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

Host: Exploration opportunities are beginning to unfold in the Western Cape as a new mining licence system rolls out.

Creamer: We need exploration, exploration and more exploration. We have fallen behind very badly, because the system set up by the government worked very, very poorly. So, they have been taking steps to create a new cadastre, that is what they call it, these mining licencing systems and they have missed their deadline. This week they reported to Parliament that there has been an unfolding in Western Cape, so that they can actually have operational setting of licences in the Western Cape.

Now, what they want to do is move from the province of the Western Cape to the other eight provinces. We just hope that happens quickly, because really the Western Cape isn't well known for mining, whereas many of the other provinces are, but they wanted to get things right first. In other countries this is quite a risky business of exploration, often they get tax breaks, we don't even get that here. So, we need every assistance we can, otherwise the mining industry will get smaller and smaller.

Host: Gauteng’s gold-mining revival is being spearheaded by a contracting business owned by Soweto residents.

Creamer: It is incredibly interesting. Now, you have got Sam, he and his wife, Sam Molefi, the Molefi couple, they have got a business now. Now you say, how can he own a mining business? It is called is a contracting business. So he is born in Roodepoort, he is now mining gold in Roodepoort. When I say mining himself, he has got a company that has been contracted to do it, because he is doing it at Qala Shallows. Qala Shallows is owned by an Australian company, West Wits Mining, and they have already produced gold there.

So, it is extremely exciting for someone who is still living in Dobsonville, Soweto, and as a youngster, he used to go by taxi to the Witwatersrand Technicon to learn mining. Now he is a mining contracting business owner, already employing 193 people and they are looking to possibly be employing 1 000 people. A lot of them will come from the local area. They also are looking to get local suppliers and they do a lot of contracting with people who supply the mine, who are local as well.

Host: A massive change for the better in South Africa’s approach to mining has started to unfold.

Creamer: Look out for these eight letters: PyroFuZA, P Y R O F U Z A. They met and they intensified how we as South Africa can add value to our natural resources in the best way possible. Mineral and metal value-addition is what is wanted now all over Africa. They do not want to export a raw material. The people of Africa now want as much value as possible to be added to it in Africa before it is exported. Now, with this particular PyroFuZA, they are looking 50 years ahead.

They have got the government with them, they have got business with them, they have got community with them, they have got scientists with them and it is an incredible foundation that they are laying. They need everybody to work together, to think together, to aim together. We are already seeing that happen, so that when we do things, we get the best value. They point out that when you export, say chrome, you only get a fraction of what you will get if you export ferrochrome. We haven't been able to make much ferrochrome anymore, because of the high electricity price. So, what this will do is make sure we become competitive again, look long, work together and make sure that whenever we export something it is at the top value and our natural resources can then bring in funds that can help the rest of the economy, as has happened in some aspects of mining in the past, but we lost that.

Host: Thanks very much. Martin Creamer is publishing, editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.