Modern Mining February 2015

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MODERN MINING

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February 2015

EVENTS

robably the most eagerly awaited

address was that by ex-UK Prime

Minister

Tony Blair

. As befits

someone who now ranks as one

of the world’s highest paid speak-

ers, he gave a fluent and compelling presen-

tation which was generally well received by

his standing-room only audience (although

journalists were miffed by the instruction that

they could neither record nor photograph his

speech). He told delegates that he was very op-

timistic about Africa, pointing to the fact that

ten of the fifteen strongest growing countries

in the world were on the continent. “If you

take the continent as a whole and compare it

with where it was 20 years ago, the progress

has been enormous,” he said.

Blair’s qualifications to talk on Africa stem

as much from his African Governance Initiative

(AGI), which he established several years ago

and which currently works in Rwanda, Sierra

Leone, Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal,

as from his years as UK Prime Minister. The

AGI advises African governments on how to

achieve good governance (among other things)

and Blair told Indaba delegates that the quality

of government was in fact the key to unlock-

ing Africa’s potential, adding that African

countries needed to prioritise the creation of

infrastructure, including power generating

capacity, and the quality of education. Given

that he was speaking at a mining convention,

he sang the praises of the mining industry

which he characterised as “absolutely vital for

Africa’s future”.

The Minister speaks

Another much anticipated address was by

South Africa’s Minister of Minerals Resources,

Adv Ngoako Ramatlhodi

, with delegates

clearly seeking assurance on the future of

South Africa’s mining industry. He said that

“given the centrality of mining to the econ-

omy of the country, we are leaving no stone

unturned in providing a stable environment for

investments.”

He continued: “I am fully apprised of the

restructuring plans of some of the major play-

ers in the industry. Rather than bury our heads

in sand, we have decided to take advantage

of the new situation and turn adversity into

advantage. In this regard, I am satisfied with

the conversations taking place between us

and the industry. Our intention is to establish

a new South African mineral-based National

Champion. This champion will be community

based with a strong worker participation and

anchored and run along business principles,

shepherded by a leadership that is prepared to

stay in for a very long time. That leadership

should not leave the flock in the veld and run

for greener pastures. This, then, constitutes the

fundamental characteristics of the champion

we seek to build, be it a single commodity crea-

ture or a multi commodity enterprise. It could

also mutate into several creatures carrying with

it the many small producers we are building.

The underlying principle here is broad based.

The era of individual empowerment is gone.”

While it would probably be an exaggeration to say that this

year’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town had an air of gloom

hanging over it, there was no question that the ‘buzz’

that normally surrounds the event was absent, or at least

muted, reflecting the downturn in commodity prices and

the recession in world mining. Nevertheless there was a line-

up of top speakers to listen to and in this article

Modern

Mining’s

Arthur Tassell looks at just some of the more

significant presentations that were given.

Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007, addresses

Mining indaba delegates.

Subdued Mining Indaba

reflects

“Our intention

is to establish

a new South

African mineral-

based National

Champion. This

champion will

be community

based with a

strong worker

participation and

anchored and run

along business

principles ... .”

Ngoako Ramatlhodi,

Minister of Minerals

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