JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – An announcement by President Jacob Zuma during his State of the Nation (SoNA) address on Thursday that government intends to fast-track the establishment of a “mining lab” as part of Operation Phakisa represents a move away from talk and towards tangible action aimed at rebuilding the struggling industry, the Chamber of Mines (CoM) said on Friday.

“[The mining lab] is a demonstration that, indeed, we are over talkshops [and] are more focused on collective action premised on sound economic and administrative decisions that can drive investment, growth and transformation in mining,” CoM COO Roger Baxter noted in a statement.

The chamber remained focused on working “at a leadership level” with government and other stakeholders to promote transformative change to grow investment in the mining sector, which relied on a predictable legislative environment.

It added that it was encouraged that government appeared “critically seized” with the energy crisis facing the country.

“We are pleased by the pronouncements, but we would like to hear more about what will be done [in terms of energy utility] Eskom in the medium term so that business gains the confidence that its production schedules will not be compromised,” commented CoM president Mike Teke.

While Zuma placed the issue of power instability firmly in the crosshairs of his SoNA, he was summarily criticised for denying that the country was languishing in an energy “crisis”, but was rather tackling a energy “challenge”.

“I think we have a challenge, not a crisis. If you look at energy, energy has a history in this country, it has never been enough. It was believed to be because the powers that be at the time said ‘we have enough’,” Sapa quoted Zuma as saying at a New Age-sponsored breakfast meeting in Cape Town on Friday.

Teke, meanwhile, reiterated that it was “critically important” that collective solutions to restore Eskom’s reserve margin and build a competitive, stable and available electricity supply for the country in the medium and longer term were pursued.

“The mining industry is already playing a key role in electricity load reduction, and is committed to working with government on sustainable solutions,” he said.

Further reacting to the SoNA, the CoM noted Zuma’s statement on agricultural land use and said it would continue its engagement with the departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Environmental Affairs on various strategies to ensure that mining coexisted with food security initiatives.

It added that illegal mining remained a threat to the sustainability of the South African mining industry and must be treated with the gravity demonstrated in Zuma’s speech.

The CoM had, in this regard, appointed an unnamed “dedicated” expert who would represent its members on all structures seized with the matter.

“This is a scourge and poses an intrinsic risk to companies, employees and the economy from a safety point of view; as companies, we need to guarantee our workforce that these rogue elements will not put them at risk as they go on with their daily work and we have had to increase security measures,” noted CoM VP Graham Briggs.

The chamber, meanwhile, welcomed the dedication of funds towards the revitalisation of mining towns and said it would continue to seek sustainable ways of addressing wages and living and working conditions within the sector as part of engagements through the framework agreement led by the President.

“The sector will always champion the need for workers to be protected and is encouraged by the President’s assertion [of the need for] a stable labour relations environment,’” it concluded.