https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Mining benefits 8 in 10 South Africans ‘directly, literally’ – Cutifani

Outgoing Chamber of Mines of South Africa president Mark Cutifani, who is also CEO of Anglo American plc, tells Mining Weekly Online’s Martin Creamer that ordinary South Africans own the majority stake in South Africa’s mining companies through pension and provident funds, black economic empowerment and general investing. Photographs: Duane Daws. Video: Nicholas Boyd. Editing: Shane Williams.

5th November 2013

By: Martin Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

  

Font size: - +

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Eight out of every ten South Africans benefited “directly and literally” from mining, outgoing Chamber of Mines of South Africa president Mark Cutifani said on Tuesday.

Cutifani, who is also Anglo American CEO, told the chamber’s 123rd annual general meeting (AGM) in Johannesburg that the mining industry was South Africa’s best chance of eradicating poverty. (Also watch attached video).

“In the end, we are an industry for the people,” he said.

The National Development Plan (NDP), which was endorsed by most constituencies, clearly reasserted the conviction that the mining sector was at the epicentre of the economic growth strategy and it was critical that all South Africans understood that they were actually the owners of the South African mining industry.

For example, more than 60% of Anglo American’s operating South Africa assets in coal, platinum, iron-ore, diamonds and manganese were held by the historically disadvantaged – “a massive transformation of ownership”.

"The Randlords are long gone. The owners of Anglo American are actually South Africans, like the people in this room and the people you pass in the street with pensions and provident funds. They are the owners of this mining industry. They are the owners of the wealth of this country.

“It’s time we started to think about every action taken and the impact that has on pension funds and the real owners of this industry,” Cutifani said, adding that the country owned the resources through the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, the government was the custodian, and the owners of the companies that operated those resources were predominantly South African.

The business was in the assets that operated on the government’s behalf.

TRUST DEFICIT

While there had been a ‘trust deficit’ between the mining industry and the government for 100 years, South Africa was currently as close as it had ever been to having a true and honest debate, with integrity, about the future that the industry wanted to create.

The country had an opportunity to create a new future for mining and for South Africa.

If, in the next three months, the nature of the conversation could be changed and a new foundation of trust built, the country would be able to deliver the NDP goals.

“We would be unique in the world, one of the few countries that really does have a national strategy that seeks to bring every individual together to create a new future for South Africa,” Cutifani told the AGM.

The opportunity was there to take another step forward that would be the biggest advance since the advent of democracy in 1994.

“We will speak with courage, integrity and honesty and if that brings us into conflict with those who do not share those three ideals, then so be it.

“But no one will say of this industry that it was not prepared to stand up to fight the good fight to make a great South Africa,” the Australian added.

Distinguished guests present included Chamber of Mines of Namibia CEO Veston Malango and Chamber of Mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo head Simon Tuma-Maku.

The AGM brought to an end Cutifani’s one-year presidential term of office, during which the country suffered the Marikana tragedy and massive workplace disruption.

He said that those unfavourable conditions had translated into a situation where more than half of the country’s gold and platinum mining operations were losing money, with serious consequences for jobs and capital investment.

Having suffered considerable value destruction in the past few years, the South African mining industry was currently confronted by what could only be described as a crisis, which was evident in the performance of the listed mining sector, where real value loss of nearly 40% was suffered.

A critical element was for the industry to help all South Africans understand that they were the actual ‘owners’ of the mining industry.

In 2012, mining was directly responsible for more than 8% of gross domestic product, a figure that doubled when the industry’s indirect input was taken into account.

Last year 525 000 people worked directly in the industry, and another 841 000 were involved in supplying goods and services or using mining products for the downstream addition of value, which translated into 14-million of South Africa’s people benefiting from the work of the industry.

Beyond the direct job-creating potential of mining, frequently overlooked was the industry’s role in meeting the country’s primary energy needs.

Last year 125-million tons of coal was needed to generate 94% of South Africa’s electricity and 45-million tons of coal was used to make petrol, diesel and chemicals.

Without locally mined coal, R90-billion would have gone on primary energy imports and skewed the national trade balance.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

Comments

Showroom

Environmental Assurance (Pty) Ltd.
Environmental Assurance (Pty) Ltd.

ENVASS is a customer and solutions-driven environmental consultancy with established divisions, serviced by highly qualified and experienced...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Universal Storage Systems (SA)
Universal Storage Systems (SA)

South African leader in Steel -Racking, -Shelving, and -Mezzanine flooring. Universal has innovated an approach which encompasses conceptualising,...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.07 0.128s - 156pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now