Modern Mining November 2024

Work to repair Transnet’s capacity and performance is underway.

route, [such as] through our annual shuts. Together with customers we are making sure those shuts count, so after the shut we get an uptick in volumes. We have embraced reform, we are implementing.” Commenting on private sector partnerships Phillips said, “Let the market come, but we need robust processes, we want to do it right the first time, we need to choose the right partners.” The panel on critical minerals was vocal about making sure the industry developed a strategy and seized the opportunities that existed outside of gold, platinum and coal, urging exploration into different metals and minerals. Errol Smart, CEO of Orion Minerals, said that a critical mineral in South Africa was anything that created a new job. n

choices we want to make as a country.” Michelle Phillips, CEO of Transnet, said Transnet “is a complex business, there is a lot to fix, after many years of not investing, many years of not renewing equipment.” Work to repair Transnet’s capacity and performance is underway with the support of the Presidency and the National Logistics Crisis Committee. Part of the solution has been to work more closely with the private sector on key rail corridors to identify the problems and solutions. “The network is deteriorating as we speak,” said Phillips. ”We are told by independent experts that it will take five years [to fix] and we don’t have five years. We are trying to find a quicker

The delegates learned that the turnaround at Eskom has boosted investor confidence, but challenges persist on rail. Dan Marokane, CEO of Eskom, said the improvement at Eskom has been a country project, with government rallying and mobilising partnerships, the board framing the plans, and management focused on execution based on the resources at their disposal. He said the value of having the right people cannot be underestimated, from power station managers to technical capacity on the board. On the issue of tariffs Marokane said, “Against the backdrop of the imperative to fix loadshedding, the tariff conversation will need to look at the

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November 2024 | www.modernminingmagazine.co.za  MODERN MINING  7