Analysis: SA needs mining research

THE MINING sector is at a tipping point and to avoid a catastrophe, it must change its ways and adapt to the prevailing environment. Mining has become more complex, it is no longer only about extracting resources and getting rich, but needs to embrace technological advancements, and consider the social impact mining companies have on communities.

Companies including AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Anglo American Platinum, Lonmin, Samancor, Impala Platinum and Aquarius Platinum, have felt the impact of the socio-economic challenges facing miners.

When Business Report covered the chaos in the platinum belt of the North West, the team saw communities living in shacks and using pit toilets and the bucket system.

It appears as though the benefits that come with technological advancement and social upliftment remain in the confines of the mining houses while the living conditions of the workers who go deep underground remain horrendous.

To overcome these challenges, various stakeholders in the mining industry have joined forces to establish the Wits Mining Research Institute, which was launched at Wits University last week.

Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said Wits would provide the research capacity and skills, while the department was working on reversing the backlog in research and development, as well as skills investment.

Shabangu said the department’s mining growth and transformation strategy would ensure greater emphasis was placed on providing a safe and healthy work environment.

It also sought to establish an environmentally stable and sustainable mining industry that contributed to the beneficiation of the country’s minerals and broader industrial and economic development strategies, she explained.

Nielen van der Merwe, a professor and interim director of the Wits Mining Research Institute, said it would advance sustainability of the mining sector and affected communities by conducting research and developing high level skills in several key areas, including new methods of mining exploration and policy changes. It would also develop increasing numbers of trained postgraduates for the industry.

“We all know that we are blessed with an abundance of resources in South Africa. We are in the top five in the world in respect of at least 10 commodities, including platinum, where we almost have a monopoly; gold, of which we have more than anyone else; and a number of other minerals such as manganese, vanadium, zirconium and vermiculite,” he said.

In the Coalbrook disaster in the 1960s, 435 miners were killed in “the worst disaster in South African mining”.

Van der Merwe said prior to the disaster, no formal mining research had taken place and it served as a wake-up call to the industry, which resulted in the country becoming a leader in mining research for two decades after that. There was never a repeat of Coalbrook.

“Sadly, for perhaps the last two decades, our co-ordinated mining industry research effort has all but collapsed and we have lost our leadership position.

“Mining companies are still spending money on research and development but the bulk of the work is being undertaken in other countries by researchers who do not necessarily understand either the harsh physical conditions of some sectors of our industry or the societal and natural environment in which mining is undertaken,” he explained.

The local industry has been rocked by violent strikes which saw 46 people killed at Marikana, near Rustenburg.

Perhaps more extensive research into the well being of people involved in the industry could avert a similar crisis in the future.