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DME to employ 50 more to speed up mine applications
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South Africa’s Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) would be employing a further 50 people to speed up mining application assessment and processing, DME deputy DG Jacinto Rocha told the SAfm AfterEight Debate on Monday.

Speaking on air on the SABC’s John Perlman show, Rocha indicated that, in addition to the 367 people employed by the department, a further 50 recruits were scheduled to take up employment by early next month with the express purpose of processing some 8 000 mining applications.

“We are mainly in need mainly of lawyers, people from a commercial background and mining engineers,” Rocha replied to challenges on the department’s lack of sufficient capacity to handle the application-assessment process.

A contracting geologist from Tzaneen urged the DME to look into the use of scanning to speed up the process still further.

He said the extension of mineral-rights access to a larger portion of the population had resulted in a scurry by many for fruitless rights, which was clogging the process still further.

He cited an example of a company pursuing platinium in an area which was completely devoid of any platinum and also of bogus arrangements by black economic-empowerment (BEE) companies.

Another issue raised was that the same established BEE players were obtaining more and more rights, obstructing the way forward for new entrants.

There were also instances of BEE companies being established for the sole purpose of reaping quick profits rather than making constructive contributions to the industry.

Even Rocha conceded that too many BEE companies were entering the sector as shareholders rather than active miners.

Mining law specialist Hugh Scholes, who was also on the panel, said finance was at the core of the BEE deals and was a method of enabling people with little or no capital to buy mining equity stakes.

He praised banks and companies for coming up with a number of innovative ways to facilitate BEE deals.

The issue of BEE companies taking early profits by selling shares back into the market and thus stripping companies of their BEE credentials was also raised and lamented.

But despite the numerous challenges facing BEE in the mining sector, many were still focused on establishing a stable sector for the future in which the previously-disadvantaged would play a meaningful role, Rocha pointed out.

He added that the DME intended focusing on strategies aimed at encouraging greater interest in developing the long-term future of mining.

http://www.miningweekly.co.za/min/news/today/?show=85032