CoM president Mike Teke
JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Chamber of Mines (CoM) on Friday reiterated its commitment to “putting South Africa first” as the mining sector played a "key role in realising growth".
The chamber was responding to President Jacob Zuma's emphasis, during Thursday’s State of the Nation Address, on mining as a key driver of economic growth and employment creation.
Zuma also indicated a streamlining of the mining licensing system to be completed in less than 300 days, which was “a clear demonstration” by government that it was committed to providing regulatory certainty and encouraging new investments in the sector.
"We hope that this will indeed yield benefits, new greenfield projects and further expansion of current operations within the sector,” CoM president Mike Teke said in a statement.
Further, the CoM accepted Zuma’s pronouncements on the need to move expeditiously on the work on living and working conditions of mineworkers.
The chamber was cooperating with and supporting the Mining Charter audit process and its compliance targets.
"The sector remains committed to the current review process that the Department of Mineral Resources is undertaking. As the chamber, we have encouraged our members to constructively engage in this process,” Teke said.
“We are proud as a sector of the progress we have made in relation to transformation, skills development and safety, but at the same time we acknowledge the depth of our country's social challenges and recognise that more still needs to be done," added CoM VP Khanyisile Kweyama.
But Teke stated that this was an area that required close collaboration with all spheres of government as the mining sector integrated the mining communities and the companies’ social and labour plans.