km to the north of the Prieska mine, Orion has the fantastic Jacobmynspan nickel/cobalt/platinum project under development that is lining up to be really excitin...

The quality of mine water discharge has improved significantly over the last decade, and research suggests that government could consider a transition away from current, active acid mine drainage (AMD) treatments, to a more passive approach.

Council for Geoscience (CGS) environmental geosciences senior scientist Dr Godfrey Madzivire, speaking at the 2022 CGS Summit, explained that AMD is currently treated using High-Density Sludge (HDS) treatment plants, which are costly and energy intensive.

Moreover, as the HDS plants are powered by coal-fired power stations, the current solution is, in essence, “shifting the burden from the hydrosphere to the atmosphere”.

In his presentation on ‘Natural processes in pollution attenuation: case study for a long-term solution to mine water management in the Witwatersrand goldfields', he explained that AMD is characterised by two types of acidity – vestigial acidity and juvenile acidity.

In an earlier presentation, CGS water and the environment specialist scientist Dr Henk Coetzee explained that vestigial acidity is generated by the initial flushing of solid oxidation products, that is, the soluble salts formed when pyrite is oxidised, which are “flushed out” as the water level rises.

Vestigial acidity has high salinity and is of very poor quality, but is short-lived. Juvenile acidity, meanwhile, is the newly generated acidity, which is less contaminated and its rate of generation slows substantially after initial flooding.

Madzivire explained that vestigial acidity is depleted after 20 to 40 years, while juvenile acidity continues “in perpetuity”.

He stated that current AMD treatment methods resulted from the Inter-Ministerial Recommendations Committee Report, published in 2010, which used a model developed by the Department of Water and Sanitation, which “did not consider natural attenuation”.

He commented that, when mining activity ceases and the water is allowed to rise – as the pumps that maintain the water level are shut off – the highly toxic “first flush” occurs, with the quality of the mine water discharge improving thereafter.

He noted that the inter-Ministerial recommendations were based on results compiled between 2002 and 2010, during the first flush stage for a significant number of mines, and as a result the water had very high sulphate concentrations and pH values as low as 2. However, as early as 2010, the mine water pH had improved to between 5.5. and 6, and over the last decade, sulphate concentration in the mine discharge has declined by 30%, while iron concentration has declined by 50%.

Given these improvements, Madzivire suggested that a shift toward more sustainable water management solutions in the Wits basin should be pursued, outlining scenarios for long-term mine water management such as completely flooding the mine void; using water to dilute vestigial pollution or passive treatment also known as natural attenuation.

He cited preliminary results from the East Rand AMD treatment facilities, noting that when water is discharged from the mines, it has a sulphate concentration of 1 500 mg/l. “Just after, when it mixes with the water in the Blesbok, the concentration declines to 300 mg/l. We still need to explore if this is because of the dilution, or natural attenuation. As the water flows towards the Vaal River system, additional natural processes occur, and the sulphate concentration drops further to 200 mg/l, which is better than the recommended rate for potable water.”

He commented that it is uncertain if entities can continually use HDS to treat the water in the mine void, and while the ideal solution is dilution, the dilution source can also be highly polluted, and the likelihood of experiencing “ideal” conditions is slim. As such, passive methods, in conjunction with controlled flooding, are the most feasible for longer-term mine water management.

CONTROLLED FLOODING

Coetzee, in his presentation on ‘Flooding of the Witwatersrand gold mines: the influence of to...

Geoscientists could have a hand in shaping the geopolitical future of African countries, said Tullow Oil and The Metals Company nonexecutive director Sheila Khama, who is also a former CEO of De Beers Botswana, and a former policy extractives adviser at the World Bank.

During her keynote address on Day 2 of the 2022 Council for Geoscience Summit, she noted that “the geopolitics of decarbonisation is on the centre stage”, and those in the field of geosciences will play a pivotal role in advancing the extraction of the minerals needed for the energy transition.

“When I think of the role of geoscience in sustainable development, one of the things I think we very rarely [consider] as countries is why we want to exploit certain minerals and at what pace. This is often left to private companies who are looking at return on investment, not at the intergenerational value, or intergenerational access.

“I sense that much more can be done to help government engage with the private sector and reach some kind of consensus on the rate of extraction, the timing of extraction, and the volume of [minerals] extracted, to ensure that the resources can serve intergenerational economic development. And I think no one is better placed than geoscientists to be able to assist with that kind of information.”

She explained that those in geoscience disciplines must set themselves in the public discourse and empower the public by providing knowledge and influencing progressive thinking.

“At the moment, there are numerous discussions on the notion of critical minerals. I sense that most people don’t have a clue what critical minerals are and why a mineral becomes critical. A lot of people do not understand that the criticality of minerals is very time specific; it's very technology specific; it's very demand specific, and it can change.”

She suggested that helping the public understand the terminology popping up in the mainstream could be very important in framing conversations around mineral extraction, the circular economy, emerging decarbonisation technologies and mining’s economic significance.

“Many people think that we can decarbonise without using minerals. [They] don't appreciate the volume of minerals that must still be extracted before we can meet our current demand, let alone future demand. Most people talk about the circular economy and don't have a clue what that means. [They] speak about recycling, not realising that there aren’t enough minerals today that can be recycled to meet existing demand.

“The result of this failure to understand is tension in the public discourse, wherein people think mining is the enemy.”

Khama said that it behoves the geoscientific community to be part of “a groundswell of information” that will hopefully lead to the right policies.

“Policies are made by politicians who thrive on positive public [opinion].” She stressed that geoscientists should, therefore, try to steer public opinion by actively engaging with and informing the public.

Further, she noted that it seems self-defeating, that one of the critical strengths of the region is its mineral potential, and yet, “when African government representatives go into negotiations, you don't see that they're surrounded by scientific expertise, they simply speak off the cuff.”

She requested that more research be done on critical minerals, rare earths, and other minerals that are integral to the digital economy, adding that, “we need to move from the general to the specific,” by prioritising activities that advance specific outcomes rather than hoping to attract broad exploration spend.

She suggested that geoscientists could also help governments understand that not all deposits speak to large mining companies and could help champion legislation that is specific to juniors and small-scale miners.

“Most of the mining laws on the African continent are drafted to regulate large mining companies. This is a flaw. There are countries, for instance, in the Lake District lik...

The country requires that the Council for Geoscience (CGS) occupy a more preeminent role, to bolster the use of geosciences to help address socioeconomic challenges, says Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

“These challenges include, but are not limited to, energy security, a just energy transition, sustainable food supply, economic growth, climate change, and disaster management that arises from natural phenomena.”

The minister, addressing the CGS 2022 Summit on October 25, noted that, given the geosciences' capability to assist with these challenges, the 2010 Amendment of the Geoscience Act empowered the CGS to “review all geotechnical reports and provide appropriate advice to the local authorities in consideration of their infrastructure development programmes”.

“It is not the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s CGS. It is the country’s CGS, and as such, I call upon our municipalities to imbue this notion in their by-laws to augment their service delivery programmes to the satisfaction of the people they serve.”

He cited the government’s multibillion infrastructure build programme, stating that it will require CGS and the geotechnical community to “play an acute role” in safeguarding the integrity of critical infrastructure investment.

“It is essential that infrastructural development be accompanied by sound geotechnical investigations and information. As the national mandated authority in respect of geohazards related to infrastructure development, the CGS should, in future ensure safe development [away from] hazardous ground, by verifying that all necessary steps of the appropriate geotechnical investigations are performed [before] any housing and infrastructure development.”

He commented that the CGS is already compiling geotechnical investigation reports on potentially unstable dolomitic areas identified for the construction of Reconstruction and Development Programme houses and will be expected to participate in the government’s infrastructural development programme.

Moreover, the CGS will play a technical role in addressing the urgent problems of water ingress and Acid Mine Drainage that have resulted from the negative impacts of the mining industry. It is also investigating the effects of other human activities on our water resources, through both episodic and continuous monitoring and by offering support and recommendations to institutions and other government departments.

Mantashe added that the CGS is actively involved in water-related research and the development of local skilled expertise, by collaborating with several institutions.

These include the Water Research Commission, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Department of Water Affairs, the Department of Science and Innovation, the Housing Development Agency, and the South African National Research Foundation, as part of its efforts to assist with the “urgent” water-scarcity and water-related challenges affecting the country.