India eyes South Africa’s coal, gold resources

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – India has set its sights on South Africa’s mineral resources and is keen to form partnerships with local companies, executives from trading house MMTC said on Friday.
The State-owned MMTC, which is opening an office in Johannesburg to increase its exposure to the mineral-rich African markets, is particularly interested in South Africa’s coal and gold, MD Hardip Mann said in Johannesburg.
India is battling with an everiincreasing demand for power, and may face a coal shortfall of 189-million tons a year by 2015, which would lead to a twofold increase in imports.
Traditionally, the country had been leaning on Indonesia for coal, but Mann pointed out that increasing demand for coal from other countries, such as China, was putting pressure on the island country.
“That means our next destination will be countries such as South Africa, that has the right quality coal to blend with our coal.”
Chairperson Ved Prakash said that MMTC would be looking to take its coal business a step further than just trading.
“We are interested in forming partnerships and joint ventures on certain projects and investing in certain coal mines.”
Mann also said that India had an insatiable appetite for gold.
Last year, the country imported about 700 t of gold. Of this, MMTC was responsible for trading 186 t of gold, or about 25%.
“We are already in talks with the South African companies such as Rand Refinery, AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields to establish partnerships, that would cut out the banks and focus on direct imports.”
Other commodities that sparked MMTC’s interest include diamonds, non-ferrous metals, agro products and fertilisers.
Indian High Commissioner to South Africa Virendra Gupta emphasised that MMTC and other Indian companies fully supported South Africa’s drive to increase the beneficiation of commodities, as stated in Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel’s New Growth Path, and that they would take advantage of such possibilities.
Gupta also said that MTTC’s office in Johannesburg would stimulate bilateral trade between India and South Africa.
The two countries have set a $10-billion trade target during President Jacob Zuma’s visit to India, which it hoped to reach within the next year.
Mann said that opening an office in Johannesburg would provide the company with a base to significantly increase its exposure to the markets. “We want to cut out the middle man, therefore saving costs and upping profitability for both countries.
“In fact, I will admit that we are late. We should have opened offices in South Africa five years ago already.”
MMTC is India’s largest exporter of minerals, the single largest importer and supplier of gold in the country, the leading exporter and importer of agro commodities and a major player in coal and hydrocarbons.

Source: Miningweekly.com, By: Loni Prinsloo,7th January 2011, Edited by: Mariaan Webb