Every Friday morning, SAfm’s AMLive’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo speaks to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly.  Reported here is this Friday’s At the Coalface transcript:

Kamwendo: The low iron-ore price is killing South African jobs.

Creamer: The iron-ore price is falling like a lead balloon. Two-years ago it was $135 a ton, now it is down to $49 a ton and it is smashing jobs along the way. It is also hurting a company, which has been one of the most powerful companies as a feeder to black economic empowerment, Kumba Iron Ore. We know that Kumba, since its inception, has given out dividends worth R23-billion to its black shareholders. It has been giving R500-million a year into the community and has been an exemplary performer. What did we get at the latest report? No dividends. That is the first blow, but look at the jobs that have been smashed. At head office, 61% of head office has been decimated now, 351 head office jobs have gone and that is where people begin now these days. Of course, they save R200-million and they can save quite a lot of money by taking head office jobs. Look at Thabazimbi mine, only a year ago they said they are going to turn that into a long life mine, but it has been totally taken off this radar, closed down. That is 800 direct jobs and more then 350 indirect jobs. They also have given notice in the Northern Cape, they have put out the Section 186 saying that they are going to have 31% fewer jobs. That could mean another 230 jobs lost. That is the sort of impact these world prices have and not only on South Africa, we see it hitting Australia and Brazil. I think the Australians are more surprised than anyone, because their Treasurer thought iron-ore wouldn’t fall below $50 a ton.

Kamwendo: The world’s biggest platinum miner is taking steps to be 100% mechanised.

Creamer: Anglo American Platinum has quite a few mines, a lot of them deep dark and dangerous. They’ve packed the deep dark and dangerous ones into a separate ring-fenced entity either to sell off or list separately on the stock exchange, because it wants to be 100% mechanised. We know that it has Amandelbult mine, which is an underground mine. Originally they said this will be the exception, they will still be labour intensive and conventional in that, now they are saying that they think they got a solution even the dips are so steep. Instead of using wheeled machines for the mechanisation they will use track machines. They seem to be coming into that sort of situation where they will even mechanise Amandelbult. We know with Mogalakwena that is fully mechanised. Bathopele in Rustenburg they have been going through the mechanisation paces for a long time and their joint venture partners also mechanised at Kroondal and other places. Now, both in Zimbabwe and its new mines coming up on the eastern limb, the Twickenham mine have changed their plans to be mechanised and Der Brochen, which will follow will also be a mechanised mine.

Kamwendo: Thanks very much. Martin Creamer is publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly, he’ll be back with us at the same time next week.