South African Business 2024

SEZ will be what is the biggest new mine project in the country, the
Gamsberg project of Vedanta Zinc International, which will deliver
600 000 tons of zinc when phase three is complete. The provincial
government is using the mine’s multifaceted activities (and possible
future smelter) as the basis for the SEZ which forms part of a larger
“multi-nodal” corridor envisaged for the province.
Copper is one of the most important elements needed to power
the renewable energy transformation and so it’s no surprise that areas
mined historically for that mineral in the Northern Cape are now back in
the news. Batteries need copper, as do systems used to transmit energy
from solar or wind sources. Electric vehicles contain an average of 85kg
and, according to the CEO of newly formed Copper 360, Jan Nelson, the
world had a stock of copper equal to only three weeks supply at a certain
point in February 2023 (Financial Mail, 23 February 2023).
Copper 360 was formed in November 2022 following a reverse
takeover of copper producer Big Tree Copper (a producer of copper)
and SHiP Copper (a mining company). The company listed on the AltX
of the JSE in April 2023. Copper 360 produces 1 200t/y of A-grade copper
cathode and has set a target of achieving 7 700t/y inside two years. Three
new copper flotation plants are being built at a cost of R280-million. With
280 new employees over the last two years and plans to recruit a further
1 000 staff members in the next two years, global copper demand is
clearly also good news for the town of Nababeep. Founded in 1860
by the Okiep Mining Company, Nababeep is in the Namakwa District
Municipality just north of Springbok.
An old zinc mine at Prieska that produced a million tons of zinc
and 430 000 tons of copper before it closed in 1991 is being revived
by Australian miner Orion Minerals. Orion Minerals has secured a
funding package of $87-million from subsidiaries of Triple Flag Precious
Metals. The funding is conditional on the rest of the plan for the mine’s
development also receiving funding and on the approval of South
Africa’s regulatory authorities.
Afrimat continues to expand its commodities portfolio with the
purchase for R300-million of Coza Mining, an iron-ore mining company
in the Northern Cape.
Prospects and exploration
Mzila Mthenjane, the newly appointed CEO of Minerals Council
South Africa, the mining industry employers’ body, co-authored an
article for the Sunday Times in
October 2023 in which it was
stated that:
“We would see a relatively
quick shift in our economy if
the Department of Mineral
Resources and Energy expedited
approvals for more than 5 000
prospecting and mining right
applications and mining permits.”
Citing Stats SA figures that
mining employed 477 574
people in Q2 2023 and that for
every person directly employed,
a further 10 people are
dependent on the industry for
their livelihoods, Mthenjane and
Otsile Matlou, COO of law firm
ENSafrica, argued that “billions
of rands of latent investments
and future spending [are]
locked up in these applications”.
Among the things that
the authors called for are the
introduction of a “transparent,
corruption-free, off-the-shelf
digital mineral rights management
system known as a cadastre”. In
August 2023, an announcement
was made that a winning bidder
for a new cadastral system had
been identified for the tender
which had gone out in March
2023. Final arrangements still had
to made, and the name of the
company was not known as of the
last week of November. ■
ONLINE RESOURCES
Council for Geoscience: www.geoscience.org.za
Minerals Council South Africa: www.mineralscouncil.org.za
National Department of Mineral Resources and Energy: www.dmr.gov.za
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SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2024