Mining Mirror January 2019 | Page 16

Indaba preview Inside the pressure cooker Uncertainty has hampered President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to lure foreign investors to South Africa, writes Leon Louw. G rowth in the South African mining industry remains sluggish, almost a year after President Cyril Ramaphosa took over as leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and president of the country. Despite significant reforms to lure foreign investment, and candid attempts to eradicate corruption, Ramaphosa’s ‘New Dawn’ does not seem to be enough to entice foreign mining companies to explore the abundant South African deposits. The biggest concern (apart from all his other worries) for Gwede Mantashe, the South African Minister of Mineral [14] MINING MIRROR JANUARY 2019 Resources, should be the lack of new exploration projects. In a country that boasts first-class infrastructure and spectacular geology, this means that exploration companies consider South Africa as high-risk territory, and that the level of uncertainty trumps the good geology. Mining jurisdictions in other parts of Africa have become more attractive to junior mining companies, despite their shortcomings in terms of infrastructure and, often, political, social, and security risks. The health of a country’s mining industry — and its attractiveness to foreign investors — should be measured in terms of the number of geologists active in the field. Moreover, the number of new, greenfield projects that are developed from scratch is an indication of where the country’s mining industry is heading. Sadly, South Africa falls short. Compared to the rest of the continent, the country’s share of new junior mining companies actively involved in greenfield exploration is meagre. Although there has been some movement in South Africa in terms of mergers and acquisitions, a very small number of new mines have come online. www.miningmirror.co.za