Council for Geoscience goes live with digital geoscience data

18th June 2021

By: Martin Creamer

Creamer Media Editor

     

Font size: - +

South Africa’s Council for Geoscience went live earlier this month with making geoscience data digitally available.

During a panel discussion on the first day of the Junior Indaba, Council for Geoscience CEO Mosa Mabuza invited all to go on to the council’s website to find this data, the bulk of which, he said, was freely available.

“This is a quantum leap that we are taking because we understand the importance of access to geoscience data in order to make informed investment decisions,” said Mabuza.

“We did not stop there. We have gone and developed the regulations that practically can breathe life into the Geoscience Act,” Mabuza added at the Indaba, which was covered by Engineering News & Mining Weekly.

“About four years ago, we realised that the availability of geoscience information is absolutely critical. We’ve been continuing to collect data and have developed a data policy so that we organise ourselves,” Mabuza said.

Public information offices are available at info@geoscience.org.za or data@geoscience.org.za

“All that we want to do is to make sure that there is data available and that it is well managed and well-coordinated,” Mabuza said.

On the development and publication of the draft exploration plan for South Africa, Mabuza said in response to ENSafrica COO and moderator Otsile Matlou that the plan had been submitted to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to enable it to follow a Parliamentary process.

Mabuza described the memorandum of understanding (MoU) entered into with Northern Cape copper and zinc developer Orion Minerals recently as a starting point in the collaboration on the acquisition, sharing and processing of exploration data with junior miners who were helping to bring solutions that had the potential to take South Africa’s exploration forward.

DMRE director-general Advocate Thabo Mokoena said that the department had received input from Minerals Council South Africa on the draft exploration plan, which would be going out for public comment.

It would be considered by the Ministerial economic cluster, go to a Cabinet committee and then Cabinet for final approval and public consultation.

“It’s a work in progress. Nothing stops us from engaging with those wanting to make contributions,” Mokoena said.

Exploration Initiatives in Northern Cape

The MoU with Orion would involve collaboration on exploration initiatives in the Northern Cape, with the studies aimed at stimulating greenfield exploration in an underexplored geological terrain using modern exploration techniques.

Under the terms of the MoU, the two parties would share both data and technical skills on a nonexclusive basis, with other exploration and mining companies in the Northern Cape being free to join the endeavour.

“The sooner we pool the extensive geoscientific skills available in South Africa, and collaborate on gathering and harmonising datasets, the sooner we will make major new discoveries,” said Orion CEO Errol Smart.

The first collaboration with the CGS will involve an airborne electromagnetic survey over the Okiep copper district. Orion is preparing to fly a close-spaced survey at 150 m line spacing starting this month to detect massive sulphide bodies – the first survey of its kind in this world-class copper district.

“Let’s join hands as an industry because we’ve got a lot of fantastic explorers in this country. Some data has to be confidential because of its commercial sensitivity. But there is so much we can do by coming together and starting to share ideas.

“We’ve all got to work together as a group of industry professionals now and start finding the solutions. Minerals Council South Africa represents 270 prospectors and I’ve got a mandate from 270 prospecting companies and individuals that have 600 applications.

“Every one of those people is fully informed of the negotiations that have been going on. We’ve managed to convince the major mining houses to put their hands in their pockets and to bring the expertise that exists in South Africa to the table,” Smart said.

AmaranthCX director Paul Miller called for confidence building and acknowledgment that State Capture is real and that it has affected trust in government and in the DMRE. He called for concrete steps to open up the DMRE to public scrutiny by making transparency, rather than the current secrecy, the default position in all the department’s dealings and advocated that South Africa becomes an implementing country of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, alongside countries like the UK, Norway, Germany, Zambia and Mozambique.

“Publish a weekly dashboard on the department website, showing the exact status of the 5 326 application backlog and progress in clearing it per province and per application type,” Miller said.

His view is that the biggest obstacle to the growth and transformation of South Africa’s mining and exploration industry is the department itself.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION