The future is in our hands
INTRODUCTION
By Sharyn Macnamara , African Mining writer
Image by jcomp on Freepik
The biggest underlying driver and opportunity for transformation lies in the green energy transition . 6
This year got off to a good start globally with mining companies posting stellar financial results for 2021 . Revenues rose by 32 % and net profits soared by 127 % on the back of high commodity prices and prudent cost management , per PwC ’ s 19th annual review of the Top 40 mining companies – Mine 2022 . 1 However , optimism was short lived with the start of the Russian-Ukraine war and its far-reaching effects on growth , pressure on inflation and disruption to already stretched supply chains , with particular impact on gas , food , metals and transport , and all this while the world was still reeling from the knock of COVID-19 .
The local front At the same time , on the local front – the home of African Mining – South Africa was buoyed by finance minister Enoch Godongwana ’ s sobering but pragmatic approach in his assessment of debt grants and his ‘ tough love ’ expressed on the subject of failing state-owned companies in his maiden annual budget speech in February ; his acknowledgment of the critical role mining plays in the South African economy and the emergence of discussions around the need for private-public partnerships in key state-owned companies like Eskom and
Transnet ’ s rail and port assets . The apparent beginning of a crack-down on corruption with recommendations made in the first of three reports by the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture to prevent endemic and corrosive corruption in organs of the state and within the private sector , released that same month , added to the positivity .
The bubble , further buoyed by the industry ’ s successes despite COVID-19 , unfortunately burst when the Minerals Council South Africa pointed out that the country had been ranked for the first time ever in the world ’ s ten least attractive mining destinations in the Fraser Institute ’ s Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2021 , released in April . 2 South Africa had slipped sharply down the ranks when measured in the Investment Attractiveness Index . falling to 75 out of the 84 jurisdictions surveyed .
The hard facts The reality is : The challenges in South Africa – the unstable and unfriendly mining regulatory framework with no reliable or transparent cadastre system ; the Transnet and Eskom growth inhibiting constraints ( Minerals Council South Africa cites an opportunity cost of R50-billion for the industry this year , when
www . africanmining . co . za • www . mining . co . za • www . MTEexpos . co . za AFRICAN MINING SUPPLIERS DIRECTORY 2023 • 3