Modern Mining February 2016

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MODERN MINING

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February 2016

EVENTS

s one would expect, the speech

by Mosebenzi Joseph Zwane,

Minister of Mineral Resources,

attracted keen interest, particu-

larly as he is something of an

unknown in the mining community (having

only been appointed in September last year

with one of his recent previous positions hav-

ing been MEC for Agriculture and Rural Devel-

opment in the Free State). He said the Mining

indaba “comes at a time when the mining in-

dustry is in its winter season, a season which

some have characterised as a crisis.” He add-

ed, “After much reflection, I am convinced

that during our summer season, as an industry,

we have failed ourselves in not preparing bet-

ter for this winter.”

Addressing a key industry concern, Zwane

told delegates that he appreciated the problems

posed by regulatory and policy uncertainty. “I

assure you that the democratic government as

led by the ANC has prioritised the processing

and finalisation of the MPRD Amendment Bill

as a matter of urgency in order to entrench the

necessary certainty,” he said.

“We are also in the process of reviewing

the Mining Charter. It is an important transfor-

mation tool and its targets remain applicable

beyond 2014. The social and labour plan com-

mitments constitute a critical component of

restoring and sustaining the dignity of mine-

workers and communities.”

The response to the Minister’s address was

on the lukewarm side. Jacques Barradas of

Grant Thornton, for example, said it was the

speech of a person still finding his feet and

described it as “non-committal and non-spe-

cific”. This view was echoed by Peter Leon of

international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills

who commented that the Minister had “made

all the right noises” on issues such as regulatory

Mining’s global downturn

casts

Centre:

Mosebenzi

Zwane, Minister of Mineral

Resources, gives his keynote

address.

Below:

Alan Davies, Chief

Executive, Diamonds

& Minerals, Rio Tinto,

addresses delegates.

Reflecting the impact of the commodities downturn,

this year’s Mining Indaba was noticeably quieter than its

recent predecessors, with the number of delegates and

exhibitors down on previous years. The ingredients which

have made the Mining Indaba the premier mining confer-

ence in Africa were nevertheless still present, with indus-

try leaders expressing their views in a variety of forums,

including main stage presentations, ministerial forums,

workshops and panel discussions, and with networking

opportunities almost as strong as ever. In this review of the

event,

Modern Mining’s

Arthur Tassell looks at just some

of the highlights of the formal presentations.