Pretoria - Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu says the South African mining industry is open for business.
This is the message that the mining industry has been articulating to the investor community in Toronto, Canada, during the annual Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention (PDAC).
The South African mining industry's international road show started on Sunday in Toronto, after which it will move on to New York and Boston in the United States.
Led by Shabangu, the South African delegation comprises business and labour representatives of the Mining Industry Growth and Development Task Team (MIGDETT).
These include the president of the Chamber of Mines, Dr Xolani Mkhwanazi, Senzeni Zokwana, the president of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Aubrey Lekwane, who is the CEO of the South African Mining Development Association (SAMDA).
The road show takes place amidst the release of a report by the Fraser Institute - a report surveying global mining, which ranked South Africa 67 out of 79 mining jurisdictions around the world.
In response to some investors voicing concern over this low ranking of the South African mining industry, Shabangu indicated that she was not perturbed by this, as the MIGDETT process has identified a number of weak points, which were already being addressed.
The minister said the regulatory framework, especially where there were ambiguities in the mining law, was being addressed.
She further commended the contribution of MIGDETT to the amendments of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), which will shortly be tabled before Cabinet.
These include strengthening the construct of legislation to remove identified weaknesses such as ambiguities in some of the provisions; streamlining the licensing processes to a virtual "one-stop-shop" for all mining requirements, including environment and water use licensing and strengthening provisions that sanction non-compliance appropriately.
Shabangu said the bulk of the proposed mitigations were already linked to existing plans of government, such as infrastructure constraints in terms of electricity supply, rail and ports.
Government recently released a revised macro-economic policy framework, known as the New Growth Path, which prioritises the mining industry value chain as one of the growth nodes of the country's economy.
Shabangu pointed out that the mining sector in South Africa was now among the top four priorities that will help government to create more jobs.
Mkhwanazi said the delegation was pleased with the interest displayed by the investor community in Canada. He also commended the leadership displayed by Shabangu in the process and said that he was positive that the industry will soon flourish again.
"This renewed process of working together between the different stakeholders bodes well for the mining industry, and I would like to praise the industry for being proactive in dealing with the various challenges it faces, and therefore contributing to the national imperative of creating more jobs," he said.
Shabangu and the delegation leave Toronto today for the second leg of the road show and will be addressing investors in New York on the 10-11th March and move on to Boston on Monday.
