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MODERN MINING
February 2015
feature
SUSTAINABILITY
IN MINING
D
igby does point out though that
there is still a considerable gap
between theory and practice. “I
think we – and by ‘we’ I mean
the industry, the government
and organisations such as the CSMI – know
what needs to be done but I’m not sure we’ve
figured out how to do it,” she says. “There’s
been a large number of initiatives undertaken
over the past 10 years or so and these have re-
sulted in a plethora of standards, laws, guide-
lines, toolboxes and the like but we haven’t
yet spent a huge amount of time working out
what really works on the ground.”
On the question of South Africa’s regulatory
framework governing mining, she says that
while it is fairly prescriptive by world standards
it is also generally regarded as ‘cutting edge’ by
international observers. “We’re definitely not
lagging the field and many countries regard
South Africa’s mining legislation as something
to emulate. The key piece of legislation of
course is the Mineral & Petroleum Resources
Development Act (MPRDA) of 2002 which
specifies in detail the social responsibilities
of mining companies and the BEE require-
ments that they need to meet. The MPRDA
has been a great enabler of empowerment and
Sustainable mining –
how
Professor Caroline Digby.
As part of its approach to sustainable development, Kumba Iron Ore’s Thabazimbi mine handed over a R16 million bio-energy and organic vegetable project to
the community of Regorogile near Thabazimbi, Limpopo in September last year (photo: Kumba Iron Ore).
In the wake of the Marikana tragedy, there has been much hand-wringing in
South Africa about the failings of the country’s mining industry and its lack of
progress in achieving sustainability. But matters are not necessarily as dire as is
sometimes perceived. One expert who takes a more sanguine view of the situa-
tion, for example, is Professor Caroline Digby, Director of the Centre for Sustain-
ability in Mining and Industry (CSMI) at Wits University, who says the industry
has taken huge strides towards the goal of sustainability in recent years. “There
is still a long way to go but I see no reason for pessimism,” she says. “There is a
clear understanding on the part of many mining companies, certainly the big-
ger ones, that they need a ‘social licence’ to mine and that this in turn depends
on the sustainability of their operations.”