Tue Feb 7, 2012
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa will encourage companies to process raw minerals before they are exported, the mines minister said on Tuesday, to increase value-added jobs in the resource industry.
Africa's largest economy is keen to diversify its mining sector through the processing of raw minerals before export, known as beneficiation.
"A beneficiation strategy has been adopted by government. Five minerals which will be a priority are manganese, iron ore, coal, platinum and titanium," Susan Shabangu told a news briefing on the sidelines of an annual mining conference.
She said the strategy would not lead to a "complete ban on exports", but did not give futher details.
South Africa accounts for about 80 percent of global platinum supply, so any move to add value to the precious metal will be keenly watched by markets.
Saddled with an official jobless rate of 25 percent, South Africa is desperate to create jobs.
(sourced Reuters)
Showing posts with label Susan Shabangu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Susan Shabangu. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
S.Africa mines minister targets CEOs on fatalities
Tue Feb 7, 2012
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's mines minister said on Tuesday that industry chief executives should be held liable for avoidable fatalities, also raising the possibility of court action.
Targeting chief executives would take her safety drive to new levels as the government tries to stem the death toll in the country's mines, the world's deepest and among the most dangerous.
"Fatalities which could have been avoided, we feel that CEOs must be held liable for those accidents, because they are responsible for the operations. As they show interest in how they grow the profits they must also show interest in safety," Susan Shabangu told Reuters in an interview.
Asked if this meant possible court action, she said: "These are some of the issues that we must look at. For me the courts are the last option. But legislation provides for us to go to courts."
Earlier she told the annual African mining conference in Cape Town that the platinum industry's contribution to fatalities in the mining sector remained a "serious concern" and defended safety stoppages which she said had contributed to a drop in accident rates.
South Africa's platinum sector has been battered by oversupply, squeezed margins and an uncertain economic outlook, making producers increasingly vocal about regulatory pressures, particularly the impact of inspections and stoppages as part of the government's zero-harm target.
"The department has been greatly concerned about lack of improvement in compliance and fatalities in the major platinum mines," Shabangu said.
"The platinum sector alone contributes about 30 percent of all fatalities which remains a serious concern."
The gold sector has also been subject to increased scrutiny and Graham Briggs, chief executive of Harmony Gold, South Africa's third largest gold producer, described the government's campaign on Monday as punitive.
Harmony cut its full-year output target by 13 percent because of the stoppages.
Shabangu said that there was a slight drop in mining fatalities to 123 in 2011 from 127 in 2010 and that 13 miners have been killed so far this year in South Africa.
She also said in her speech that the governing African National Congress (ANC) had reinforced in a key policy document that nationalisation, long feared by the country's mining industry, was not a viable option.
"I must indicate that we welcome the fact that the report of the ANC task team on nationalisation has reinforced the ANC's earlier decision that nationalisation is not a viable policy for South Africa," she said.
(sourced Reuters)
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's mines minister said on Tuesday that industry chief executives should be held liable for avoidable fatalities, also raising the possibility of court action.
Targeting chief executives would take her safety drive to new levels as the government tries to stem the death toll in the country's mines, the world's deepest and among the most dangerous.
"Fatalities which could have been avoided, we feel that CEOs must be held liable for those accidents, because they are responsible for the operations. As they show interest in how they grow the profits they must also show interest in safety," Susan Shabangu told Reuters in an interview.
Asked if this meant possible court action, she said: "These are some of the issues that we must look at. For me the courts are the last option. But legislation provides for us to go to courts."
Earlier she told the annual African mining conference in Cape Town that the platinum industry's contribution to fatalities in the mining sector remained a "serious concern" and defended safety stoppages which she said had contributed to a drop in accident rates.
South Africa's platinum sector has been battered by oversupply, squeezed margins and an uncertain economic outlook, making producers increasingly vocal about regulatory pressures, particularly the impact of inspections and stoppages as part of the government's zero-harm target.
"The department has been greatly concerned about lack of improvement in compliance and fatalities in the major platinum mines," Shabangu said.
"The platinum sector alone contributes about 30 percent of all fatalities which remains a serious concern."
The gold sector has also been subject to increased scrutiny and Graham Briggs, chief executive of Harmony Gold, South Africa's third largest gold producer, described the government's campaign on Monday as punitive.
Harmony cut its full-year output target by 13 percent because of the stoppages.
Shabangu said that there was a slight drop in mining fatalities to 123 in 2011 from 127 in 2010 and that 13 miners have been killed so far this year in South Africa.
She also said in her speech that the governing African National Congress (ANC) had reinforced in a key policy document that nationalisation, long feared by the country's mining industry, was not a viable option.
"I must indicate that we welcome the fact that the report of the ANC task team on nationalisation has reinforced the ANC's earlier decision that nationalisation is not a viable policy for South Africa," she said.
(sourced Reuters)
Sunday, August 21, 2011
S.Africa to exceed mine transformation target: minister
Sun Aug 21, 2011
By Ed Stoddard, Reuters
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Mines Minister Susan Shabangu said she is confident that a government-set ownership target for blacks in the mining sector would be exceeded and, if the process was done right, the policy may no longer be needed.
The government's mining charter calls for 26 percent of the mining industry in Africa's largest economy to be transferred to black owners by 2014 as part an empowerment drive to rectify the disparities of white apartheid rule.
"I am confident that we will exceed the 26 percent by 2014... We have seen progress," Shabangu told Reuters on Saturday on the sidelines of a mining conference.
Investors have been unnerved by nationalization talks by radical elements in the ruling African Nation Congress, which has focused attention on issues such as profits, safety and racial imbalances in ownership.
The industry has in the past made scant progress on the transformation process and an annual review of the industry on this score is currently taking place, a process Shabangu said was helping to keep companies on track.
"What we are saying is that every year we have got to go and do reviews," she said.
Only 8.9 percent of mines were owned by blacks in 2009, well below a target of 15 percent.
Shabangu said changing or raising targets was not on the cards, but she wanted to see black-owned mining companies that were sustainable. If this was achieved, the empowerment policy in the industry might no longer be needed, she said.
"It's about making sure whatever companies are there, are sustainable. As soon as they become sustainable they can roll on their own without necessarily setting targets," Shabangu said.
One problem has been companies that got into the sector with little or no experience, that were not been viable or that were seen as fronts for white capital.
Mine safety is another major issue and Shabangu on Thursday said the pursuit of profits was behind amounting death toll in the industry.
The minister said she planned to publicly comment on a report submitted by the platinum industry on rock falls and fatalities.
"On the basis of that report we have to take steps to put into place to avoid or minimise rock falls in the platinum sector," she said.
South Africa is the worlds largest platinum producer and a major supplier of gold and coal.
By Ed Stoddard, Reuters
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Mines Minister Susan Shabangu said she is confident that a government-set ownership target for blacks in the mining sector would be exceeded and, if the process was done right, the policy may no longer be needed.
The government's mining charter calls for 26 percent of the mining industry in Africa's largest economy to be transferred to black owners by 2014 as part an empowerment drive to rectify the disparities of white apartheid rule.
"I am confident that we will exceed the 26 percent by 2014... We have seen progress," Shabangu told Reuters on Saturday on the sidelines of a mining conference.
Investors have been unnerved by nationalization talks by radical elements in the ruling African Nation Congress, which has focused attention on issues such as profits, safety and racial imbalances in ownership.
The industry has in the past made scant progress on the transformation process and an annual review of the industry on this score is currently taking place, a process Shabangu said was helping to keep companies on track.
"What we are saying is that every year we have got to go and do reviews," she said.
Only 8.9 percent of mines were owned by blacks in 2009, well below a target of 15 percent.
Shabangu said changing or raising targets was not on the cards, but she wanted to see black-owned mining companies that were sustainable. If this was achieved, the empowerment policy in the industry might no longer be needed, she said.
"It's about making sure whatever companies are there, are sustainable. As soon as they become sustainable they can roll on their own without necessarily setting targets," Shabangu said.
One problem has been companies that got into the sector with little or no experience, that were not been viable or that were seen as fronts for white capital.
Mine safety is another major issue and Shabangu on Thursday said the pursuit of profits was behind amounting death toll in the industry.
The minister said she planned to publicly comment on a report submitted by the platinum industry on rock falls and fatalities.
"On the basis of that report we have to take steps to put into place to avoid or minimise rock falls in the platinum sector," she said.
South Africa is the worlds largest platinum producer and a major supplier of gold and coal.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Minister revokes state miner’s privileges
Minister strips company of exemptions granted by former minister Buyelwa Sonjica in 2008
By Allan Seccombe
Mon, Mar14, 2011 06:32:46 AM
By Allan Seccombe
Mon, Mar14, 2011 06:32:46 AM
MINERAL Resources Minister Susan Shabangu pulled state-owned mining company African Exploration Mining & Finance Corporation into line with private firms on Friday, stripping it of exemptions granted by former minister Buyelwa Sonjica during the Eskom crisis in 2008.
There has been concern in mining circles that African Exploration would receive preferential treatment from the Department of Mineral Resources when applying for prospecting or mining rights and that certain conditions for private companies would not apply to the state miner, giving it an unfair advantage.
Ms Shabangu and Sandile Nogxina, the director-general of the department, have consistently said this will not be the case.
Ms Shabangu told the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in Toronto there was no reason for African Exploration to have these exemptions to four sections of legislation related to the granting of mining and prospecting permits, and the removal of minerals for stockpiling for security of supply.
On Friday, the department said it was withdrawing all exemptions granted to African Exploration under the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Development Act and the notice would appear in the Government Gazette today. The main effect of the exemptions was to speed up the processing and granting of prospecting and mining rights to African Exploration compared with a private company. Where a private company could wait for months, the state entity could be granted rights within a week. That has now fallen away.
An example would be the immediate acceptance of a prospecting right application by African Exploration, while private companies had to wait 14 days to hear whether their application was accepted or rejected.
Department spokesman Bheki Khumalo said African Exploration had submitted environmental management plans, environmental impact assessment studies, work programmes and social and labour plans for its ventures, much like private companies.
It was not exempted from these requirements.
The Chamber of Mines has welcomed the formation of a state-owned mining company but stressed that it must be treated no differently from private companies. "Our position is based on an assurance from government through the Department of Mineral Resources that this company will not be given an unfair competitive advantage to private- sector companies as this would send the wrong message to investors," chamber CEO Bheki Sibiya said last month.
African Exploration last month launched its first mining project, a R130m coal mine near Ogies in Mpumalanga, to supply Eskom power plants. The mine will start production at 800000 tons, ramping up to double that and potentially as much as 3- million tons a year.
African Exploration CEO Sizwe Madondo said the second project in its pipeline was an oil- from-torbanite venture.
African Exploration has finalised a feasibility study on the R2bn oil shale or torbanite project near Bethal in Mpumalanga. It would need to bring in a partner to help fund and provide the technology for the project, which would produce 10000-15000 barrels of oil a day from the third quarter of 2013, said Mr Madondo. (Business Day)
There has been concern in mining circles that African Exploration would receive preferential treatment from the Department of Mineral Resources when applying for prospecting or mining rights and that certain conditions for private companies would not apply to the state miner, giving it an unfair advantage.
Ms Shabangu and Sandile Nogxina, the director-general of the department, have consistently said this will not be the case.
Ms Shabangu told the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada in Toronto there was no reason for African Exploration to have these exemptions to four sections of legislation related to the granting of mining and prospecting permits, and the removal of minerals for stockpiling for security of supply.
On Friday, the department said it was withdrawing all exemptions granted to African Exploration under the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Development Act and the notice would appear in the Government Gazette today. The main effect of the exemptions was to speed up the processing and granting of prospecting and mining rights to African Exploration compared with a private company. Where a private company could wait for months, the state entity could be granted rights within a week. That has now fallen away.
An example would be the immediate acceptance of a prospecting right application by African Exploration, while private companies had to wait 14 days to hear whether their application was accepted or rejected.
Department spokesman Bheki Khumalo said African Exploration had submitted environmental management plans, environmental impact assessment studies, work programmes and social and labour plans for its ventures, much like private companies.
It was not exempted from these requirements.
The Chamber of Mines has welcomed the formation of a state-owned mining company but stressed that it must be treated no differently from private companies. "Our position is based on an assurance from government through the Department of Mineral Resources that this company will not be given an unfair competitive advantage to private- sector companies as this would send the wrong message to investors," chamber CEO Bheki Sibiya said last month.
African Exploration last month launched its first mining project, a R130m coal mine near Ogies in Mpumalanga, to supply Eskom power plants. The mine will start production at 800000 tons, ramping up to double that and potentially as much as 3- million tons a year.
African Exploration CEO Sizwe Madondo said the second project in its pipeline was an oil- from-torbanite venture.
African Exploration has finalised a feasibility study on the R2bn oil shale or torbanite project near Bethal in Mpumalanga. It would need to bring in a partner to help fund and provide the technology for the project, which would produce 10000-15000 barrels of oil a day from the third quarter of 2013, said Mr Madondo. (Business Day)
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Shabangu gives details on SA's planned mining cadastre
Tue, Mar08, 2011 By Matthew Hill
TORONTO – South Africa’s mining license cadastre that Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu will launch publicly on March 30 will show who owns mining rights, what type, and for how long, she said on Monday.
It will be posted on a website and can be accessed by anyone, she said.
“If somebody claims they own a licence, you can go on the website and check whether that company exists. It will be able to tell whether it’s a prospecting licence or whether it’s a full mining license, and the period it has been granted for,” Shabangu told Mining weekly online.
“I’ll launch it publicly on March 30 so everyone is aware of what we have done,” she said in an interview at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention.
Shabangu added that the Mineral Resources Department was already running the system to ensure it is working properly.
“It will assist investors,” she said.
Shabangu addressed delegates at the conference as part of a roadshow that the Mineral Resources Department is undertaking along with industry and organised labour to advertise South Africa's mining potential to North American investors.
MINING LAW AMMENDMENTS
Addressing a question from the audience after her speech, Shabangu said President Jacob Zuma had expressed concern to her over investors that apply for an exploration licence in the country only to sell it before developing a mine.
“[Zuma said] we must consider a process where it comes back to the state, because we gave it to you as the state. But that’s the view of the president,” she said.
Asked to elaborate on this, Shabangu commented: “If you wanted to apply for the same right and you wanted to exploit the right, you have been disadvantaged by someone who has passed it on. It is unfair.”
The above will be addressed as one of the amendments to South Africa’s mining legislation the mineral resources department will put before Cabinet in two weeks time.
“It also raises questions around ‘once empowered, always empowered’ – what happens if I’m your empowerment partner and in turn I’m no longer interested?” said Shabangu.
South Africa’s Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), implemented in 2004, requires mining companies to sell a 26% stake in their local projects to black investors, who were excluded from the economy during apartheid.
Shabangu said another key aspect of the MPRDA her department will seek to amend is that of associated minerals.
The issue was brought to the fore last year, when number three platinum miner Lonmin was forced to stop selling the base metals it produces from the same rocks as its platinum, after it failed to convert certain of its old licences to incorporate associated metals production.
“The purpose of reviewing the act is to try address as much uncertainty as we can,” Shabangu commented.
STATE MINING COMPANY
Prominent South African law firm Webber Wentzel partner Peter Leon questioned Shabangu about the newly launched State mining company being exempted from certain provisions in the mining law.
Shabangu said her predecessor, Buyelwa Sonjica, had put these in place, and that she did not agree with them.
“I took a decision that I’m not going to implement those exemptions,” Shabangu said, to a round of applause.
“I have already refused applications from the African Exploration and Mining Financing Company because they were not compliant.”
COAL EXPORTS
Shabangu told that state transport company Transnet’s new CEO Brian Molefe indicated an eagerness to aggressively partner with the private sector to boost rail capacity.
“Where I sit, I would like to see new rail routes being opened,” she said.
“We’ve discovered coal in Limpopo, we mustn’t take it to Richards Bay, we must take it to Beira, which will make it more efficient and cost effective.”
Coal exports from Richards Bay have shrunk for the past five years, mainly owing to poor operational performance by Transnet.
“We are going to work together with Public Enterprises Department and the Transport Department, Transnet and Eskom, to make sure that we form a structure ensuring that our infrastructure responds to the mining sector in a way that will maximise our output as a country,” said Shabangu.Edited by: Liezel Hill
Tags : state mining company, coal exports, Richards Bay Coal Terminal, RBCT
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