Modern Mining February 2021

MINING INDABA REVIEW

Mines push on as SA plays catch-up

The South African mining sector is managing the COVID-19 pandemic remarkably well, but the country needs to do more if it wants mining to benefit from the looming demand peak in ‘green minerals’. So says Ralf Hennecke, GM: Technology and Marketing at Omnia Group company BME.

S peaking after the recent Investing in African Mining Indaba, Hennecke said the event high- lighted that mines have been very successful in containing COVID-19 infections, allowing most operations to return to almost normal produc- tion levels. This is vital to preserving operations and jobs, and to make the most of improved metal prices. “With the global drive to decarbonisation, there is a great future for commodities like the platinum group metals, copper, cobalt and lithium,” he says. “Demand is growing as the regulation of carbon emissions tightens internationally, and 2025 has been cited as a likely peak.” Unfortunately, South Africa is unlikely to gain the full benefit of this trend, with only 1% of the world’s exploration budget being spent in the country, he notes. “With insufficient exploration and development over recent years, we are behind the curve,” he says. “The hope is that we can catch up to some extent if our investment environment can be made more attractive – to realise the value of our mineral assets.” Towards a low carbon future The trend towards a low-carbon future – a key theme at the Mining Indaba – was also affecting the

prospects for coal, with major miners announcing significant withdrawals from this segment. He said this was having the effect of fragmenting the local coal sector, although there were still many years of coal production demanded by the country’s coal- fired generation base. “The utility will rely on a combination of large and small players, but this sector is undeniably under considerable pressure as many parts of the world move away from fossil fuel power generation,” he says. “Local players will need to maintain high levels of efficiency if they are to continue exporting their higher-grade coal competitively.” The focus on environmental, social and gov- ernance (ESG) issues at the Mining Indaba also included mines’ own efforts to lower their carbon footprint, a direction in which they are also expecting their suppliers to move. While the field of blasting is not a large contributor to emissions, Hennecke notes that BME’s bulk emulsion explosives are already rela- tively low-carbon products. The company’s research and development is also making steady progress in the quest for carbon-free blasting. Health and safety Health and safety remained an important topic at this year’s event, heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ralf Hennecke, GM: Technology and Marketing at BME.

The focus on environmental, social and governance issues at the Mining Indaba included mines’ own efforts to lower their carbon footprint, a direction in which they are also expecting their suppliers to move.

32  MODERN MINING  February 2021