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Ramaphosa praises the South African mining sector for its resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic
President Cyril Ramaphosa said
they want to promote greater exploration and beneficiation of minerals , during his opening address to Mining Indaba Virtual 2021 , where he praised South African mining for having shown tremendous resilience in the midst of Covid-19 pandemic .
Ramaphosa singled out mining and quarrying as being among the biggest contributors to economic growth in the third quarter of last year , when the 288 % growth recorded was underpinned by platinum group metals , iron-ore , gold , manganese ore and diamonds in particular .
The President spoke laudably of mining ’ s strong showing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2020 and put the ability of mining to weather the storm down to the positive working relations between government and the mining industry .
“ This is something we should continue to build on . We should adapt to the realities of Covid-19 , provide greater policy certainty , attract higher levels of investment , and protect livelihoods at the same time ,” Ramaphosa said .
He described sustainable mining as the key to accelerated industrialisation , innovation , competition and creating employment . “ To ensure we increase the contribution of both mining and energy to meeting our developmental aspirations , we ’ ve taken significant steps to resolve policy and regulatory issues that investors have identified and raised with us as constraints to greater investment ,” he revealed .
Ramaphosa stated that the ability of mining to weather the coronavirus storm was also down to the positive working relationship between government and the mining industry – a relationship that all parties should continue to build on .
He further stated that the sector as well as government should adapt to the realities of COVID-19 , provide greater policy certainty , attract higher levels of investment and protect livelihoods at the same time . “ Sustainable mining is key to accelerated industrialisation , innovation and creating employment ,” he added .
To that end , to ensure that there is a continual increase of mining to meet the country ’ s developmental aspirations , Ramaphosa stated that significant steps have been taken to resolve policy and regulatory issues that are a hindrance to investment . Ramaphosa further called for the mining sector to strive for sustainability , competitiveness and transformation . He urged companies to make ESG a key part of their strategies and also called for the greater inclusion of women in mining .
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