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The market development aspect of the platinum group metals (PGM) industry is fundamentally key, it was repeatedly stated at last week's 2024 Resources for Africa Platinum Day.

There is strong consensus that PGMs are amazing metals that are incredibly useful as future green metals across a broad range of applications.

The PGM elements platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium possess far-reaching physical and chemical characteristics that make them sought after by modern technology developers.

"If I could turn back the clock, I would've probably recommended to the board a far stronger investment in market development. Every dollar we invest will have a fundamental return long-term," Implats CEO Nico Muller commented in conversation with chairperson Bernard Swanepoel at the event covered by Mining Weekly.

"I'm encouraged that people are now starting to talk a lot about market development," Anglo American Platinum CEO Craig Miller commented in his conversation with Swanepoel.

"We need to do market development on the full basket and not just platinum and palladium and ensure that it's PGMs that underpin clean hydrogen in the lowest cost-plus way," Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman stated in the opening address.

"These are really important metals. They're really special in terms of what they do. In many applications across the world, they are essential for human existence," Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne highlighted.

"It's important that we give huge focus to the PGMs industry, which 2023 numbers show is the largest employer that spends the most on community development and contributes 10% of total exports to South Africa," Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane pointed out.

Meanwhile, as was reiterated at the event, platinum demand is returning to help solve the PGM basket problem, and a supply decline is effectively already happening.

It is not anticipated that prices will necessarily go back to where the industry had previously experienced them owing to drivetrain electrification and additional supply potentially coming to the market through recycling.

The widespread outlook is that because the industry is going through a structural change it should not rely too heavily on traditional price recovery and there is consensus that market development catch-up, particularly in the hydrogen space, must take place.

Mentioned frequently as one of the pivotal market developers is PGM-promoting and South Africa-linked venture capital company AP Ventures, created together with the Public Investment Corporation of South Africa.

AP Ventures has been recognised as the most active investor in hydrogen beginners globally by the Mind the Gap: Venture Funding of Hydrogen Start-ups report by H2UB and after visiting a Texas company in which AP Ventures is associated, Microsoft luminary Bill Gates had this to say: "The energy transition is happening faster than many people (including me!) dared hope."

In March, AP Ventures announced its investment in the pre-seed investment round of UK-based direct air capture company Airhive, co-leading the round alongside Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Airhive is developing a low-cost, energy-efficient and rapidly scalable technology to capture carbon from the atmosphere. This pre-seed round will support its technology development and the delivery of its second commercial pilot, which will be deployed later this year.

Anglo American Platinum expects prolonged deficits in platinum, a surplus in palladium and a rhodium market to move back into balance in 2024.

The original equipment manufacturer stocking, which took place during Covid, the microchip shortage and then the invasion of Ukraine, has been considerably destocked.

"It's clear that the market has bottomed out in the last six months," said Muller.

Fundamental deficits are being predicted along with a tightening market.

"I'm not expecting price...

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Platinum group metals (PGM) miner Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne firmly believes internal combustion engines (ICEs) are here to stay for the foreseeable future, which, in his view, will mean salvation for PGM miners that are struggling to remain profitable amid sustained low commodity prices.

"The world is getting over the love affair with electric vehicles. There's no question about that. It certainly will not be a replacement for the ICE. However, it's capturing some market share, but ICEs will have a longer life and the lower metal requirement will be balanced by natural depletion," he said at the PGMs Industry Day, in Johannesburg, earlier this week.

He explained that the automotive market remained the most important market for PGM producers.

"If the economics are what they are today, the natural economic depletion will be accelerated by an economic overlay. That's what we expect to happen. So the market will be rebalanced on supply. We haven't lost the PGM market," he said.

He noted that continued production was clearly not sustainable at current prices and that, eventually, either supply or price would have to cave.

"You can't have both. You can't have this rand basket price and this production. They will not equate. Something has to give.

"Two things can happen to correct this imbalance. One is that production comes off or, two, prices recover. There may be some sort of combination in between," he posited.

However, he noted that the problem was too big to be solved by simply "squeezing the lemon" and structural change was needed.

"We acknowledge there has been structural change in China, which remained quite closed for a long time. When we finally got there, we were quite shocked at the developments in China in terms of what is happening in the automotive industry. They're going to be highly competitive against the rest of the world," Dunne said.

He said western car manufacturers and joint ventures were already suffering in terms of market share, as China has begun to export its cars, as has already been seen in South Africa.

"I think you'll see more and more Chinese brands. They're at a reasonable quality and a very attractive price point. This presents a great challenge to the traditional North American, and more so European original-equipment manufacturers in the automotive industry. We see a threat to the traditional structure of the overall automotive industry," Dunne explained.

He noted that, of the PGMs, palladium was most under pressure from a fundamental point of view. However, while palladium appears to be performing weaker than other PGMs the recent shortage of the metal means that there is no legacy stock.

"It also has a big short position sitting against it, which is somewhat positive, so palladium can recover. However, in the longer term, we think palladium is under a lot of fundamental pressure," Dunne said.

On the other hand, however, he expected platinum to be the PGM that could be the saving grace for PGM miners.

"Platinum can actually solve this problem for the miners. Otherwise, supply must come off. I've got no doubt. A supply drop off is effectively already happening. It's been happening for years," Dunne said, noting that South Africa produced about 5.5-million ounces of platinum at one stage and that current forecasts are for production to only reach about three-million ounces this year.

"The capacity of the orebodies in the country to produce has been eroded through a combination of lack of investment, reinvestment and natural depletion," Dunne said.

He said he believed in the importance of PGMs and urged industry players to work together to rebalance the market to ensure its survival.

"These are really important metals. They are really special in terms of what they do. In many applications across the world, they are essential for human existence. We've got an industry. We've got a market. We need to rebalance o...

In this week's episode of Second Take, Mining Weekly Editor Martin Creamer discusses hydrogen’s role as a global energy solution; the market development of the full PGMs basket being essential; and about how South Africa’s underground mines could be used as batteries that store energy.

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South Africa's Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), through the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has launched the first of three new government-led collaborative circular economy initiatives focusing on priority economic sectors that were identified by government in the science, technology and innovation (STI) 2022 to 2032 decadal plan.

The first of the three initiatives, the South African Circular Minerals and Metals Initiative (SACMMI), was launched in Pretoria, on April 11. The other two, the South African Circular Agricultural Initiative (SACAI) and the South African Circular Manufacturing Initiative (SACMI), will follow.

The mandate of these initiatives is to drive sector-specific circular economy STI to support the development of these sectors and to fast-track the uptake of circular interventions.

"The circular economy is not a nice to have. It's also not an environmental agenda. It's a social and economic and an environmental imperative for every country as we face growing resource scarcity," DSI and CSIR circular innovation South Africa manager Professor Linda Godfrey explained.

She revealed that the SACMMI was aimed at creating an opportunity to embed circular economy STI within the National System of Innovation (NSI), as well as to build local and international STI partnerships. Ultimately, the goal is to provide real benefits to the local mining sector.

She noted that the DSI would publish calls for expressions of interest to host the SACAI and the SACMI, respectively.

Godfrey emphasised that the circular economy was not about waste management, but rather about sustainable resource management in support of development. She said that a circular economy transition was an economic, social and environmental imperative for every country globally, and that South Africa's universities and science councils would be crucial to evidencing this transition. They would also play a central role in derisking circular economy solutions and developing new innovative circular economy solutions.

"We look forward to collaborating with public- and private-sector partners, and driving impact through these new circular economy initiatives," she said.

Godfrey said government recognised the circular economy as a new source of economic growth for a re-industrialised and modernised economy, with a strong role for STI.

She explained that investment in STI for a circular economy would provide the means to unlock technology opportunities through technology development, localisation and adaptation. It would also help evidence decision-making in both the public and private sectors, and drive policy development and implementation.

Such investment would also support businesses to derisk and scale interventions, thereby bringing academia closer to business, especially small to medium-sized enterprises.

"The circular economy is not new to South Africa. We've been doing a lot of these things for many years. We just never called it circularity. We haven't yet achieved the scale for meaningful impact. How do we assist in fast-tracking the adoption and scaling of these interventions?" Godfrey said.

"I honestly do believe that the circular economy provides an entirely different future or trajectory in terms of our growth as an African continent. With that comes the exciting opportunity for small businesses. I don't even think we've scratched the surface in terms of those opportunities for the continent," Godfrey said.

Mandela Mining Precinct (MMP) executive director Julie Courtnage said the SACMMI provided an opportunity to build a national system of innovation and capability, to directly support industry and other sector stakeholders in the adoption and acceleration of circular practices and technologies.

She noted that collaboration and partnerships would be instrumental to the success of this initiative. So far, the MMP and CSIR were fully o...

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Green hydrogen has a massive potential future and South Africa is very well positioned to produce it, attendees of the Hydrogen Economy Discussion heard on Thursday.

Most of the 90-million tonnes of hydrogen produced currently through the likes of South Africa's Sasol and others is grey.

Not only must all of that become green, but it also needs to grow seven times bigger to allow green hydrogen to become a necessary 7% of the energy mix.

"From a South Africa perspective, we're very well positioned through our energy resources in terms of both solar radiation and onshore wind, our lengthy coastline and ability to desalinate water for hydrogen production, our proximity to both the European and Asian markets, and having places like the Northern Cape, which are significant land masses," South Africa's Ministerial advisor and Presidency green hydrogen lead Masopha Moshoeshoe highlighted at the event covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

The Northern Cape is roughly the size of Germany, but with a considerably less 1.3-million people, and no competition for land use with other uses, like agriculture.

"These are all important when we start to talk about the massive amount of energy that is required. And it's not necessarily for global demand.

"We know that Europe will not be able to meet its own green hydrogen or energy demand, and we know places like Japan, South Korea, and others won't be.

"But there many parts of the world that are competing to be this new producer, this new source of green hydrogen demand.

"From a South Africa perspective, we're competing with Chile, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf Coast.

"The African case is slightly different, because we have different entry points into this market, such as North Africa, which can pipe green hydrogen into Europe because of their proximity, where we need to be able to produce hydrogen carriers and be able to produce value added products.

"East Africa has thermal energy, which we don't have, which gives them a different ability, and a potential to produce green fertilisers.

"There's a nuance in terms of this picture but it's fundamentally around what we do in the next two or three years. Because the case for green hydrogen very much looks like a hockey stick beyond 2030," added Moshoeshoe.

Emphasised at the event was that hydrogen holds the transformative power to combat climate change, reshape the world's energy future and light the way towards a decarbonised planet.

Attendees also heard that achieving net zero by 2050, which the world is obliged to do to combat climate change, is impossible without green hydrogen, which is described as the leading vector in the sectors that are more difficult to decarbonise, which include the steel, cement, maritime and ammonia sectors, to name a few.

But the cost to decarbonise such industries is more than those that can be decarbonised through renewable energy, and direct electrification.

CABINET-APPROVED COMMERCIALISATION

South Africa is among the overwhelming number of countries that have committed to a net zero target and aligned with the climate-crucial 1.5 degrees of warming as the base case.

Moreover, the Cabinet approved South Africa's green hydrogen commercialisation strategy last year as a culmination of what green hydrogen represents.

"Our focus from a country perspective is very much on how we use this transition to a green energy vector to revitalise the economy, to reindustrialise elements that have deindustrialised," Moshoeshoe highlighted at the event chaired by mining luminary Bernard Swanepoel, amid green hydrogen and South Africa's platinum group metals going hand-in-glove.

Green hydrogen carries a price premium with it in the short to medium term and its export to developed economies is envisaged owing to developed economies being best placed to absorb that price premium.

Business cases exist for green hy...

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Representatives of the producers of 90% of the world's climate-vital platinum group metals (PGMs) heard during Wednesday's full-house PGM Industry Day that collective market development on the full PGM basket and not just platinum and palladium is absolutely crucial at this point of the global implementation of a cleaner and greener decarbonised planet.

In advocating this, PGMs producer Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman also highlighted the role of PGMs a far-reaching underpin of the the strongly advancing hydrogen economy. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

"Very important is that we start focusing on industrial underpins to reduce the dependence or the exposure to risk on autos," Froneman told the Resources4Africa event covered by Mining Weekly.

"We need to do market development on the full basket and not just platinum and palladium.

"I'm reminded of a rule I was taught many years ago, and it's called Noah's Rule - don't try and predict the weather, just go out there and build the ark so that it's ready when the rain comes down," said Froneman in suggesting that the PGMs industry collectively develops the market and reaps the benefit of the resulting demand.

"The underpin for demand for the right PGMs is still solid… and a lot of PGMs have substantial non-automotive underpinning, and one of my conclusions is that we've got to become less dependent as an industry on autos," he told the even, chaired by mining luminary Bernard Swanepoel.

While overall palladium demand is decreasing, the future roles of some minor PGMs are increasing.

Moreover, there is no doubt about hydrogen becoming an increasingly important driver of demand for some PGMs, amid a positive regulation-linked PGM loadings increase, and a positive 42% compound annual growth rate for PGM-linked fuel cell electric vehicles.

"Demand has been stable, which is very important to note, but it's not appropriate for end users or asset suppliers to develop a supply response that is out of kilter with the demand response in terms of the make-up of these metals.

"The proportions of the various PGMs must be examined across the entire global PGM supply base and we've got to create demand that fits that, otherwise we're going to either create demand destruction, or we're going to create huge volatility.

"Instead of driving platinum demand alone, we've got to drive market development across all PGMs to create a demand base that represents what we mine," Froneman said.

A strategic approach to market development is seen as the correct approach. As a PGMs must be acknowledged as industrial metals, while PGM demand aligned with what is produced and market development is spread across the basket.

"We've got to invest in sticky industrial demand. We need to focus on global decarbonisation as an area where the unique properties of PGMS can play a role.

"You can't look at platinum and palladium in isolation anymore. Supply is decreasing, there's been a lack of capital investment and, in the short term, there's going to supply downside in supply as loss-making mine shafts are closed. In our view, they are substantial deficits in this business out to 2030.

"To me, that makes for a good PGM business and I don't buy into the current negativity and don't buy into a two-year recovery timeframe. A recognition by the market that sentiment is changing is already being seen and share prices are go up.

"We're in a destocking phase, which was caused by disruptions in the supply chain, Covid and the Ukraine invasion.

"This is being recognised. Two element PGM demand out to 2030 is solid and stable.

"It's clear that hydrogen is going to be produced and we should make sure that PGMs underpin clean hydrogen in the lowest cost way.

"It's very important that we start focus on industrial underpins to reduce the dependence or the exposure to risk on autos.

"We need to do market development on the full basket and...

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There's no climate solution without hydrogen. It's the missing piece of the clean energy puzzle, says a global CEO-led initiative that brings together leading companies with a united vision.

From 13 leaders at its World Economic Forum launch in 2017, the Hydrogen Council has ballooned to 150 multinationals companies representing the entire value chain of hydrogen, which is planet earth's most abundant element, as well as being renewable and non-polluting.

"We need to embrace hydrogen as a global energy solution now more than ever," it is being stated by the council, amid hydrogen development taking place left, right and centre across Asia, Europe, the Americas and to a lesser but moderately advancing extent in Africa.

"The energy transition is happening faster than many people (including me!) dared hope," Microsoft luminary Bill Gates stated in an article after visiting a Texas company in which the platinum- and South Africa-linked AP Ventures is invested.

Meanwhile, Forbes magazine's contributor on energy and climate Ken Silverstein comments that it is just a matter of green hydrogen getting its legs for it to become the 'new oil' - to replace the energy source that currently drives the global economy.

As a result, countries are forming international hydrogen coalitions to position themselves for that future and many are looking to hydrogen giving them energy independence and sovereignty.

What must be noted is that the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers that produce green hydrogen most efficiently benefit from the very special attributes of Southern Africa's platinum group metals, as do the PEM fuel cells that turn that green hydrogen into the cleanest of clean electricity that can not only power buses, bikes, bakkies, cars, cargo carriers and ships better than anything else can but can also provide clean, green electricity in stationary form to, you name it - homes, commercial buildings, factories, farms, and industry as a whole.

Forbes reports that the United Arab Emirates, which is targeting a 25% global market share of low-carbon hydrogen by 2030, is joining forces with Germany to expand its portfolio, while Japan is converting fossil-fired plants into hydrogen-based plants and South Korea is setting aside tens of billions of dollars to expand its hydrogen infrastructure and build a fuel cell base.

The European Union is fast-tracking 65 hydrogen projects after signing an energy infrastructure list into law, Hydrogen Insight reports.

Australian company Fortescue has opened an electrolyser manufacturing facility in Gladstone, Queensland, that has an automated assembly line, the World Platinum Investment Council reports.

Fortescue has also unveiled a joint venture with Morocco-headquartered plant nutrition and phosphate-based fertiliser supplier OCP Group, which aims to supply green hydrogen, ammonia and fertilisers to Morocco, Europe and international markets.

In the UK, a platinum-using PEM fuel cell for cars, the smallest to date, has been developed by Intelligent Energy.

Hydrogen South Africa at North-West University embarked on building dedicated rapid prototyping, testing and training facilities for water electrolysis that generates green hydrogen. The 15 000 m2 advanced manufacturing facility, constructed and fully commissioned in just over two years, will have capacity to produce over 2 GW of PEM electrolyser stacks a year.

The Japanese government has revealed a multitrillion-yen plan to develop a regional aircraft powered by next generation technology such as hydrogen.

Newsbreaks on the outlook for the hydrogen economy are regular and the momentum towards making green hydrogen competitive and developing human resources to meet the needs of green hydrogen is building strongly.

Twelve scientists from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries will head to Germany in May, where they will have an opportunity to obt...

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London- and Botswana-listed diamond company Botswana Diamonds is going to apply artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to its Botswana database, the company said on Tuesday, April 9.

Involved are 380 gigabytes of data and 260 000 files in what is described as the country's second largest diamond exploration information set.

"This is an excellent foundation to incorporate AI to assist in a comprehensive search for new diamond deposits and potentially other minerals," the company, headed by chairperson John Teeling, stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

Botswana Diamonds' database has 95 000 km2 of information, including 375 000 km airborne geophysical input, 606 ground geophysical surveys, 228 000 soil sample results, and 32 000 drill hole logs.

Botswana Diamonds' geologist MD James Campbell, a Fellow of the Geological Society of South Africa, who has 38-years-plus diamond sector experience, has given his nod to the release.

Being deployed is Planetary AI Ltd Xplore mineral prospectivity technology, developed in collaboration with International Geoscience Service.

Xplore is described as a system that uses semantic technology with machine learning that allows computers to grasp the meaning and context of geological data in much the same way a geologist.

While the system acts much like a geologist, it can work through vast data-sets quicker in an exercise that is expected to yield new insights that will offer drillable targets previously unseen.

Teeling's viewpoint is that the database is too big for timely analysis by humans.

"Think of it, over 375 000 km of geophysical data, and 32 000 drill holes logs," he said, pointing out that large databases are suited to analysis by computer-based large AI techniques that can analyse substantial amounts of data in a short time.

"We feed in the data and create the models from our existing knowledge both theoretical and factual. The techniques then produce results.

"Where it finds inconsistencies or gaps it adapts. It is early stages in both our work and the use of the technique in mineral exploration, but the future potential is huge," said Teeling.

An added bonus is that the technique will analyse a number of different minerals.

Botswana Diamonds has always believed that there are more diamond deposits to be found under the sand and now there is the possibility of other deposits being identified.

GRAVITY SURVEY

Last year's advances by Botswana Diamonds included a gravity survey pointing out a high-grade anomaly similar in size or larger than the KX36 high-grade kimberlite pipe in the Kalahari, which is likely to become Botswana's third main diamond-producing area.

The gravity survey on a licence adjacent to the company's KX36 diamond discovery found the anomaly, on which further work needs to be done. An environmental-impact study is under way and follow-up drilling is likely.

With kimberlites occurring in clusters, new anomalies generally point to the potential for more to be discovered in the surrounding area.

In South Africa, there was positive progress in the awarding of mining permits at Thorny River.

In Eswatini, a prospecting licence has been granted over diamond properties after a long application period, and the company is also of the view that Zimbabwe remains highly prospective and thus continues to engage with various partners to gain a reasonable entry into Zimbabwe.

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South Africa's many underground mines can be used as batteries that store the clean electricity that the water descending for cooling can provide.

At the same time, the local community could end up with a utility that supplies them clean water along with a store of cheap and reliable green energy.

While the chemical battery systems for the storage of electricity last for ten to 15 years, pumped hydro longevity from repurposed mines is in the 50-year to 100-year category.

Moreover, the bulk of the capital required for the building of a pumped hydropower facility in a mine will likely go into local pockets.

The local community will also likely supply the labour to keep the mine operating as a hydro facility and also probably provide the human resource for the construction of the upper and lower reservoirs and the penstock.

Repurposing mines could also help South Africa to advance along the road to energy independence and possibly also eventual energy exportation, while simultaneously ensuring optimum scarce water use.

South Africa, which already has hydropower installed in many of its deep-level mines, is probably better positioned than most countries to take advantage of pumped hydropower technology, which provides a cost-competitive energy storage solution.

Moreover, it fits hand-in-glove with South Africa's superior sun and prime wind power to pump the closed-loop water back to surface for renewed release.

Already, there are 50 mine sites that make use of the kinetic energy gravity gives to the falling water, which allows it to spin wheels from which electricity is generated with the help of Pelton technology installed in the 70s and 80s.

Included among these mine sites are some of the world's deepest operating turbines, with heads of up to 1 890 m, putting South Africa in pole position to take full advantage of the global renewable energy plus storage trend in next to no time.

Hugely advantageous is that most of the deep-level mines in all the provinces where steps are being taken to install chemical battery storage, including in South Africa's Gauteng, Free State, and North West provinces.

South Africa already knows a great deal about pumped hydro thanks to Eskom's Drakensberg, Palmiet, Ingula, Steenbras and other pumped storage schemes that serve as massive water batteries.

Now it has the added opportunity of turning even discard mines to further account.

The water will be pumped up when operations have excess renewable power and allowed to gravitate back down the mine when electricity is needed. This reduces storage capacity when compared with lithium batteries and even hydrogen storage.

It is a smart solution based on the physical assets that are under-utilised and provides a cost-effective solution for the whole South African package.

These are among the very many insights provided by Karst Hydro MD Guy Richards and Karst operations director Jessica Giger, who spoke to Mining Weekly in a Zoom interview. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Karst is a project development company that specialises in underground pumped hydroelectric energy storage project and essentially what that means is that the company repurposes mines for energy storage.

Project definition services for mine owners wanting an independent source of power are there for the taking.

While battery energy storage systems are being procured by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, mine owners can double as long-life water utilities by reutilising their assets that already have access to power transmission networks, environmental management models, and water use licences.

What level of electricity contribution are Pelton wheels making in mines?

They started to constructing the Pelton wheels working in South African mines in1978 and they are very reliable. They are used primarily for energy recovery. The other feature of on-site storage is that it gives the mine ...

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South Africa's mining industry is investing R46-million in an action plan to eliminate fall-of-ground (FoG) fatalities.

The FoG action plan is being implemented through Minerals Council South Africa with the assistance of its Rock Engineering Technical Committee, and supported by the South African National Institute of Rock Engineering, the Association of Mine Managers of South Africa, and the South Africa Colliery Managers' Association.

"We know it is possible to restrict fall-of-ground deaths to six and so certainly, from where we are today, the next breakthrough must be zero fatalities. We cannot aspire for anything less than that," Minerals Council South Africa CEO Mzila Mthenjane emphasised during Friday's day of learning at Emperors Palace Convention Centre, east of Johannesburg, which was covered by Mining Weekly. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

Highlighted during the well-attended event was the need to establish improved underground workplace visibility, permanent workface aerial mesh protection, and, likely, hydropowered drills and drill guides.

The plan's six pillars are adoption of leading practices, research and development, human resource development, policy considerations, which are ultimately in the hands of government, operational discipline, and the close monitoring of the expenditure of R46-million.

"It's a very good vision and we constantly review it," Mineral Council safety and sustainability deputy head Lerato Tsele told the audience, who were invited to pose questions.

Set in motion has been research into hazard warning systems, loose rock scanners, and wearable exoskeleton devices to be worn when removing that loose rock.

Exoskeletons reportedly bolster human performance in physically demanding tasks by supporting various body parts, including the hands, lower and upper back, legs, shoulders and arms, which is said to reduce the amount of energy required when lifting and carrying heavy objects and holding heavy tools.

Crucially, the FoG action plan also comes with a promising skills development boost plus an updating of learning material.

The event began with a moment's silence in remembrance of FoG fatalities and injuries, 60% of which occur in the stope face.

This is why considerable innovation and technology is being directed towards improving the safety of these areas, as part of the plan being led by a CEO Zero Harm Forum.

In 2022, the lowest FoG fatalities of six were reported, which was 73% down on the previous year and a record that still stands.

For the past 20 years, the number of FoG fatalities has been reducing, with the first fall below 100 in 2004, when 96 deaths occurred.

Six years later in 2010 FoG fatalities fell below 50 and the next breakthrough was in 2015 when FoG fatalities were fewer than 25.

But it appears to be getting tougher, reflected in the ten latest deaths.

"There are ups and downs, but it's not a time to give up," said Mthenjane.

"There's a need for those who will look ahead in terms of what is upcoming that will be useful, whilst we implement current technologies that are proven … and what is going to become much more important moving forward is behaviour," he added.

"Perhaps not too much of a focus on when we're going to get there. It's not a race. It's something that is urgent, and it's something that we do need to achieve sooner rather than later because it means that more people will be going back home to their families.

"Part of the solution lies in how we leverage innovation and technology," he said.

The Isidingo drill has proven its capability. It is much lighter than the pneumatic drill, more energy efficient, considerably quieter, and easier to handle.

What these new technologies are showing is that mining is no longer about physicality and lighter equipment technologies are enabling more gender-diverse participation.

Hydropower is lending precision drilling in the form...