Industry intelligence
Juniors should look at alternative funding
Olebogeng Sentsho, CEO of
the Simba Mgodi Fund.
Funding remains the main
factor that hampers junior
exploration projects in Africa.
With traditional institutions
reluctant to fund exploration
projects, new financing
models will be increasingly
important to develop mines of
the future.
According to Olebogeng
Sentsho, CEO of the Simba
Mgodi Fund, her company
has been looking at alternative
methods like crowdfunding
Botswana a hotspot for
exploration
and blockchain technology
to finance projects and has
assisted nine companies, mostly
in the coal mining space, since
its inception.
“Exploration companies also
have to become better at telling
their stories, so that non-
traditional funders have a better
understanding of what they do,”
she said. Sentsho spoke at the
Junior Mining Indaba that took
place in Johannesburg, South
Africa recently.
Botswana is emerging as one of the favourite
places for exploration companies in Africa.
According to Charles Siwawa, CEO of
the Botswana Chamber of Mines, more than
1 000 exploration licences have been issued in
the country. Siwawa was one of the speakers
at the 2019 Junior Mining Indaba, held in
Johannesburg, South Africa, recently.
Siwawa added that the process of being
awarded an exploration licence in Botswana
takes, on average, about one month, which is
much quicker than any other country on the
continent.
The dearth of exploration projects in South
Africa is cause for concern, but it does seem
that the government realises the importance of
finding new ore bodies and is willing to support
such ventures.
Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede
Mantashe has, on numerous occasions,
encouraged exploration companies to invest in
South Africa and with the BEE requirements
for exploration officially dropped, the country
is looking a lot more attractive for junior
exploration companies.
South Africa hosts spectacular ore bodies,
and large areas of the country are yet to be
explored. The Northern Limb of the Bushveld
Igneous Complex has huge potential, while there
are many opportunities for new gold and coal
discoveries outside traditional mining regions.
SA government backs exploration
South African Minister of Mineral Resources
Gwede Mantashe.
Sand miners’ death spark outcry
The proliferation
of borrow pits
to simplify the
supply of sand and
aggregates for road
construction crews
has once again
come under the
spotlight following
the deaths of
two workers at
a borrow pit in
Limpopo recently.
Nico Pienaar, director at
The two had
Aspasa.
apparently been
digging sand for a road construction project
when a collapse occurred and buried them
under tons of sand and debris. Despite rescuers’
attempts they could not be rescued in time
and succumbed to injuries on site. Two other
workers were recovered by police rescuers and
were hospitalised with serious injuries.
The latest incident has spurred a call from
surface mining industry association, Aspasa,
for the Government to put an urgent end to all
forms of illegal mining including the mining
of sand and aggregates from unlicensed borrow
pits. The regulator has also been called upon to
urgently act on this type of illegal mining to
avoid further loss of life.
Aspasa director, Nico Pienaar, says he hopes
that the reappointment of Minerals and Energy
Minister, Gwede Matashe, will hasten the
process, as he is well aware of the problem.
“Aspasa believes there will be a better focus
on the issue of illegal mining, especially in the
north of the country – which is especially prone
to illegal mining of sand.
“The regulator seems to focus on the
established and legal operations with frequent
visits and demands, while the industry is
competing with illegal operations, who don’t pay
the minimum wages, nor attend to health and
safety or even worse the environment.
“This allows for unregulated business
(which needs to be focused on by the
departments) such as SARS (no VAT or
taxes are paid), Water Affairs, Environmental
Affairs, SAPS, Home Affairs (illegal migrants)
and then the Department of Mineral
Resources. If all these departments get
together and work together then the problem
could be resolved quickly, but it seems that
the decay of the government departments has
gone much deeper than is believed.
“Some time ago Minister Mantashe closed
some of the Department of Mineral Resources
regional offices due to funny business taking
place. Aspasa was requested to report any
unprofessional activities to the Ministers’ offices
which we have done. We now wait to see what
the changes will be now that the Minister has a
second stint in this portfolio,” says Pienaar.
Kumba says its tailings are safe
Kumba has published the details of the four
tailings storage facilities (TSFs) that it manages,
as requested by the Church of England Pensions
Board and the Swedish Council on Ethics for the
AP Funds, representing 96 institutional investors.
Themba Mkwanazi, CEO of Kumba, says:
“We have confidence in the integrity of the four
TSFs that Kumba manages in South Africa’s
Northern Cape province. The TSFs are subject
to the highest global safety and stewardship
standards and are operated in accordance with
[4] MINING MIRROR AUGUST 2019
the South African Mandatory Code of Practice
on Mine Residue deposits as stipulated by
the Department of Mineral Resources. These
tailings storage facilities are also subject to Anglo
American’s Mineral Residue Facilities and
Water Management Structures standard. Anglo
American’s mandatory Group Technical Standard
was completely revised and updated in early 2014
and continues to be reviewed regularly.”
Kumba’s four TSFs are located at the Sishen
and Kolomela iron ore mines in the Northern
Cape. Of the four, one, at Kolomela, is an
active facility, constructed as a water retaining
structure, while the other three, at Sishen, uses
the upstream method of construction and
only one is active. Upstream tailings dams are
generally considered to be an appropriate design
for facilities in dry and seismically stable regions
with flat topography, including the locations of
the TSFs managed by Kumba in South Africa.
Kumba does not have an ownership interest in
any other TSFs.
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