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 gold. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gold. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
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, August 1, 2011
Wage talks aim to end S.Africa gold, coal strikes
Mon Aug 1, 2011
By Ed Stoddard, Reuters
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Striking South African coal and gold miners will meet the Chamber of Mines in separate talks on Monday in a bid to end stoppages that have cost Africa's largest economy tens of millions of dollars in lost output.
Coal workers have been off for a week while some 100,000 gold miners downed tools on Thursday, halting operations at AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold at a time when bullion is at record highs.
Gold's run has been driven by its safe-haven status amid the debt crises in Europe and America but analysts have said a prolonged strike in South Africa, the fourth-largest producer of the precious metal, could also support its price.
Spot gold was fetching $1,613.44 an ounce by 0523 GMT on Monday, compared with a record high of $1,632.30 on Friday.
The index of South African gold miners shed 5.4 percent last week, on investor concern about lost output even as the commodity rallied.
But South Africa's rand and bond markets have shrugged off the strikes, which have also hit the country's fuel, chemical and diamond sectors, and the gains they have achieved could be extended this week on the gold price and technical factors.
The rand was trading 0.49 percent firmer against the dollar at 6.6620 as of 0523 GMT.
The annual "strike season" is in full swing, with unions demanding 10-15 percent pay rises, well above inflation of 5 percent. A fuel strike that caused panic buying at the pumps ended last week, but when workers go back to their jobs in one industry, labour strife flares in another.
DIFFICULT POSITION
The strikes highlight the difficult position of the ruling African National Congress, which is keen to attract foreign investment but is in a governing alliance with organised labour.
Monday's talks were due to start at 0800 GMT. Negotiators have narrowed the gap on the gold front, raising hopes of more progress, though neither side is predicting a breakthrough.
"They have put something on the table and we are looking at that and consulting with our members and will come back on Monday to see if there can be some improvements in their offer," Frans Baleni, General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), told Reuters ahead of the talks.
The NUM had sought a 14 percent pay rise and the gold mine companies had offered rises of 7 to 9 percent.
A new round of talks will also seek to end the coal miners' strike. Analysts have said if it persists for at least another week exports to Asia and Europe could be disrupted.
A prolonged strike could also choke supply supply to utility Eskom , which provides almost all of South Africa's power and almost exclusively runs on coal. Eskom has said it has around five weeks of stocks.
Coal firms affected include Anglo Thermal Coal SA, Exxaro, Optimum Coal and Xstrata Coal.
Markets on Monday will also be watching wage talks between unions and Impala Platinum, the world's second largest producer of the precious metal.
Impala and its larger rival Anglo American Platinumn, which is also engaged in negotiations, together account for around two-thirds of global platinum output, so strikes against them will almost certainly support the metal's price.
Monday, January 10, 2011
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
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
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