The Bokoni platinum group metals (PGMs) mine being acquired for R3.5-billion by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) hosts South Africa’s second largest PGMs resource, with ready-built mining and processing plant infrastructure on site.

Bokoni provides greater exposure to palladium and is close to ARM’s Modikwa and Two Rivers PGM mines. It lifts the JSE-listed company’s combined PGMs resource base by 135% to 266-million ounces of four-element (4E) PGMs.

In addition to moving ARM’s PGMs portfolio down the cost curve, it also boosts attributable production and life-of-mine by 137% to 636 000 oz of 6E PGMs production a year from 2026.

“Bokoni is a large high-grade opportunity,” was the headline of a slide ARM flashed on to computer screens during its presentation of dividend-yielding half-year financial results covered by Mining Weekly.

It followed an opening slide, which displayed this comment from ARM executive chairperson Dr Patrice Motsepe in bold type: “We are pleased to have signed the agreement to acquire the Bokoni Platinum Mine. Development of the mine will allow us to scale our PGM portfolio and create value for shareholders and other stakeholders.”

Completion of the transaction is expected during 2022 after obtaining regulatory approvals including South African competition authorities approval and consent in terms of Section 11 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.

In the six months to the end of December, PGMs contributed 46% of the diversified mining company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), followed by iron-ore’s 42% to Ebitda and manganese’s 10%.

Regarding Bokoni, Motsepe added: “It’s a mine that hasn’t been operational but it’s an exciting opportunity and we’re committed to growing Bokoni in the medium term.”

In the short term, the focus will be exclusively on Bokoni’s high-grade upper group two (UG2) reef, said ARM CEO Mike Schmidt. The mineral resource is 64% UG2 and 36% Merensky, with the UG2 prill split being 49% palladium and 8% rhodium.

As of December 31, 2020, Bokoni’s measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources totalled 153-million ounces of four-element (4E) PGMs, at a grade of 5.87 g/t, with the UG2 grade of 6.56 g/t 4E considerably higher than the Merensky grade of 4.94 g/t 4E.

A new wholly owned subsidiary of ARM Platinum has been established to acquire 100% of the shares and claims in Bokoni Platinum Mines Proprietary Limited – Bokoni Mine – from Anglo American Platinum Limited and Atlatsa Resources.

ARM Platinum will ultimately own 85% of Bokoni Mine. Acquiring 5% each for a nominal price will be:

a local community special purpose vehicle;

an employee share ownership plan special purpose vehicle; and

a black industrialists' special purpose vehicle.

The financial statements show ARM as having more than enough cash to settle the total purchase consideration of R3.5-billion, but it was stated during the presentation that ARM was being advised on this.

A 23-year sale of PGMs concentrate between Bokoni Mine and Rustenburg Platinum Mines Limited on commercially agreed terms has been finalised.

A definitive feasibility study (DFS) is expected to be completed in 12 months, with R5.3-billion of development capital in real 2021 terms being spent over three years.

The DFS parameters involve the deployment of a mechanised on-reef mining method utilising existing proven technology, targeted steady state operational costs of less than R12 000 per 6E ounce (in 2021 terms), steady state production target date of 2028, steady state production of about 300 000 oz of 6E PGM contained in concentrate a year, and steady state production of 255 000 t of chromitite concentrate a year.

Schmidt said ARM would initially focus exclusively on Bokoni’s high-grade UG2 reef, where the combined palladium and rhodium accounts for 57% of the UG2 prill split, which provides for a favourable basket price.

The plan is then to preserve the current Merensky infrastructure at Br...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses the potential for 60 000 new jobs through green hydrogen development; Merafe Resources putting focus on renewable energy; and World Parliaments being urged to use their constitutional powers to tackle climate change.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) mining and marketing company Impala Platinum (Implats) affirmed at the South African Investment Conference on Thursday that it would commit close to R50-billion to its Southern African capital investment programme over the next five years.

The investment capital would be targeted at the group’s mining and processing assets, across stay-in-business operations and new growth projects, the JSE-listed platinum major, headed by CEO Nico Muller, stated.

“Southern Africa is the world’s largest source of primary PGMs supply, and Implats’ investment in increased beneficiation capacity and extended life-of mine (LoM) development at several of our operations will position the country more competitively as a global mine-to-market PGM producer,” Muller said in a release to Mining Weekly.

Implats has committed up to R12-billion over the next five years to expand its South African and Zimbabwean smelting and refining facilities, which would, it said, benefit the region’s production, reduce its environmental beneficiation capacity footprint, and bolster increased local beneficiation.

An initial $521-million (R8.2-billion) would be invested in the expansion of existing Zimbabwean smelting capacity and the construction of a sulphur dioxide abatement plant to mitigate air quality impacts.

Access to hydropower would be supplemented by electricity provided by a 35 MW solar plant, which would be expanded to 185 MW in a phased approach. This would improve the environmental footprint of the Zimbabwean smelting facilities.

This expansion will accommodate an additional 600 000 oz of six element (6E) PGM ounces a year, which post-smelting would be transported to Implats’ South African processing facilities for further refining and in support of local beneficiation.

Muller said that this investment would benefit South Africa by opening up additional smelting capacity at Implats’ South African facilities to accommodate new production growth opportunities in South Africa.

The extra smelting capacity would service new Implats projects and provide additional treatment capacity for third-party customer requirements. In addition, the increased concentrate production from Implats’ Zimbabwean operations would be brought to South Africa to refine at the group’s Springs refineries, in Gauteng, thus contributing to South Africa’s beneficiation of precious metals.

Moreover, Implats would invest a further R4.4-billion into improving its South African processing facilities. Some R500-million, the release stated, had already been approved to expand treatment capacity by 10% in the medium term at its base metal refining facilities in Springs.

In addition, feasibility studies into further capacity expansions at Implats’ South African base and precious metals refineries were well advanced.

LIFE-OF-MINE EXTENSIONS TO SUPPORT ENDURING BENEFITS FOR ALL STAKEHOLDERS

Implats also confirmed that it would invest more than R8-billion across its South African mining operations over the next few years – including attributable capital at its joint venture.

This investment would extend the LoM at existing producing mines and secure employment, entrenching South Africa’s status as a stable and sustainable global PGMs producer and supporting enduring benefits for all Implats’ stakeholders.

In partnership with African Rainbow Minerals, Implats had committed R5.7-billion to the construction of a new Merensky project at the Two Rivers’ Platinum Mine.

Implats has a 46% stake in Two Rivers, but 100% of the 180 000 oz of the 6E PGM project's production will be treated through the groups’ smelting and refining facilities.

A R5.1-billion investment at Implats’ Marula mine will increase the operation’s LoM by about 17 years and expand capacity by 40 000 6E PGM ounces a year.

Together, these projects will increase local beneficiation by about 220 000 6E PGM ounces a year from 2028 onwards.

Together with several other LoM extension projects at the group’s Impala Ru...

The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has called for an expansion of the organisation’s mandate and membership to enable it to support the global transition to a “clean and secure” energy future and to ensure that the world’s climate goals do not become “another victim of Russia’s aggression”.

Addressing a gathering of energy Ministers in Paris against the backdrop of ongoing market turmoil precipitated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, IEA executive director Fatih Birol said the organisation needed to adapt to a fast-changing energy environment.

Set up in 1974 to provide an oil security umbrella to a narrow base of developed countries (a role reinforced recently when IEA members released an initial 63-million barrels of oil stocks to alleviate the tightness in oil markets that followed Russia’s incursion into Ukraine), the IEA partially opened its doors in 2015 to eight emerging economies, including South Africa, which were now associate members.

“I now hope we can launch ‘IEA 3.0’, that is an IEA oriented in the right direction to help address both energy security and tackle climate change,” Birol said.

The IEA would require an expanded mandate to do so, including allowing it to play a role in ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of the critical minerals needed for the transition to renewables-based systems, including lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel and rare-earth elements.

Speaking from the same platform US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said it was vital that the world did not trade one energy supply chain vulnerability for another.

“I'm talking about minerals and critical materials that are powering so many of our clean energy technologies.

“We have to source these materials responsibly; we have to process them sustainably and we have to minimise the carbon footprint from manufacturing these at the scale needed to meet the demand,” Granholm argued.

In addition, Birol said the IEA should be empowered to support the accelerated energy investments required to place carbon emissions “in rapid decline this decade” by allowing the agency to bring all of its “expertise and tools to bear to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and methane”, including by making its data freely available to energy decision-makers.

Thirdly, he said the IEA needed to facilitate deeper relationships among its current 31 members and grow the “IEA family further”. In 2015, China, Brazil, India, South Africa, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Morocco were made association countries and Argentina and Egypt are set to join soon.

Birol cautioned, however, that as governments moved to ensure that they kept the lights on in the current difficult energy environment, they could also not “turn off” their efforts to tackle climate change.

“I am very worried that our climate goals may be another victim of Russia's aggression,” he said, noting the published figures showed a worrying increase in global emissions, which climbed at their fastest pace in history last year.

Highlighting the dramatic changes that had already arisen as a result of Russia’s military action, Birol revealed that the focus of the Ministerial gathering was meant to have been on progress made at the COP26 climate negotiations in Glasgow, Scotland, at the end of 2021.

“But Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has changed the world, including the energy world, and it has given energy policymakers an even more complicated range of challenges to confront,” he said, while also suggesting that Russia was set to lose its status as an energy superpower.

Granholm argued, meanwhile, that the energy transition could represent “our version of the Marshall Plan for clean and secure energy in 2022 and beyond”.

“Even as we seek to stabilise fossil energy . . . we have to act upon the urgent signals that the world is sending us, that Mother Nature is sending us, a big flashing ‘Code Red’ on humanity, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said.”

Quoting Ireland's Environmen...

Green hydrogen development in South Africa has the potential to generate up to 60 000 new jobs in the next ten to 15 years, said Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) director-general Dr Phil Mjwara during a televised interview on SABC News.

Mjwara expressed confidence that the R15-million to R20-million a year that has been invested in hydrogen development since 2009/10 will pay off. This payback would come about through eventual exportation, employment and taxes from companies that become involved in the fast-developing hydrogen economy.

“We haven’t done the full economics, but we think that we’ll be able to contribute between 1% and 2% to the GDP,” said Mjwara.

The DSI has been spearheading the use of platinum-linked green hydrogen as an alternative clean energy source since 2008.

In opening, the TV presenter made the point that South Africa has already made great strides in the hydrogen field and is now on the brink of commercialising the technology that has been developed around hydrogen, an abundant gas with immense potential as a clean and reliable energy source.

South Africa, with its bountiful sun, human innovation capacity, and platinum group metals (PGMs) endowment, was described by SABC News’ Mariska Botha as providing an ideal setting for the generation of renewable energy to produce green hydrogen, which, she pointed out, could be derived from any water source, including the ocean, through the process of electrolysis.

The hydrogen could then be converted into green electricity to power taxis and buses, with the help of PGMs-catalysed hydrogen fuel cells. South Africa is endowed with the world's largest PGMs resources and reserves.

Hydrogen South Africa Infrastructure facility manager Dr Neels le Roux drew attention to the far-reaching hydrogen investments under way in European Union countries and Japan and described hydrogen as the perfect response to South Africa’s long-distance transport needs. Hydrogen’s environment-friendliness is emphasised by that fact that the only byproduct of its use is water.

It was reported that, as part of South Africa’s Hydrogen Society Roadmap, research is under way at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) to develop storage technology for hydrogen.

A row of hydrogen fuel cell scooters that have been developed were televised, and UWC senior researcher Dr Wafeeq Davids drew attention to the UWC’s role in the development of a forklift and a hydrogen refuelling station that are in commercial use at the Impala Platinum Refinery in Springs, Gauteng.

“We have all the raw materials in the country, we’ve built up the skills for the past 15 years, and we really now have the critical skills to take this technology to the next level,” Davids enthused.

One of the big projects under way is the establishment of a hydrogen corridor from Kwazulu-Natal through Gauteng to Limpopo, along which hydrogen fuel cell buses will travel.

South Africa is seen as having the potential to become a global hydrogen hub, with innovation and new technology being continuously developed on home soil.

The broadcast by SABC News followed a briefing of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation by the DSI.

GREEN HYDROGEN DEVELOPMENT IS SURGING GLOBALLY

Significant reports are emerging regularly on the development of mobility and power generation with the use of green hydrogen and fuel cells.

Following successful laboratory tests in the US, Anglo American’s hydrogen power plant module that has arrived in South Africa has replaced the diesel engine in one of the haul trucks. The world’s largest hydrogen-powered haul truck will be used at Mogalakwena PGMs mine in Limpopo.

BMW iX5 Hydrogen has been undergoing testing throughout the winter, in a process involving some of the coldest places on the planet, only to confirm that the fuel cell vehicle can hold up even in the lowest temperatures that could be thrown at it.

Japan is trialling its first-ever hydrogen-powered train as ...

JSE- and LSE-listed thermal coal miner Thungela Resources recorded a 601% year-on-year increase in revenue to R26.28-billion in 2021, pushing it to a profit of R6.94-billion, from a loss of R362-million in the prior year.

The miner posted headline earnings a share of R66.57 for 2021, compared with a headline loss a share of R5.31 in 2020.

It has declared a maiden cash dividend of R18 a share, payable in May.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 3 389%, from R286-million in 2020 to R9.98-billion in 2021, while adjusted free operating cash flow increased to R3.92-billion in 2021, from a loss of R249-million in 2020.

As such, Thungela held R8.66-billion in net cash at the end of 2021, compared with debt of R388-million in 2020.

The improvement in its financial performance came on the back of Thungela being buoyed by the benchmark thermal coal price, which strengthened by 90% to $124/t, although the stronger rand offset some of the gains.

In addition, the discount to benchmark prices narrowed substantially from 26% in 2020, to 16% in 2021, resulting in higher realised coal prices of $104/t in 2021, up from the $48/t achieved in 2020.

Being primarily an exporter, Thungela’s revenue was positively impacted on by increased demand for high-quality South African coal.

Developing economies in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are on a path of recovery, post-Covid-19, and are experiencing an increased demand for energy, prompting those countries to source more coal.

Thungela did, however, record a 16% decrease in export sales to 15-million tonnes in 2021, as a result of disruptions on Transnet Freight Rail’s (TFR’s) operations.

CEO July Ndlovu says Thungela is, nevertheless, committed to working with TFR, the government and the industry to resolve the transport issues experienced in 2021 and at the start of this year.

“We believe the challenges are transient and have planned our operational performance on a gradual, rather than an immediate recovery in rail performance. This is of national concern given that coal exports constitute one of the primary sources of foreign currency generation for South Africa,” he adds.

In terms of health and safety, the miner improved its total recordable case frequency rate to 1.35 in 2021, down from the 1.51 of 2020.

However, Thungela recorded a fatality at its Goedehoop operation in June 2021.

Meanwhile, the miner’s Khwezela colliery suffered a spill of mine-contaminated water into a nearby river system on February 14 as a result of an overflow from a disused shaft, which led into the mouth of the Loskop dam, a distance of about 60 km.

“The impact on the ecology was significant; however there were no livelihoods at risk,” says Ndlovu.

“We took immediate actions . . . ma[king] water in the river system safe for use as we speak. We are now in the process of developing a longer-term plan to mitigate the impacts on the ecology and return the . . . river system to what it was before this incident,” he says.

Once Thungela was alerted to the spill, it immediately implemented an operation to stop the flow and started work with the parks board and Department of Water and Sanitation on rehabilitation procedures. This required Thungela, at its own cost, to release water from the Bronkhorstspruit dam into the Wilge river and the Witbank dam.

“We continued to monitor the quality of the water and, within 24 hours of us releasing the water, the quality had [returned] to being safe.

“There is aquatic life that is beginning to show itself in the river systems; however, we are conscious of the fact that once [acid water is spilled] aquatic life [is destroyed] in a significant way,” says Ndlovu.

Subsequently, Thungela has hired experts to help it develop a plan to bring the natural water system back to its natural form in the future.

OUTLOOK

For the remainder of this year, Thungela expects a gradual rather than immediate recovery in TFR’s performance. It, therefore, p...

National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Monday urged heads of the world's Parliaments gathering at the 144th plenary assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union to undertake all necessary efforts to deal with climate change through oversight and the constitutional powers of the institutions they lead.

Mapisa-Nqakula stated that in South Africa, Parliament supported the government’s view, articulated by President Cyril Ramaphosa, on a green recovery for the country, and COP26's legislative prescripts of safeguarding the planet’s ecosystems by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting global temperature increases.

“The hardest hit population groups are poor people. These are, in the main, inhabitants of developing countries who are predominantly farmers who depend on rain-fed and basic mechanisms for tilling the land and earning a livelihood.

"The only way their conditions can change is through policy shifts. Critical to this, is dedicated action on the part of policy-makers and the people who represent them, like legislators and members of Parliament. Great changes throughout history have been born out of crises − we should therefore not waste this moment,” Mapisa-Nqakula said, in recognising that tackling climate change had far-reaching implications for socioeconomic development, production and consumption patterns.

The plenary assembly is currently underway in Indonesia, Bali, where Mapisa-Nqakula is leading a multiparty delegation of senior members of the South African Parliament to the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly.

The theme of the 144th session is getting to zero by mobilising Parliaments to act on climate change and Mapisa-Nqakula enjoined the assembly to reflect on the the need to mobilise Parliaments to act swiftly in reducing its negative effects.

She described tackling climate change as having far-reaching implications for socioeconomic development, production and consumption patterns, and said it remained a serious global threat to national and international development.

Moreover, its impact had continued to exacerbate at a time when the world was still dealing with the aftermath of Covid.

The manner in which climate change affected people depended on location on the global map.

In addition to fighting climate change, the work of the Inter-Parliamentary Union includes building strong democratic Parliaments, advancing gender equality, promoting human rights, contributing to peace-building, resolving conflict, fostering inter-parliamentary cooperation, promoting youth empowerment, mobilising Parliaments around the global development agenda, and bridging the democracy gap in global governance.

Besides Mapisa-Nqakula, the South African delegation includes National Council of Provinces deputy chairperson Sylvia Lucas, National Assembly House chairperson Cedric Frolick, ANC deputy chief whip Doris Dlakude, ANC MP Fikile Masiko, DA MP Dr Annelie Lotriet, and EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu.

The focus of ferrochrome company Merafe Resources in 2022 will be on renewable energy projects, along with efficient operations, cash preservation and well-ordered capital allocation, CEO Zanele Matlala said on Tuesday.

The year 2021 has been one of spectacular recovery for the Glencore Merafe Pooling and Sharing Venture.

In announcing its highest profit after tax since the formation of the venture in 2004, the JSE-listed Merafe provided new insight into the PGMs-from-chrome-tailings project at the Kroondal mine, and also outlined three distinct areas of green energy development involving:

the conversion of on-site offgas from the venture’s smelters into clean electricity;

on-site 'behind-the-meter' solar and wind projects capable of generating 150 MW of green electricity; and

the evaluation of quotations for the phased execution of up to 800 MW of virtual wind and solar power purchase agreements.

China continued to dominate stainless steel production, accounting for about 57% of global output. Ferrochrome demand in 2021 mirrored global stainless steel production, with Indonesia slightly decreasing China’s dominant share of global output.

World ferrochrome production increased by 15% to 14.4-million tonnes, with most of the production growth coming from South Africa (32%) and India (30%).

Chrome ore imports into China increased by 5% to 15-million tonnes, with South Africa making up 80% of the chrome ore sold into China.

The average ferrochrome prices received in 2021 were around $1.08/lb compared with $0.72/lb in 2020. Chrome ore prices, on the other hand, only increased modestly, with upper group two prices averaging about $140/t, compared with $129/t in 2020.

Merafe FD Ditabe Chocho reported a 75% year-on-year increase in ferrochrome revenue and a 33% increase in chrome-ore revenue.

“We also accounted for small revenue arising from PGMs concentrate sold from December 2021,” said Chocho.

The processing plant being built to recover PGMs from chrome waste has a capacity of 21 000 t a month.

To date, R32-million has been spent on developing it and a further R23-million is due to be spent this year to take the plant to completion.

The PGMs concentrate it produces is being sold to PGMs customers that have smelting capacity.

“We believe the PGMs plant will be fully commissioned in quarter two. We’ve started to treat material and we are seeing benefits from that,” said Glencore Alloys CEO Japie Fullard, who declined to give the grade of PGMs produced.

“We do have an offtake. You will understand that the chrome content in the PGMs concentrate is fairly important and we do have an agreement with a PGMs producer that we are selling that product into the market,” he added.

Chocho reported that the financial return on the PGMs project would be sufficiently higher than Merafe’s weighted average cost of capital of 11.4% after tax, with a four-year payback based on current pricing assumptions.

DECARBONISATION IMPORTANT

Fullard described the reduction of Scope 2 emissions specifically as being “very important”.

Agreements had already been signed with suppliers for the conversion of on-site offgas into electricity, Fullard said in response to Integrated Managed Investments portfolio manager Leo Altini.

With pilot circuits being run, the operation was well on its way to achieving the best efficiencies in the turning of carbon dioxide to electricity.

“That’s the first focus area for us and there’s a lot of work we’re doing there,” said Fullard during the question session covered by Mining Weekly.

Capital investment in the second behind-the-meter solar and wind project greening area would commence within the next year, and quotations were being evaluated for the various virtual power purchase agreement contracts, for which multiple financial instruments were under consideration.

It was reported that Rustenburg smelters Furnace 5 is back in operation while the Lydenburg smelter remained on care and maintenance.

The foreseen benefits of develo...

Diamond mining company Debmarine Namibia on March 18 officially inaugurated its latest diamond recovery vessel, christened on the day as the Benguela Gem (previously the AMV3), at the Port of Walvis Bay, Namibia.

Debmarine Namibia is a joint venture marine diamond and prospecting company owned by the government of Namibia and De Beers. The Benguela Gem will form part of the fleet operated by this 50:50 partnership.

This custom-designed vessel is the most technologically advanced and sophisticated of its kind, CEO Otto Shikongo acclaimed at the inauguration.

He explained that the name pays homage to the Benguela Current, which is responsible for Namibia’s marine riches, and that the aim was for this vessel to recover high-quality diamonds that would benefit and nourish the country in similar vein, in a way that respects the environment and protects the crew.

Shikongo said the completion of this project marked the culmination of over six years of planning and was delivered three months ahead of deadline.

Moreover, this planning goes back even further, to 2017, when the SS Nujoma vessel was launched. Shikongo said the SS Nujoma delivered an “exceptional” performance in its first year, following which the company approached the idea to the board of building a new recovery vessel.

Following rigorous testing and a lot of planning, in May 2019, Debmarine Namibia approved building of this bespoke new vessel.

Building the Benguela Gem carried on throughout the pandemic, despite the difficulties this posed.

Moreover, the company had to manage operational aspects such as training the young men and women who would operate and maintain the vessel, he said.

The building occurred at the DAMEN shipyard in Romania, before heading from there to Walvis Bay for the inauguration, via Cape Town. The Benguela Gem was built with parts from 27 different countries, with some of the steelwork fabricated in Walvis Bay, in Namibia.

Shikongo highlighted a notable feature of the vessel as its dynamic positioning system, which uses learnings to automatically optimise the vessel’s performance to changing weather conditions to minimise energy use.

Notably, the Benguela Gem boasts an environmental green passport, which Shikongo said showcases the it was designed to the latest and highest environmental standards - “making her the most environment-friendly vessel of its kind”.

It is also recyclable at the end of its life.

Shikongo noted hat N$10-billion was invested into making the vessel a reality, with the project delivered 17% below budget. He also thanked the four Namibian banks that got together to financially back the project.

He described the vessel as the largest diamond recovery vessel ever built, as well as the largest registered Namibian vessel, at just over 19 000 gross tonnage.

With a design life of 30 years, the vessel would contribute 30 years to the diamond industry and the Namibian economy, Shikongo acclaimed, citing the diamond industry as the largest contributor to the country’s foreign direct earnings and private sector taxes.

The vessel is expected to contribute N$3-billions a year to the Namibian economy.

Moreover, Shikongo said that in the Benguela Gem’s maiden recovery operation in Atlantic 1, where Debmarine mines, the Benguela Gem recorded 103 hours non-stop operation at nameplate capacity, recovering 30 000 ct before stopping the operation for a scheduled import to address punch list items.

“This is what I call perfection in project management,” enthused Shikongo.

The vessel is expected to add an additional 500 000 ct of high-quality diamonds to yearly marine mining production.

Moreover, 160 highly skilled jobs are slated to be created.

Namibia President Dr Hage Geingob, delivering the keynote address at the inauguration, lauded this milestone as an "unbelievable investment” and a stellar example of private sector and government partnership.

Also present at the event was De Beers Group CEO Bruce Cleaver, who acclaimed that the symbio...

The mining industry must work harder on implementing human rights programmes to prevent the exploitation of unhappy communities for narrow self-defeating motives, Minerals Council South Africa senior executive Tebello Chabana commented during a Human Rights Dialogue on March 17.

He noted that South African communities had been “stranded by failing and failed local governments”, which had created a “hotbed for discontent that is easily stoked by unscrupulous third parties”.

Richard Spoor Attorneys associate Johan Lorenzen noted that communities were looking for “basic recognition” and cautioned that “the more they are disrespected, the more communities get radicalised.”

He pointed to the fact many communities have gone to court over, among other issues, a lack of free, prior and informed consent, which arose from a lack of adequate consultation with mine-affected communities.

“We're seeing a Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) that is less and less interested in protecting community rights.” He said the actions of the DMRE, in granting mining rights without looking at the consultation process and without moving towards free, prior and informed consent, blocked off an avenue that empowered all parties to reach reasonable agreements in advance.

Such an avenue would ultimately derisk the investment, while protecting basic human rights.

Lorenzen said both the State and the industry should consider the environment they were creating when ignoring communities. He noted that there had been increased complaints from mining companies about “mafias” trying to benefit from mining contracts.

“Certainly, this is the case and it's certainly wrong. But communities who partner with these so-called mafias do so because they feel that this is a remedy available to them in the absence of remedies provided by mining companies.”

He noted that the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights envisaged companies enabling remedies to human rights abuses and other challenges through grievance and other mechanisms.

“Access to remedies is one of the central principles in the Guiding Principles,” Lorenzen said.

Further, he stressed that, while changing expectations and scrutiny from society on corporate practices had resulted in increased litigation as a means of enforcing accountability, “litigation is incredibly expensive and can only be accessed by a select few”.

He stressed the need for active mechanisms that did not require the use of courts. “We shouldn't need lawyers to provide remedies for communities, because in my experience, communities are incredibly reasonable.”

Lorenzen stated that industry must internalise the Guiding Principles and should look to changing its approach, as the tools and mechanisms used to successfully manage a mining operation are not necessarily useful in addressing human rights issues and community engagement.

Further, the structural issues that are deeply entrenched in South African society would not be solved with a ‘project-management approach’.

“Every day, I deal with good, moral and righteous people in the mining sector. But the [challenge], for my clients, isn't about whether there are good or bad people engaging with them, it's about what structures we set up to create a more just world.”

He agreed with Chabana that companies were increasingly being asked to ‘step up’ their human rights recognition and protection, and that this was “principally a product of the failure of the State”.

Lorenzen added that it was not sustainable to ask companies to lead on protecting rights. As such, he noted, “we are collectively calling on the State to protect human rights so that we eliminate a race to the bottom for companies and force them to compete on a level playing field where human rights are respected across the board. That can only be done if we are all standing up and demanding that the State does its job.”

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

On the issue of holding the State to account, Cape Town Arch...