SA’s mining industry can play a major role in driving the country’s economic trajectory upwards, reversing a worrying trend, Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Joburg Mining Indaba, Cutifani said SA’s “economic trajectory remains unsustainable”.
“The country’s high levels of unemployment coupled with low economic growth and rising inequality mean that our beloved rainbow nation urgently needs to implement reforms to achieve the 1994 dream of a ‘better life for all’ — or risk losing further momentum,” he said.
Mining was one of the industries that could be an engine for growth and employment, creating communities that would be sustainable beyond the lives of mines, but there had to be changes in regulations, thinking and attitudes towards the industry, he said.
The ongoing regulatory uncertainty stemming from a number of contested clauses in the third iteration of the Mining Charter was one of the reasons behind curtailed investment in SA.
“While we may have misgivings on some of the unresolved issues in the Charter, it is clear that these can only be resolved if we, as an industry, work with the department of mineral resources and energy to find a solution that guarantees the growth and sustainability of SA’s mining sector,” he said.
Mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe has ruled out revising the charter, but the industry represented by the Minerals Council SA is holding talks with the department.
The council has lodged court papers to review a number of clauses in the charter, including the need to renew empowerment deals once mining rights lapse or when they are transferred.
“If SA follows through positively in terms of policy, and the domestic investment climate and can compete effectively with other mining jurisdictions, this creates the certainty and stability required for potential investment for today, tomorrow and for the long term,” Cutifani said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mantashe were both “incredibly supportive of mining”, said Chris Griffith, CEO of Anglo American Platinum, noting that this was a marked change compared to the government under then-president Jacob Zuma and his mines minister Mosebenzi Zwane, who had an antagonistic relationship with the industry.
Another area that needed attention was the view of the industry projected by all stakeholders.
“Investors must believe that we have confidence in our industry, economy and institutions if they are going to invest. We cannot achieve this when we keep pulling from different ends,” Cutifani said.
“We need an aligned voice, bringing labour, government, nongovernmental organisations and mining companies to promote the SA mining industry,” he said.
Cutifani clearly backed the efforts of president Cyril Ramaphosa and key members of his cabinet to drive economic change, addressing the parlous state of state-owned companies’ balance sheets, particularly at Eskom.
Community unrest around mines has increased as local government structures and municipalities collapse under corruption and incompetence and people turn to mining companies to address government shortcomings and to provide jobs in the country, where the formal unemployment rate is 29%.
Technology advances to reduce the size of mining operations, reduce environmental effects and introduce new skills to the workforce were critical for the future of mining, Cutifani said.
“I believe that this technology-led evolution can and should create a new social contract between mining companies and communities, bringing new opportunities for a country like SA,” he said.
“The reality is that the future of mining will need to be very different if it is to be genuinely sustainable as a business prospect in any country,” he said.
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