Every Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo speaks to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly. Reported here is this Friday’s At the Coalface transcript:
Kamwendo: Test mining will take place this year at a new emerging platinum mining project in Limpopo.
Creamer: This could be very good news for South Africa that a new underground platinum group metals mine could be developed and start as early as next year. In fact, the test mining will begin this year and it is part of a very rich platinum group metals area in Limpopo. It is part of the Mogalakwena complex, which has delivered fortunes of good platinum metals to South Africa and earned us a lot of foreign exchange. Now, the hope is that this will be further extended, because Mogalakwena has only been an opencast mine and this will take it underground. Platinum at the moment is receiving a lot of attention around the world and there is more and more conviction that demand for platinum is going to be very high.
Kamwendo: Modernisation of South Africa’s mining industry is being viewed as an urgent strategic priority.
Creamer: Minerals Council South Africa has organised a showcase of modernisation to try and alert South Africa to the fact that they have fallen behind when it comes to technology regulations, the use of automation and even beneficiation, which is supposed to be our strong point. We are supposed to add value to metals and minerals in the country. They took nine competitors. In fact, we were the tenth and South Africa did not fare well at all. The other countries are advanced when it comes to modernising their mines. So, this is a pressure they want to put on the mining industry now.
