AMN - Mining can be saviour of manufacturing - comment by Yolanda Torrisi

For every job mining creates, the multiplier effect shows that two more are created in manufacturing. There is a philosophy that mining can revive the manufacturing sector and can be the saviour of this very important industry. Mining can certainly kick start South Africa’s economic growth again as it did so well in the 80s.

In recent media reports Sibanye Gold CEO Neal Froneman was reported saying that manufacturing can still play an enormous role, particularly in the gold mining industry where new technologies are needed to extract millions of tonnes of gold left in the ground due to the limitations of conventional mining methods.

He said that in the 100 years that the sector had been in existence, mining methods had not changed apart from a little bit of mechanisation here and there.

“Much gold has been left behind over the years in pillars. These are blocks of ground that are highly stressed but left in place to mine the ground around them. It’s not easy to mine them using conventional methods because the ore bodies are narrow and tabular in nature and thus lend themselves to labour-intensive mining,” Neil Froneman said.

“The challenge is to find machinery that can be driven remotely by people standing in a safe place. Once they have been developed, they can be manufactured locally to drive the manufacturing industry.

“Some equipment has already been developed as part of the research and development initiatives of mining companies, adding that these are not necessarily complex machines that require highly qualified technicians to run them. Rather, it will be remote-controlled equipment which can be operated with some training – so there will not be a significant reduction in jobs.

“The pillars are rich in gold. That’s around 10 million ounces, or about R200 billion sitting and waiting to be unlocked at Sibanye alone. It’s of primary national importance to exploit these resources.” Neil Froneman says.

Modernisation is the key to the future of mining. Department of Science and Technology chief director of technology, localisation, beneficiation and advanced manufacturing Beeuwen Gerryts says the modernisation of mining has many elements of which mechanisation is one.

Mechanisation is the development and manufacture of machinery which improves safety and health, and achieves better capability and efficiency in extraction of ore reserves.

In media reports Beeuwen Gerryts said: “But when we speak of modernisation, we also talk about energy resource efficiency, environmental considerations, skills development and community upliftment.

“Large mining companies can become the champions of industrialisation as they are at the forefront of the country’s engineering and technology development capability, as well as our equipment manufacturing capability.”

Mining is facing many challenges. The industry has to reinvent itself and it is in the mining companies’ best interests to see the building of a very technologically-dynamic cluster in relation to their inputs and the building capacity for beneficiation.

- Yolanda Torrisi is Chairperson of The African Mining Network and comments on African mining issues and the growing global interest in the African continent. Contact:yolanda@yolandatorrisi.com