Modern Mining May 2022

Exploration strategy and exploration implementation plan welcomed

The Mineral s Counci l South Af r ica has welcomed the publication of the Exploration Strategy and the Exploration Implementation Plan documents by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). The Minerals Council will study both documents to analyse and understand what the DMRE has changed since the Minerals Council, the Council for Geoscience and the regulator started negotiating the Exploration Implementation Plan in 2020. With South Africa ranked for the first time in the 10 least desirable of 84 global mining jurisdictions in the Fraser Institute’s Mining Companies Survey 2021, as mea sured by the Investment Attractiveness Index, the mining industry needs investor friendly regulations and policies to ensure sustainable, inclusive growth to benefit all stakeholders. One of the most urgent matters for the DMRE to address is the rapid imple mentation of a transparent, functional, corruption-free, online cadastre system to replace the failed SAMRAD system As part of its application for Environmental Authorisation (EA) to support exploration activities on the south-western coast of South Africa in Block 5/6/7, TotalEnergies Exploration & Production South Africa (TEEPSA) and its Joint Venture (JV) partners are inviting consultation with interested and affected parties. Both parties are committed to ensuring all exploration or development activities are subject to the satisfactory completion of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and the granting of all required Environmental Authorisations

Exploration plan: Minerals Council has welcomed the publication of the Exploration strategy. that has stymied exploration, expansion of the junior mining sector, and growth of the South African mining industry. The Minerals Council and its members have

offered financial and technical assistance to the DMRE to urgently implement a read ily available, internationally proven, and off-the-shelf solution, the council said. 

TotalEnergies looks to explore in South-Western coast

(EAs), the company said. The EAs will cover the drilling of explo ration and development wells, installation of subsea infrastructure for production, as well as the acquisition of geophysical data. In the long term, if the exploration activi ties result in the discovery of commercially viable hydrocarbon deposits, then these fields have the potential to make significant contributions to South Africa’s energy secu rity, help sustain and generate employment opportunities and support development by enabling participation by local businesses, the company said. 

TotalEnergies invites consultation ahead of drilling.

May 2022  MODERN MINING  5