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Recovery expected to continue in mining sector

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Recovery in the mining sector in the country is expected to continue in 2018 due to rise in commodity prices supported by renewed investment for the sector.

South Africa’s minister of minerals and resources Mosebenzi Zwane says the mining sector in 2017 continued to strengthen and this will continue within the short to medium term into 2018.

He says the growth has been driven by demand and international price increase in Zinc, Iron and copper. The minister says although the sector registered modest growth it did not create the envisioned one million jobs needed for the sector. The minister was speaking at the official opening of the 2018 Mining Indaba underway in Cape Town.

“We can confidently accept that the spring in mining is indeed blossoming into summer. A recent improvement into exploration activities and expansion projects has been constrained by a balance sheet corn, conservatism adopted as a defensive measure.”

Government says it will intensify investments and put more money in intensive mapping projects and Geosciences.

Zwane says they have already invested R20 billion in the sector and this has yielded some results.

He says through the Geosciences department, they have discovered clean drinking ground water in Beaufort West and Cape Town.

“This is as a result of multi-disciplinary, integrated approach to our Geosciences mapping in the country. We will be handing these resources to the local municipality next week so that the community can have access to it.”

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