The mining industry’s contribution to the South African economy has declined mainly through poor government administration. The private and public sectors have worked together very constructively in energy, logistics and crime and should do the same to revive mining, which is on the way to becoming a full-cycle business, from government licensing all the way to recycling and back.
Good administrative capacity needs to be put in place to take full advantage of the global need for the critical minerals that South Africa hosts. Fortunately, this can take place at a time when technology is now available to automate transacting in a tamper-proof way that adds a healthy measure of data security, reliability and integrity – and this technology must be put to full use.