product does not find a market, it becomes a
challenge. What you are producing has to have
a customer,” explained Kadiaka.
Skills development and access to technology
and infrastructure are other challenges
associated with beneficiation. Sternberg
explained that beneficiation could only create
jobs if the required skill set was available. “We
have to create the skills and beneficiation
could follow,” she said. Lucrative investments
in beneficiation were hard to come by and
Sternberg pointed out that there were more
mining deals than there are beneficiation
deals. She also mentioned that there was not
enough collaboration between government,
industry, and research institutions with regard
to beneficiation. “Everybody is working
independently. Perhaps more could be done if
we all work under a collaborative blanket.”
For the diamond beneficiation industry,
the challenges are slightly different. In
his overview, Moumakwa mentioned
that the State Diamond Trader (STD)
inadequately supplied local rough diamonds
for beneficiation. De Beers deputy CEO
Nompumelelo Zikalala also participated in the
panel discussion at the Indaba. She emphasised
that another setback, particularly with the
beneficiation of diamonds, was that often,
discussions about beneficiation took place
without the actual beneficiators.
“The people that beneficiate, such as
cutters and polishers [and] jewellery
manufacturers, need to be present in the
room to talk about their challenges. We can’t
address other people’s issues by virtue of the
challenges that we think they have. Their
voice has got to be in the room, so we have
to listen to them to understand and engage
them and not offer a solution that won’t
work for them,” she said. She also mentioned
that four challenges are currently facing the
diamond beneficiation industry.
The first one was access to markets — a
common challenge for beneficiation across the
board. “You can’t run a business if you don’t
have access to markets. When you access those
markets, you have to get good prices for your
goods,” she explained. Access to funding was
another challenge and it was related to an
inability to access markets. “You can’t access
funding if you don’t access the markets.”
Access to rough diamonds and high labour
costs compared to other sectors were the
other two challenges Zikalala mentioned. “If
I compare South Africa to the likes of India,
our labour costs are significantly higher, but
once we have looked at the cost element,
we need to look at the productivity.” On
this point, Zikalala said it was important to
consider the role of technology and how it
could assist with productivity.
Addressing challenges and
improving local beneficiation
Initiatives have been put in place to address
challenges and enhance local beneficiation.
One of them is the minerals beneficiation
strategy, which was adopted by parliament
in 2011. Through various legislative
frameworks, the strategy aims to address the
www.miningmirror.co.za
Mining in focus
The finished goods products by Mintek’s small-scale mining and beneficiation (SSMB) division.
local beneficiation challenges. “The value
proposition of the beneficiation strategy makes
provision for a framework within which South
Africa can implement orderly development
of the country’s mineral value chains in order
to leverage benefit from inherent comparative
and competitive advantages,” explained
Moumakwa in his overview.
Institutions such as the SADPMR
are also there to provide much-needed
information and support. “We empower
South Africans by issuing them with
licences to cut and polish diamonds. We also
issue diamond dealer licences and refinery
licences,” explained Elizabeth Masuku from
SADPMR. She added that the institution
was working on encouraging mining
licence holders in mining communities to
establish a small factory in the community,
to create employment where members of
the community can learn to cut and polish
diamonds.
“We need a creative solution that will meet
the global demand of products and services
that beneficiation, as it is conceptualised, will
deliver in the African continent first, and the
rest of the world,” said Mabuza. This would
require having a different mindset and finding
unconventional partners to collaborate with
and find solutions.
What does the future hold for
beneficiation in SA?
As much as mineral beneficiation is facing
many challenges, the industry has moved in
leaps and bounds with the establishment of
several successful local beneficiation initiatives
and projects.
Diamond producer De Beers launched
a three-year project in 2016. One of the
mandates of the project is to create sustainable
development of businesses owned by South
Africans who are historically disadvantaged.
One of the outcomes of the project is to
assist and support companies in applying
for De Beers Accredited Buyer status and
then Sightholder status by 2021. In so doing,
businesses through the programme would
become beneficiators and would have access
to development funding for procuring rough
diamonds and for capital expenditure.
There is also discussion and research about
the hydrogen fuel cell programme, which would
see additional beneficiation of platinum. “The
hydrogen fuel cell programme is also gaining
traction and serves as an excellent case of the
beneficiation of platinum,” said Mantashe.
Mintek’s small-scale mining and
beneficiation (SSMB) division was established
to assist entrepreneurs in the small-scale
mining sector in converting minerals into
finished saleable products. As an organisation,
Mintek focuses on all aspects of minerals
processing and beneficiation, except for iron
and steel making, and coal.
The SSMB has a variety of projects in
two units, namely the industrial unit and the
jewellery unit. Projects that fall in the industrial
unit are ceramics and pottery, brick-making,
and dimension stone cutting. The jewellery unit
consists of projects directly related to jewellery
making. The projects were established across
South Africa in areas where mining takes place,
such as Steelpoort, Orkney, and Witbank.
These and many other projects and
initiatives will assist South Africa in improving
beneficiation. Moumakwa emphasised that
the potential for successful beneficiation in
South Africa exists — however, development
initiatives supported by all stakeholders,
multiple government departments, and
relevant agencies are essential in making
beneficiation successful.
MARCH 2019 MINING MIRROR [33]