OVERVIEW
Mining Gauteng is the home of mining and minerals research.
SECTOR INSIGHT Petra’s expansion plans will see diamond production soar. • The Chamber of Mines is set for a major rebranding. • AngloGold is scaling back production in Gauteng.
Boosting productivity
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he mining industry’s employer body is the Chamber of Mines. The Chamber’s address in Hollard Street, Marshalltown, Johannesburg, reflects the fact that the city of Johannesburg was founded on gold. A 400km gold reef stretching across most of Gauteng and some of the neighbouring provinces was for many years the backbone of South Africa’s mining industry. Gold production has generally been in decline for some years, with older mines such as AngloGold’s TauTau either closing unprofitable shafts or being put on care and maintenance (Kopanang). Global demand for gold has see-sawed in recent years. Cullinan, east of Pretoria, is the site of one of the greatest finds in diamond mining history. The eponymous diamond was cut into several smaller diamonds, including the 530-carat Great Star of Africa. Today, Petra Diamonds continues to mine Cullinan as one of its four South African projects. In the six months to December 2016, Petra Diamonds reported a 24% increase in production and a 48% improvement in overall revenue. At Cullinan the orebody contains a diamond resource of 194 Mcts which is why Petra is expanding with a goal of annual production of 2.2 Mcts by 2019. A R1.6-billion processing plant is being built at Cullinan, with a throughput capacity of 6 Mtpa. Petra established a Women in Mining Committee in 2015. In 2016, 43% of intern positions were held by women and 58% of scholarships were taken up by girls from local schools. GAUTENG BUSINESS 2017/18
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All miners have been trying to mine more efficiently. Mechanisation has not been a seamless success but the CEO of Anglo American told the African Mining Indaba in early 2017 that productivity improved by 40% since 2013. Mark Cutifani credited advanced analytics, the efficient use of data and integrated systems thinking for improved safety and reduced spending on maintenance. Anglo American was one of several South African companies to benefit from the uptick in global resource prices in 2017. Shares in AngloGold doubled by the end of March 2017, Sibanye’s stock improved by 124% and Harmony Gold did even better. South Deep did not do so well, but remains convinced that its mechanisation project will deliver. Because of improved prices in ferrochrome, Mogale Alloys has converted its furnaces from the