JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Deputy Minerals Minister Godfrey Oliphant has called for an acceleration of minerals beneficiation in general and the development of a platinum fuel cell economy in particular.

Oliphant said that engagement with the platinum sector had taken place on one of its outputs, being the fuel cell, which had the ability to generate clean electricity.

The fuel cell-using pilot electricity generation project in Kroonstad had already provided important lessons, said Oliphant, who was speaking to journalists during a media conference in which Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online participated at last week’s Junior Indaba.

He pointed out that Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor had already launched fuel cell energy programmes in schools and health clinics and that the technology, which drives demand for South African mined platinum, was viewed as highly promising.

“We see a huge growth potential in using fuel cells to power up this economy,” he said.

The country also needed to view the intersection between the growth of mining and farming more intensely, as it was critically important to the South African economy.

“What we see around us is either mined or comes from farming and what needs to happen is the acceleration of beneficiation.

“I was very glad with the voting results in the Junior Indaba that people believe that beneficiation is the way to go,” he added, revealing that discussion was under way with the gold sector to see what could be done to massify gold beneficiation and with the diamond sector to massify diamond beneficiation.

“I’ve been engaged with the Rand Refinery on this matter and we’ve got aspects to take forward,” he revealed.

South Africa also had one of the biggest untapped deposits of zinc in the Northern Cape - the Gamsberg mine being one.

“Those are commodities we would want to look into and the list is endless. We need to get going in a very expedited way,” Oliphant urged.

On the value to the mining industry of beneficiation, African Union chairperson Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who interacted with journalists at the same media conference, made the point that mineral beneficiation had the effect of reducing the acuteness of commodity cycles.

The price fluctuation of raw ore was invariably far higher than the price fluctuation of beneficiated ore.

“So, it’ll help if we do more mineral value addition and beneficiation as a continent because the fluctuations are much flatter,” she added.