THERE ARE HARD TRUTHS BEHIND BENEFICIATION DEBATE
WE sell our mining riches to the world largely in a raw state.
That earns us foreign exchange. Yet at the same time we place ourselves at a disadvantage by not finishing off the job in South Africa – leaving it to outsiders to benefit.
That is the hard, inconvenient truth behind the beneficiation debate.
Take jewellery, highlighted at the National Jewellery Forum we hosted recently.
An analysis of the precious metals value chains, when it comes to jewellery, shows that South Africa is a world-class supplier of the main jewellery raw materials, con- tributing about one-fifth of our global output per year.
Yet our own jewellery production is a mere 1% of our global contribution in these raw materials.
At the forum we were able to share a common vision for South Africa to become a world-class jewellery hub.
Historically, the South African mineral and mining sector was deeply racialised, resulting in highly skilled white people working as engineers and managers, and black people working as unskilled and underpaid labour.
There was little or no beneficiation of minerals in our country. The minerals came back as finished products ready for selling.
This had many consequences. For example, South Africa was denied the economic benefits of its minerals, the human capital required for beneficiation was not developed and there was an adverse effect on careers.
The mining industry created an extremely unequal society, the effects of which are still felt in post-apartheid South Africa.
We must reverse this trend and enthuse our youth about prospects; build a skilled base of blacks in the mining and minerals sector generally – and specifically in the jewellery-making industry.
Bantu education excluded blacks from learning subjects like maths, science and other technical subjects. The current lack of knowledge and skills and low levels of entrepreneurship among black youth are evidence of the negative impact of the past.
We must begin to nurture motivated, self-directed young entrepreneurs.
The Department of Mineral Resources has already developed policies, legislation and various instruments to transform and develop the mining and mineral sector to its full potential.
The Mineral Beneficiation Strategy was adopted by the government as
We want to create a world- class jewellery hub
policy in 2011. Beneficiation means adding value to raw minerals from their extraction through to the sale of finished products to consumers. It includes large-scale and capitalintensive operations like smelting and technologic- ally advanced refining and labour-intensive activities such as the craft of jewellery.
The minerals strategy recognises that South Africa is rich in mineral wealth, which provides a comparative advantage.
The strategy identifies five value chains – one of which is jewellery manufacturing – that should leverage South Africa ’ s precious metal and gemstone reserves and position the country as a thriving and globally competitive jewellery hub.
For successful implementation we need intensive coordination and partnership across a number of government departments, stakeholders and businesses, as well as human resource development and skills training.
It is noteworthy that 20 years into our democracy there is little evidence of programmes or initiatives producing entrepreneurial jewellery designers and manufacturers who can create more jobs, transform the jewellery manufacturing sector and contribute towards the economic growth of the country.
Training opportunities so far have neither appropriately responded to the needs of prospective employers and markets, nor created a critical mass of sustainable and competitive jewellery manufacturing entrepreneurs.
We urgently need skills development interventions to underpin both technical and business skills so we can break through the deep-rooted cycle of history and neglect.
Shabangu is the Minister of Mineral Resources