Mining Mirror August 2018 | Page 3

Comment Rise exploration! Get in touch @LeonLouw3 [email protected] A fter attending the Junior Mining Indaba in Johannesburg recently and speaking to several miners, geologists, financial experts, and investors, there was no doubt in my mind that they will only invest in countries where there is regulatory certainty and political stability. Investors are not overly enthusiastic to fund grassroots exploration projects even in the best mining destinations in the world, at the best of times, so to expect them to change their ways and invest in projects in jurisdictions where there is no transparency, uncertainty, and a trust deficit, is a big ask. South Africa is one of those countries. Geologically speaking, South Africa is a treasure trove, but the regulatory and political uncertainty hampers investment. Even with recent positive political change, the risk of sinking money into new shafts is just too high. Labour demands, corruption, high input costs, bureaucracy, and doubts about land issues and regulations are smothering the development of greenfields projects. The lack of new exploration projects in South Africa is of big concern. The majors have not been investing in exploration for at least the past five to ten years, and new junior mining companies target only the gold, diamond, manganese, and coal sectors. South Africa has huge reserves of other commodities like tin, vanadium, andalusite, fluorspar, iron ore, and copper, to name only a few. Moreover, there are hundreds of derelict mines waiting to be revitalised. In addition, South Africa’s geology is well mapped. The big problem seems to be funding and, of course, the stifling political and regulatory environment mentioned earlier. Therefore, government’s pledge to join forces with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to introduce a fund for junior mining and exploration companies is encouraging; however, its benefits will only become palpable when the risk constraints are ironed out. Yet, South African juniors, geologists, and entrepreneurs should not only consider South African projects. There are unbelievable opportunities in Africa north of the Limpopo. If it is difficult to get projects off the ground in South Africa, why not start exploring the rest of Africa? There are huge deposits out there. Best of all, they are untouched. Zimbabwe, the DRC, Zambia, Namibia, Nigeria, Angola, and the whole of West Africa should be on each and every South African junior miner’s map. Bernard Swanepoel and his team have once again done a fantastic job with @JuniorIndaba and hopefully we have an even bigger turnout next year. Leon Editor AUGUST 2018 MINING MIRROR [1]