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South Africa needs to see far more harnessing of the capital of the private sector, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane told the Junior Indaba on Tuesday.

Regarding the absolutely essential but extremely long-awaited South African cadastral system required for exploration, Mthenjane reiterated the Minerals Council's advocacy of enlisting the private sector to assist with the introduction of a cadastre.

"Now, many other issues have emerged where I think there's a need to bring in the private sector to try and overcome these and to demonstrate a sense of urgency," Mthenjane commented at the event chaired by Bernard Swanepoel. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Also taking part in the panel discussion and covered by Mining Weekly were ENS head of natural Resources and environment practice Ntsiki Adonisi, who moderated, Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) director-general Jacob Mbele, Council for Geoscience CEO Mosa Mabuza, and NSDV director Lili Nupen.

In an update on the introduction of the absolutely essential but extremely long-awaited South African cadastral system, DMPR deputy director general Tseliso Maqubela confessed that the department was again at risk of repeating what had taken place on 1 October 2013, which is now a business school case study on how not to roll out a project.

Revealed is that the new cadastre is going to be regionally implemented. "There won't be one roll out nationwide," Maqubela disclosed.

"We've decided that we'll start with the Western Cape. We're still targeting completion in June 2025, as we had committed," said Maqubela, on the grounds that the Western Cape is a manageable jurisdiction with the highest number of operational mines and zero backlog.

"So, we'll be we'll be able to test the efficacy of the system using that jurisdiction. It also doesn't have an appreciable backlog. There's no backlog in Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Free State, so we chose those deliberately.

"There are also a limited number of appeals that are outstanding in the Western Cape, which will soon be followed by Eastern Cape, and then all the other regions will follow after that.

"We know that there are regions with complexity that we're going to have to deal with, and we don't want any comebacks, so currently we're doing data migration, particularly for the region where we're going to start validation of that data, making sure that it is audited.

"Come the first of July, you won't be able to use Samrad to apply in the Western Cape, you will have to apply using the new cadastral system.

"One key feature is that we've introduced what is called a grid, and when you click on the grid and you say, I want to apply here, it will either give you a red that means you can't apply there, or it will give you a yellow to say that you need to have some conversations with people because you may be encroaching, and then the green will allow you to submit your application.

"The size of the of the grid is going to be a hectare, so you can expand the grid as much as you want, so what I can say is that we're on track to deliver a robust, transparent and efficient, cadastral system.

"We are resolving challenges as they emerge and when we launch, we'd like to get feedback so that we can make the necessary adjustment," Maqubela added.

In a video played to provide an overview of what was described as the new South Africa mining licensing system, logging in came with a personal dashboard, and the steps involved in the application process were indicated at the top of what was described as the application page.

Drawing attention to South Africa's 40% unemployment rate, Mthenjane pointed out that South Africa's mining industry has the capacity to a huge role in alleviating this country's w...

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It's important to understand that the market for green hydrogen is already there because the world is consuming 100-million tons of hydrogen a year that are polluting "polluting like hell", the French company Lhyfe emphasised this week as it drew attention to the steps it is taking to convert grey hydrogen - and the use of proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology to do so also got a word in edgeways, which is music to South Africa's ears as PEM and platinum group metals (PGMs) go hand-in-glove.

Lhyfe is a France-based public company that sells its green hydrogen at a price comparable with fossil fuels across Europe, which currently consumes seven-million tonnes of grey hydrogen, a major carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter.

At question time, Sasol's production of 2% of the world's grey hydrogen also came into the picture.

"There's nothing that's easier to do when decarbonising a customer, a plant, an industrial player, than switching from grey hydrogen to green hydrogen, so that's what we're doing," Lhyfe founder and CEO Matthieu Guesné outlined during the online presentation covered by Mining Weekly.

"Decarbonising existing industry is as important as decarbonising mobility because 23% of CO2 emissions are linked to energy usage by industry, so it's important to understand that the market for green hydrogen is already there," Guesné pointed out.

The 100-million tons of grey hydrogen emits a billion tons of CO2.

"Whether you believe that green hydrogen is the silver bullet of energy transition or not, hydrogen is a necessity, and it has a tremendous market, and it needs to decaronise. Green hydrogen is 20 to 35 times less intensive in terms of CO2 emissions, so that's a good solution.

"It's as important to decarbonise industry as it is to decarbonise mobility, because 23% of the CO2 emissions that are linked to energy usage in the world are linked to industry, and the same percentage, 23%, is linked to energy usage for transportation, so it's the same challenge to decarbonise transportation as it is to decarbonise industry," Guesné noted.

A lot of hydrogen is needed because of its use in the production of glues, inks, paints, fertilisers, explosives, and many other items.

"If you go to IKEA and you buy a shelf, 60% of the shelf is made from glue and particle wood that is glued. That glue is made from methanol, which is in turn made from carbon and hydrogen.

"Basically, with six chemical compounds, the chemical industry can produce everything, so you have soda, chlorine, nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen, and those chemical compounds, form the basic elements for doing plastics, glue, inks, paints, explosives, and fertilisers, all produced from those basic compounds, and that's why you need a lot of hydrogen," Guesné reiterated.

Displayed on the screen was a Lhyfe hydrogen production plant that purifies seawater ahead of electrolysing it into green hydrogen. Shown as how this plant is connected to a wind farm that has wind turbines dedicated to the hydrogen production.

Lhyfe's commercial scale plant has made more than 500 deliveries of green hydrogen to 50 customers, using a fleet of nearly 70 containers. The company employs 200 people and operates in 12 countries across Europe and Canada.

"We did a lot of hardware and software to achieve that. But we did not manufacture the components themselves. We bought the components from companies in Europe to do our plant.

"We did the funding and construction of the plants. We use our money, or bank money, to fund the plant, and we operate the plant. We have our own training centres for our own operators, and then we deliver to customers.

"We have a sales force that sells each and every kilogram of green hydrogen that we produce. The plant is running and it's delivering its hydr...

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On the eve of next week's Junior Indaba, strong emphasis was this week placed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) being open and ready to welcome junior miners.

"We've got colleagues speaking at the Junior Indaba next week and at those engagements, we say to South African companies, the market is open, we're ready to welcome you on to the JSE, and capital is available for quality opportunities," JSE origination and deals head Sam Mokorosi spelt out to Mining Weekly following this week's dual JSE listing of London AIM-listed Shuka Minerals. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Newly listed Shuka has a coal project in Tanzania, and is finalising the purchase of a lead, zinc, silver and vanadium mine in Zambia.

"We have a long-standing dual listing framework on the JSE for international companies that have a premier exchange listing overseas, to do a list here.

"What that does is give access to a trillion-dollar investor base in South Africa that is looking for quality assets, quality businesses to invest in, be they large mega caps, be they smaller AltX listed companies that are looking for upside growth. South African investors are hungry for good quality assets.

"We have a good pipeline. There's another listing happening in June, and one that's been promised in September, and some of the folks that attended this morning's listing are also promising us one more inward listing.

"The momentum is looking strong. We had a really great 2024 with the likes of We Buy Cars and Boxer and Cilo Cybin listing, so we're looking forward to maintaining that momentum," said Mokorosi.

"We are very supportive of mining. Our roots as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange come from the Gold Rush in the late 1800s, which is the time that the JSE was formed, and so we're excited to see junior miners come to the market to access capital.

"I think dual listing really helps. If you look at a company like Orion Minerals, they were able to use instruments in Australia, because they're listed there, to raise capital from investors in South Africa, so you can see those kinds of synergies cross border in terms of access to capital, and that's what dual listings allow companies like Shuka to achieve," Mokorosi added.

The JSE is currently ranked in the Top 20 largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalisation, and is the largest stock exchange in Africa, having been in operation for 137 years.

Mining Weekly: Why is the AltX attractive?

Mokorosi: The AltX is really our board for junior miners, for smaller companies. The entry requirements are a bit lower than the main board. The ongoing obligations are a bit softer, and really what we're saying is, without reducing investor protections, we want our listing rules and requirements to be fit for purpose. A big trillion-rand company must have higher corporate governance requirements than a company that's R20-million, R30-million, R50 million in market capitalisation, and so the AltX is fit for purpose for your smaller listed companies.

We've been really enthralled by the support that we're getting from the London market. We've had a couple of inward listings from London recently, including Supermarket Income REIT, Primary Health Properties, Assura plc, so there seems to be a good theme in terms of properties and junior miners inward listing from London. So, part of our exercise to attract listings is spending a lot of time there in the markets, speaking to market participants and making sure that the good story of our deep capital markets is well known. However, we are also very active in the South African market. Our engagements with the ecosystem are ongoing.

For explorers, developers and investors, the 11th Junior Indaba is taking place in Johannesburg next Tuesday and Wednesd...

Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses London's Shuka Minerals being listed on the JSE; the new technology that uses sound to recover 92% of platinum from hydrogen fuel cell stacks; and a Beijing jewellery retailer including platinum investment bars in its offering

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The Johannesburg Stock Exchange's newly listed Shuka Minerals states in its listing presentation that it is already experiencing the "fresh approach" of the government of Zambia to mining as its sets out to revive a base metals mine once run by Anglo American.

The Zambian zinc-and-lead Kabwe mine operated for 88 years before closure at a time of commodity price downturn and Shuka is now intent on "breathe new life" into the asset, which benefited from very few modern exploration techniques when in operation from 1904 to 1994.

"We still have to finish the process of purchasing the project on the 11th of June, which is coming quickly, and it's the matter of final Competition Commission clearance in Zambia and the funding, which one reason why I'm here in Joburg.

"We've been finalising that now, so we should be in good shape for the 11th, and then we're off to the races on the geology," Shuka CEO Richard Lloyd told Mining Weekly at the JSE listing on Wednesday, May 21. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

During its 88 years of operation, Kabwe produced 12-million tons of zinc and lead ore, but has never had a modern gravity or magnetic survey completed.

Orebodies 1 to 6 are previously mines deposits, with orebody 2 bearing untouched silicates. The remaining resources are untouched sulphides.

"We've got 16-million tons of ore running at 12% to 14% zinc and about 3% to 4% lead. That's four million tons of contained metal, and you can do the sums. On the current zinc and lead prices, that's metal in the ground of about $6-billion. Now, obviously you've got to get it out, but with a ship with a market cap of $3-million," Lloyd pointed out.

Orebody 2 is seen as the one with the most immediate and the highest potential. Its silicate resources average 11% zinc and 1.7% lead, with silver, vanadium and gallium also existing, according to a 2023-dated Behre Dolbere report.

"We've identified a few of the funkier critical metals, such as gallium, which probably nobody had even heard of in 1904," Lloyd noted.

A $145 200 capital expenditure (capex) is being lined up for Shuka's other asset, Rukwa in Tanzania, from which coal is mined to local Tanzanian cement plants. The capex is designed for a phased restart and will be spent on excavators and loaders, wash-plant upgrades and repairs.

Mining Weekly: What do you think the JSE listing can do for Shuka?

Lloyd: The rationale and the thought process behind it was to come here early to allow the South African investors to take part at what I call our base. I only started as CEO four months ago and my strapline for next week's Junior Indaba is breathing life back into Rukwa and Kabwe, which will be our two assets going forward. It's to enable the South African investor to take part at an early stage…and get people to understand the company, believe in what we're going to do.

The name Shuka reminds one of East Africa and the red garments of the people.

Yes, Shuka is the traditional dress of the Maasai. My non-executive director, Edu Ruheni, is Maasai himself. He grew up on the border of Kenya and Tanzania. He's critical to working with the communities. The Rukwa mine in Lake Tanganyika has been under care-and-maintenance for the last year. We need to bring that back to life, breathing life back into Rukwe and Kabwe, and the critical thing now is working with these communities.

Mining Weekly noticed that South Africa, and Southern Africa were also on your list of investment possibilities.

Yes, we're in discussions on a South African project that may link with the Zambian operations, and, yes, we'll look at these projects, we'll assess them. There's a lot on my plate at the moment with we're getting Rukwa up and running again, and obviously Kabwe, with the geology, the drilli...

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Shuka Minerals, which is primarily listed on the alternative investment market of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), on Wednesday sealed a secondary listing on the alternative exchange of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

"It's exciting to bring Shuka Minerals to the JSE," an upbeat Shuka CEO Richard Lloyd exclaimed as he and Shuka director Edu Ruheni beat the African drum with great gusto, ahead of a high-premium early share purchase bid being flashed across the big JSE trading screen. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The JSE, which has been in operation for 137 years, is currently ranked in the Top 20 largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalisation.

Newly listed Shuka is immersed in the development and operation of mineral assets, currently operates a coal project in Tanzania, and is finalising the purchase of a lead, zinc, silver and vanadium mine in Zambia, the Kabwe mine.

"We're going to redevelop that," Lloyd declared at the high-spirited event, covered by Mining Weekly.

Previously operated by Anglo American and Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, Kabwe was mined for 88 years before being closed in 1994 during a period of low commodity prices.

"It's a matter of understanding the geology," said Lloyd, who has a geologist background.

"We'll need to dewater various pits. We need to be very careful of what we do with it, so the ESG and the corporate and social responsibility side of things is paramount. It probably wasn't in 1904 when it first opened.

"We are going to have to be careful when we work with the communities up there, but we've met with the District Commissioner, all the people there, and everybody's absolutely excited about the future of Kabwe.

"The town grew up on Kabwe and everybody's eager to get back to work, get their jobs back, dewater the pits and get going, and bring it back to its former glory," Lloyd added.

JSE origination and deals head Sam Mokorosi spoke of the listing not only being a corporate milestone but also a reflection of the vision to transform natural resources into shared prosperity - and to do so with deep respect for the people of Africa.

In pointing out that the JSE's 278 listed companies have a combined market capitalisation of R20-trillion-plus, Mokorosi highlighted the exchange's fast-track listing process, from which Shuka benefitted.

Last year, the JSE expanded its fast-track universe allowing secondary listings for companies primarily listed on 14 international exchanges including the LSE, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd and New York Stock Exchange.

The JSE's fast-track listing route offers an expedited approval process, reduced listing fees and minimises the resource requirements typically associated with a pre-listing statement. This forms part of the JSE's ongoing efforts to enhance accessibility and efficiency for international companies.

JSE capital markets director Valdene Reddy spoke of the listing reflecting the success of ongoing efforts to create a more enabling regulatory environment and broaden the range of investment opportunities available on the exchange.

JSE trading operations head Martin Koch provided a live demonstration of the technology prowess of the JSE's 9 am to 5 pm trading day, which takes in a staggering 20-milllion-plus orders a day, which translates into 300 to 500 orders every second.

"If you blink for 300 milliseconds, we would have sent that order to London and back and then to London again," Koch told the audience.

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New technology, which uses sound to recover 92% of platinum from hydrogen fuel cell stacks and provide a major boost to the platinum economy, is emerging from Johnson Matthey, a company which, interestingly, has a long-standing South African presence.

Earlier this year, the company founded in 1817, reported in a White Paper that the growing need for platinum group metals (PGMs) cannot be met through conventional below-surface mining alone.

Now, it has put its money where its mouth is though research and development that uses what journalist Angie Bergenson described in the latest edition of Hydrogen Fuel News as "acoustic cavitation - that's basically bubbles formed by sound waves - to gently, but effectively, break apart the membrane structure".

The technology has the potential to recover a lot more PGM material, augment mining in a far cleaner way, and may also work for water electrolyser recycling, another key piece of the green hydrogen puzzle.

The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) material disassembled by the technology is the central part of platinum-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) green hydrogen fuel cells that provide emission-free mobile and stationary energy arguably with the greatest holism and effectiveness.

A fuel cell stack consists of many single cells stacked up so that the platinum-based cathode of one cell is electrically connected to the anode of the adjacent cell. In that way, exactly the same current passes through each of the cells.

The World Platinum Investment Council this week saw fit to draw attention on LinkedIn to this new technology, which is seen as being poised to contribute significantly to the circular economy and to ensure that recycling makes a greater contribution to the availability of PGMs, some of them far scarcer than others, besides being very clean and green.

This innovation, in which the UK's University of Leicester features prominently, is described as marking "a big step toward closing the loop in platinum recovery and pushing us closer to a future where clean tech gets smarter, greener, and a whole lot more sustainable".

Interestingly from a local viewpoint is that if you drive down Henderson road in Germiston South, you will come across the name Johnson Matthey Pty, which is part of "an ambition to be a world leader in sustainable technology solutions, transforming energy and reducing carbon emissions, for a cleaner, brighter future", through collaboration with customers, partners, academic research institutions, and innovation ecosystems.

Significantly lowered through all of this is also the involvement of fluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or what are known as PFAS, sometimes referred to as "forever chemicals".

In 2023, it was reported that Johnson Matthey had signed an investment agreement with the Jiading District in Shanghai to help accelerate the hydrogen economy in China by building a new catalyst-coated membrane production facility, providing production capability for multiple PEM fuel cell applications and PEM electrolysers, which turn water into hydrogen and oxygen.

Catalyst-coated membranes typically consist of platinum cathodes and iridium anodes, which are applied to solid membranes in a way that reportedly maximises hydrogen production.

Water flows into the catalyst-coated membrane, where an iridium catalyst uses electrical energy to break water molecules into oxygen, protons and electrons. The electrons are driven through the external circuit and protons then cross the membrane. A platinum catalyst puts the protons and electrons back together to form hydrogen.

This membrane is a key performance-defining component in fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). China has said it aims to have a million FCEVs on its roads by 2030.

TURNING GREY ...

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Whereas every mineral is found to be critical for various reasons, the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources' (DMPR's) Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy has identified platinum, manganese, iron-ore, coal and chrome ore as "high-critical minerals" for South Africa, based on their criticality.

In a briefing regarding Cabinet's approval of the strategy, as well as the approval for the publication of the Mineral Resources Development Bill (MRDB) of 2025 for public comment, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe explained that the drafting of the strategy had started with adopting a robust methodology to determine the aspect of criticality of minerals.

This methodology was based on eight indicators including, among others, export potential, employment indicator, supply risk, export sales, domestic sales and substitutability.

The strategy further identifies mineral commodities such as gold, vanadium, palladium, rhodium and rare earth elements as minerals with "moderate to high criticality".

Meanwhile, minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel, titanium, phosphate, fluorspar, zirconium, uranium and aluminium were identified as minerals with "moderate criticality".

Mantashe said this list would regularly be reviewed and updated owing to the fact that the criticality classification mix is dependent on underlying market conditions, exploration, technological advancement, substitutability, recycling and geopolitics, among other factors.

He explained that the approval of the two new policy documents was aimed at ensuring policy and regulatory certainty to advance the country's potential in the global market for minerals.

"Although the term critical minerals has been used by various nations for a considerable period, there has been no universal consensus on the definition of critical minerals, as several countries have interchangeably used and defined 'critical, strategic or future minerals' according to their importance in economic growth and industrialisation, technological advancements, energy transition, geopolitical considerations, supply chain vulnerabilities, environmental and social concerns and strategic importance.

"It is within this context that in 2023, we resolved at the African Critical Minerals Summit, that Africa should develop a clear roadmap on how to maximise the exploitation and monetisation of these resources for value addition to our economies.

"At the centre of this roadmap is a shared vision for the critical minerals with which our continent is endowed and thereby foster regional cooperation and economic growth," Mantashe said.

He explained that, to realise this shared vision, the DMPR assigned Mintek the responsibility of coordinating the development of South Africa's Critical Minerals Strategy with the intention to foster investment into exploration, beneficiation, building resilient local value chains, research and development, skills development and strengthening regional integration and international partnerships to position the country as a major player in the global critical minerals market.

"This focus ensured that minerals with the highest potential to drive economic and industrial growth are prioritised, which then provided guidance in determining the criticality of specific mineral commodities," Mantashe said.

At least 21 commodity studies were undertaken in parallel with the work of determining the criticality of minerals. These commodity studies help to provide a clearer picture of the state of the mining industry in South Africa, as well as the contribution of each commodity to the country's drive for inclusive economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation.

Mantashe noted that valuable inputs into these studies were also obtained...

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A leading branded jewellery retailer in Beijing is including platinum investment bars in its offering amid platinum bar sales being launched on TikTok for the first time by a World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) partner.

Chinese buying of platinum investment bars smaller than 500g have grown 140 % year-on-year to a record 31 000 oz, with overall first-quarter bar and coin demand up 17% to 70 000 oz.

Investment demand has been driven by a sharp rise in exchange-held platinum stocks as tariff-related uncertainty and a widening location premium encouraged higher platinum inflows into the US.

"We're also seeing very strong jewellery demand, particularly in China," WPIC research director Edward Sterck highlighted to Mining Weekly in a comprehensive interview that coincided with the publication of WPIC's latest first-quarter Platinum Quarterly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Overall first-quarter platinum jewellery demand increased 9% to 533 000 oz and platinum is the big beneficiary of the many jewellers in china wanting to have investment products on offer.

Overall first-quarter platinum investment demand rose 28% quarter-on-quarter to 461 000 oz and the WPIC-linked Shanghai Platinum Week the second week of July is likely to elevate platinum demand still further.

Stores of value are being sought and platinum fits that bill, particularly at this time of exceptionally high gold price.

Full year bar and coin investment is forecast to strengthen by 30% to 252 000 oz, driven by 48% growth in China and a return to growth in the North American market at a forecast 18%. Growth in bars of or above 500g in China will continue its upward trajectory to reach a 15%-higher 186 000 oz.

Despite capacity constraints and increasing competition In the first four months of this year, WPIC partners have achieved record-breaking sales, positively influenced the sweeping resurgence of platinum jewellery demand in China.

Quarterly gains in green hydrogen hit the 159% mark and overall global first-quarter demand lifted 10% to 2 274 000 oz on the strong investment demand, driven principally by a sharp rise in exchange held platinum stocks. Full year hydrogen is expected to rise by 35% to 59 000 oz.

At the same time, first-quarter mining supply fell 13% year-on-year to 1 086 000 oz, the lowest since the second-quarter of 2020 and a first-quarter deficit of 816 000 oz emerging as the largest single quarterly deficit in six years.

"I think the deficit is embedded. It's structural, and we're likely to see a series of deficits come through in future years as well," Sterck noted.

On top of the ongoing robust global demand for PGMs, these amazing metals are becoming increasingly diverse, with the four core automotive, industrial, jewellery and investment demand segments combining to provide a beneficial degree of resilience, even as the US government's new approach to tariff policy starts to take effect.

"Platinum's diversity of end uses is to its benefit. A lot of those end uses are quite price inelastic, so ultimately, you've got to get down to the product level for things really to change," Sterck pointed out.

This beneficial diversity enabled strong first-quarter investment demand growth to counter balance declines in automotive and industrial demand, which took place in the thick of platinum supply falling 10% to 1 458 000 oz and which could not be offset by a modest year-on-year recovery in recycling.

Automotive demand remained resilient despite market uncertainty and the strategic importance of platinum group metals (PGMs) to the US automotive industry has so far spared the metals from US tariffs and even the broader impact of trade restrictions is highly unlikely to materially reduce the deficit of 966 000 oz of platinu...

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Strengthening South African mining is key to strengthening South Africa's domestic economy as well as its geopolitical standing, which is all-important at this time of global economic disruption.

South Africa's mineral reserves are among the most valuable in the world and making mining strong again cannot go unheeded any longer, especially amid South African Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources and the US Geological Survey statistics, which indicate that South Africa possesses ore reserves amounting to more than $2.5-trillion, with 16 commodities ranked in the Top 10 internationally.

Despite headwinds of lower commodity prices and constrained export channels, South African mining still managed to turnover R1-trillion last year from a diversity of minerals, including precious metals, bulk commodities and industrial minerals that are fundamental to modern life, providing the foundation for industries, sustainable communities, and social progress, mining industry interest group ICMM points out.

Very importantly, South Africa also has more than a century of mineral extraction experience, along with the crucial processing, beneficiating, marketing and value chain essentials that go with it.

Interestingly, mining brings benefits to every bit of economic activity, but it has a finite horizon unless there is the ongoing replacement of mineral reserves through growth, which has not been happening at greenfield level owing to insufficient new exploration.

"We believe that the industry has the potential to grow, and by so doing taking along many other industries such as construction, manufacturing, financial services, transport and manufacturing, not forgetting agriculture, business tourism, skills development and further education. The mining industry is the uncontested catalyst of South Africa's economy," Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane emphasised at this year's Investing in African Mining Indaba.

The mining cadastre must put South Africa on a par with other mining jurisdictions, encourage exploration and lead to mining, which can in turn help South Africa in so many ways.

Self-generation of electricity has been softening the effect of Eskom's high power tariffs and Transport Minister Barbara Creecy is reportedly working with the Treasury to find ways to enable the private sector to bring rail logistics up to speed in the short term.

On the geopolitical front, Menar MD Vuslat Bayoglu had this to say to Mining Weekly this week: "If we can manage to strengthen our mining economy, that will actually be converted into geopolitical strength." (Also watch video at https://www.miningweekly.com/article/menar-hopeful-us-sa-trade-relations-will-be-normalised-soon-to-avoid-dual-adversity-2025-05-13).

South Africa must return to adding value to its chrome and manganese deposits to regain the employment that was lost as ferrochrome and ferromanganese market shares were lost because of 500% higher electricity tariffs imposed int he last decade by State-owned utility Eskom.

There is also a fortuitous opportunity to produce every possible additional ounce of gold at this time of high gold prices.

Government support for mining is a must, particularly in view of how the industry has contributed on the socioeconomic front in recent decades. Mining has gone well beyond compliance, and the upcoming Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill must reflect this by introducing a legislative context that allows mining to grow fast.

There is no more time to waste. The MPRDA Amendment Bill simply has to bring investor-friendly change to local mining and prospecting.

Results show that mining companies achieved 39% weighted average of empowerment shareholding against the 26% that was promulg...