Modern Mining March 2022

JUNIOR MINERS

Junior and emerging miners tackle policy issues South Africa’s junior miners have emerged strong from the Covid-19 pandemic, tackling policy issues head-on and addressing challenges related to the debilitating red-tape that has, for years, stymied growth in the local mining sector. To gain insight into just how junior and emerging miners have fared over the recent past, Modern Mining’s Nelendhre Moodley caught up with Mineral Council South Africa’s head of the Junior and Emerging Miners Desk, Grant Mitchell.

Mineral Council South Africa’s head of Junior and Emerging Miners Desk, Grant Mitchell.

“ A lthough the junior mining sector as a whole has managed to ride out the Covid-19 storm reasonably well, one or two of our member companies have had to liquidate. Most juniors, however, are fairly resilient, nimble and adaptable and have survived reasonably well, aided, to a large extent, by the commodity boom, particularly commodities that are in high demand such as diamonds, copper, iron ore and platinum,” says an upbeat Grant Mitchell, Mineral Council South Africa’s head of the Junior and Emerging Miners Desk While Mitchell believes that the small to mid-tier producers, espe- cially in strong-demand commodities, will see sustained growth in the next few years, he cautions preparedness for unexpected events. “As we know, mining commodity booms are not cast in stone and unforeseen events – such as the Covid pandemic – can change mineral demand quite

quickly. In the South African context, we also face major challenges in relation to energy, water and transportation. And Transnet currently finds itself in a dire situation, largely due to cable theft disrupting freight services.” On the positive side, membership of the Junior and Emerging Miners Desk (JEMD) has grown steadily over the past few years, and currently totals 38 members, excluding associations such as the South African Diamond Producers Organisation, which consists of roughly eighty members. Junior and emerging miners currently represent well over 40% of the total Minerals Council membership, which records growth of around 10% per annum in junior membership comprising small producers, explorers and developers across all commodity clusters. “Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has gone on record backing the junior and emerging mining sector, particularly given that it supports the building of a cadre of black industrial- ists. Roughly half of our junior mining members have CEOs drawn from previously disadvantaged groups

Junior and emerging miners currently represent well over 40% of the total Minerals Council membership – Mitchell.

Most juniors miners are fairly resilient, nimble and adaptable.

30  MODERN MINING  March 2022