Still a big role for mining

I recently gave a talk to third-year mining students at the University of the Witwatersrand and tried to reassure them that even in these uncertain times, along with growing trends toward decarbonisation and a circular economy, there is still a place for mining and mining engineers, at home and internationally.

To successfully meet zero-carbon targets, the mining industry needs to deliver new projects on a scale not seen before. The projects will need to produce well-established commodities such as copper and palladium, but also the critical raw materials that are vital to the transition to renewable energy supply and a zero-carbon future.

The EU, Canada and the US have already identified the critical raw materials they will require to meet the UN sustainable development goals and zero-carbon targets. The EU defined 41 minerals and metals of strategic importance, and 14 were classified as “critical”.

SA does produce critical raw materials such as platinum group metals and fluorspar, as well as strategic minerals such as manganese, where the country is the largest global producer by far.

As Gracelin Baskaran states in a recent column, SA needs to understand what it can bring to global markets and how to leverage it to strengthen trade ties (“SA can win in the game of commodities diplomacy,” October 26).

I would suggest that the first step is compiling an inventory of known resources and potential resources of strategically important minerals and critical raw materials. This would have to be a joint effort between government agencies and the private sector, and would need a fully functional mining cadastre. Armed with the inventory of strategic minerals and critical raw materials, SA can decide the role it wants to play in achieving zero carbon, rather than relying on donor funding for mitigation. SA, and in particular its mining industry, can play a vital role in meeting zerocarbon targets on a global scale.

Roger Dixon

Northcliff