Building the future professional pipeline for the minerals industry

Details

Created: Friday, 30 January 2026 09:29

Written by G.R. Lane

As we enter 2026, I would like to extend my sincere best wishes to every SAIMM member, our corporate partners, council, secretariat, committee volunteers, conference organisers, and the many professionals who contribute their time and expertise to sustain the Institute. SAIMM exists because of this collective commitment, and I thank each of you for the role you play in strengthening our community and advancing our industry.

The year ahead will be both important and defining. SAIMM will be formulating and executing a focused strategy aimed at delivering measurable value to our members, corporate stakeholders, and the broader minerals sector. Central to this strategy is one overarching priority: securing the future skills and professional capability pipeline required for a modern, sustainable and globally competitive mining and metallurgy industry.

The future of mining depends not only on technical excellence but on the strength and continuity of professional development across the entire lifecycle of a professional career. This begins at undergraduate and postgraduate level, progresses through structured professional development and registration, and continues throughout our professional working life via meaningful continuing professional development (CPD). If any link in this chain weakens, the industry ultimately pays the price in the form of reduced capability, slower innovation, increased operational risk, and declining competitiveness.

Importantly, the future skills requirement is far broader than traditional mining, metallurgical engineering, and geology. Modern mining operations are complex socio-technical systems requiring integrated capability across multiple engineering disciplines including mechatronics, digital and data sciences, environmental stewardship, finance, human capital, governance, and leadership. The minerals industry will increasingly compete for talent against other sectors, and we must ensure that mining remains an attractive, credible, and high-impact professional career choice.

SAIMM has a critical and unique role in safeguarding the professional interests, standards, and development of those working across the minerals value chain. However, SAIMM cannot achieve this in isolation. Building a sustainable pipeline requires deliberate collaboration across all stakeholders in the professional ecosystem — universities, the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA), ECSA, corporate partners, training and adult learning providers, regulators, and industry leaders.

Our collective challenge is clear:

• Attract the right calibre of students into minerals-related disciplines.
• Provide structured pathways from graduate to professionally registered status.
• Ensure ongoing CPD that is relevant to the rapidly evolving industry.
• Integrate technical, digital, managerial, and leadership capability.
• Align industry demand with academic and training supply.

Throughout 2026, SAIMM will actively engage these stakeholder groups to strengthen alignment across this system and position the Institute as a central integrator and enabler of professional development in the minerals industry.

SAIMM will also have a strong presence at this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba. During the conference, I will be based in a dedicated lounge area in the reception of the Cullinan Hotel where members and stakeholders may schedule time in my diary to meet and discuss how SAIMM can support their professional, organisational, and industry needs. If you have not yet scheduled a time and would like to engage, please reach out directly to me or through the SAIMM Secretariat to arrange a meeting.

In addition, SAIMM will host a breakfast event on Tuesday morning at the Royal Cape Yacht Club where Dr Jeannette McGill will share her inspiring leadership journey titled: From 4km Underground to 8km Above: A Leadership Journey, following her successful summit of Mount Everest last year. I encourage you to register and join us for what promises to be a memorable and motivating session.

If we invest deliberately in people, skills, and professional capability today, we secure the long-term resilience, credibility, and performance of our industry tomorrow. This will be SAIMM’s primary focus for the year ahead.

I look forward to working with all members and partners as we shape and deliver this important agenda together.

G.R. Lane
President, SAIMM

The first one hundred days and beyond

Details

Created: Friday, 12 December 2025 09:46

Written by G.R. Lane

I write this December President’s Corner, it has been 114 days since my inauguration on 14 August 2025. This is a good moment to reflect on an exceptional period of progress, and what we have achieved, thanks to the dedication of the SAIMM Secretariat, Council, office bearers, and all our committee volunteers.
It has been a time of focused leadership, deep engagement with external partners, and the early steps in shaping a clear and compelling SAIMM value proposition.

Strengthening our foundation
At my inauguration, I committed to strengthening the SAIMM Operating Model and that remains central to everything we are doing. Our aim is simple: to deliver value consistently and reliably to our members, corporate partners, collaborators, universities, and the broader industry.
A strong operating model is the foundation that allows us to honour this responsibility, grow the Institute, and expand our impact in the minerals sector.
Governance in action
A key part of this journey has been to reinforce the role of Council. As the governing board of the SAIMM, Council is responsible for strategic direction and effective oversight. For many newly elected members, this is their first experience serving in a formal governance role and it mirrors the responsibility of company directors. It is a powerful developmental opportunity for individuals and for the industry.
The day after the AGM, we held a comprehensive Council induction, designed to clarify the responsibilities of council members under the constitution and align these roles with the King IV principles. Each council member has committed to fulfilling these duties with care, clarity, and professionalism.
The office bearers form the executive team of the Institute. They are responsible for executing strategy and managing daily operations. This group includes the immediate past president, current president, president-elect, senior and junior vice-presidents, honorary treasurer, finance manager, and general manager.

Building the SAIMM Operating Model
Together with the leadership team, we have developed a functional framework for the operating model, which continues to be refined through ongoing feedback and beyond my presidency. A visual representation is now available and serves as a central reference across the Institute. It connects our constitution, by-laws, and terms of reference and allows every volunteer to quickly find the terms of reference and objectives of every one of our committees through a single point of access.
Every meeting, whether council, office bearers, the 22 committees, or weekly management meetings, now operate with a planned agenda. Each one sets out its purpose, expected outcomes, required results, and the approach to achieving the result. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The change has been immediate, meetings are more focused, and outcomes are being achieved. We now also close each meeting with plus-delta feedback to ensure continuous improvement of every meeting. The days of long meetings without impact are behind us.
We have also begun to use data to support operating model priorities and guide decision-making in the appropriate meetings.

Growing our membership and reach
Our membership data clearly showed the need for deeper student engagement. Together with YPC Chairperson Connie Chijara, I visited several universities and presented to over 500 students. This effort has already led to a 45% increase in student membership over the past 10 weeks.
We have also learned that student chapters need to be re-established at each university to strengthen ongoing engagement. February, with no exams, is ideal for this. In 2026, we will visit Wits, UJ, UP, NWU, UL, and UNIVEN, supported by a SAIMM activation table to assist with registration. This process is now formally embedded into our operating model, with a clear procedure, timeline and accountability. The Young Professionals Council has set a bold target of 1 000 student members by the end of 2026.

In parallel, the Membership Committee has set a strategic goal to double overall membership by 2026. This has put a spotlight on the registration process, where many new applicants are delayed by missing documents or proposer/seconder issues. The Head of Membership is streamlining the process and addressing gaps in our membership software with the vendor.

Journal, events, marketing and professional registration
The SAIMM Journal continues to be a respected, international publication. It is led by a professional and committed committee. However, a significant backlog of papers has emerged, driven by a manual and inconsistent review process. This is now being fully mapped to identify and resolve the bottlenecks.
Standard operating procedures are also being developed across all functions, from membership to events and finance, to ensure consistency and reliability in how we deliver. This is being supported by a digital strategy and roadmap, which will integrate membership, event, and financial data to enable more targeted event marketing and member engagement.
On the communications side, we have sharpened our content and improved visibility. Our LinkedIn following grew by 6 000 this year, and Facebook by 500. This reflects stronger outreach, better messaging and a renewed energy around the SAIMM brand.
We are also aligning our efforts with the new ECSA Identification of Engineering Work (IDoEW) requirements. The SAIMM is well positioned to support engineers through this transition, from structured mentoring across the 11 defined competencies, to professional registration support and continuing professional development (CPD). As a recognised voluntary association, our technical programme and membership contribute directly to the 25 CPD points required over a five-year cycle.

Industry engagement and conferences
I have had the privilege of engaging with many stakeholders this quarter, giving presidential openings and addresses at events including AfriRock 2025, the 13th International Heavy Minerals Conference, the International Mineral Asset Valuation Conference, the Geometallurgy Conference, the Student Colloquium, the 9th International PGM Conference, AI for Leaders, 2025 Mine Safe and Industry Awards Day, and the SAIMM Limpopo Branch Technical Conference.
It has been encouraging to see increased attendance at all these events. The PGM Conference, which I have been attending for the past 16 years, reached its highest-ever turnout, with over 300 delegates. These events are a vital part of the SAIMM’s value proposition and continue to play a central role in knowledge sharing and professional growth.
Meeting young engineers at the Limpopo Branch Conference, professionals who work underground every day, left me feeling inspired and confident in the future of our industry. Their commitment, optimism and drive were truly energising.

A word of thanks
A heartfelt thank you to our corporate partners, Ukwazi, Valterra Platinum, Sibanye Stillwater, SRK Consulting, Impala Platinum, and Sound Mining Solutions, for their continued support of the SAIMM.
Although I have served the SAIMM for more than 20 years across committees and Council, I never fully appreciated the full extent of the Institute’s activities. The Secretariat, a team of 18 full-time employees, and 4 interns, go above and beyond, often working weekends to support university events. And our Council, office bearers and 22 committees are made up of more than 200 committed volunteers who also occupy full-time roles across the mining sector.
A special mention to our branch chairpersons and their respective committees that are ensuring we reach all our members and stakeholders across Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Limpopo, Zululand, Western Cape, North West, Northern Cape, Johannesburg, and Pretoria.
To all of you and to every member of the SAIMM community, thank you for your support over the past 114 days. I am excited about what we will accomplish together in 2026.
Wishing you a peaceful festive season. Please travel safely and return refreshed for the year ahead.
Warm regards

G.R. Lane
President, SAIMM

Navigating the Identification of Engineering Work— a call for professional registration

Details

Created: Friday, 21 November 2025 13:50

Written by G.R. Lane

For a while now, I have been aware of the Identification of Engineering Work (IDoEW) being developed by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA). It was only after attending an ECSA presentation recently, engaging in discussions, and conducting further research that I came to appreciate the far-reaching impact this initiative will have on the engineering profession and particularly on the mining industry.

When I graduated as a civil engineer, I understood the importance of registering as a Professional Engineer (Pr. Eng.) with ECSA to be able to take accountability for the design, construction, supervision, and certification of civil engineering projects where failure could result in loss of life or significant damage. This model of professional oversight mirrors other regulated disciplines such as law, medicine, accounting, and architecture, ensuring competence, accountability, and ethical conduct.

The IDoEW framework now formalises these same principles across all branches of engineering.

The IDoEW framework

After many years of consultation, ECSA finalised the IDoEW framework in March 2021 and published the rules in the Government Gazette on 26 March 2021 under Section 26 of the Engineering Profession Act 46 of 2000.

The framework defines which categories of engineering work must be performed or supervised by registered professionals, whether professional engineers (Pr. Eng.), professional engineering technologists (Pr. Tech Eng.), professional engineering technicians (Pr. Techni Eng.), or professional certificated engineers (Pr. Cert Eng.). This applies across all disciplines, including mining, mechanical, civil, electrical, metallurgical, chemical, control and instrumentation, and industrial engineering.

While full implementation was initially planned for March 2024, the compliance deadline was extended to April 2025 to allow industries sufficient time to align their structures, policies, and personnel.

Implications for the mining industry

Compliance is now a legal requirement for anyone performing identified engineering work under the Engineering Profession Act 46 of 2000. Historically, ECSA registration levels in the mining sector have been low, meaning a concerted effort will be required to achieve full alignment.

Typical mining activities falling within “identified engineering work” include:

• Mine design and planning — shafts, slopes, stopes, and ventilation systems.

• Life-of-mine (LoM) planning and production optimisation.

• Mineral project evaluation and valuation.

• Rock engineering and geotechnical design.

• Infrastructure, equipment design, maintenance, and process-plant engineering.

Mining companies must ensure that such work is executed or signed off by registered professionals, and that unregistered staff perform their duties under appropriate supervision. This may require upskilling programmes, policy revisions, and the integration of registration status into recruitment, role descriptions, and career development frameworks.

Non-compliance constitutes a statutory offence. In terms of Section 41 of the Act, offenders may face fines of up to double the professional fee earned, penalties equivalent to three years’ imprisonment, or disciplinary action. The message is clear — engineers must be registered and must maintain their registration.

Alignment with the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA)

It is important to note that compliance with the IDoEW does not replace or override the statutory obligations of the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA). The two frameworks operate in parallel, each addressing a different but complementary aspect of professional accountability.

Under the MHSA, certain key roles, such as mine manager, section engineer, and rock engineer, require a Certificate of Competency or “ticket” issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). These legal appointments ensure operational safety and compliance with mining legislation.

The IDoEW, on the other hand, governs the professional accountability for engineering design, analysis, and technical decision-making, requiring registration with ECSA. In many cases, both credentials may be necessary, for example, a section engineer responsible for the design, operation, and maintenance of mining systems may need both a DMRE certificate (to satisfy MHSA legal appointment requirements) and ECSA registration (to perform and sign off identified engineering work under the Engineering Profession Act).

In practice, mining companies should assess each role to determine whether a legal appointment, professional registration, or both are required, ensuring that accountability and competence are fully covered across operational and engineering domains.

How SAIMM supports compliance

As a recognised voluntary sssociation (VA) under ECSA, the SAIMM is well positioned to assist the mining industry in managing this transition. Our support includes:

1. Information and awareness – publishing updates, articles, and hosting seminars to clarify IDoEW requirements.

2. Mentorship and facilitation for registration – connecting candidate engineers with experienced mentors through our networks and the Young Professionals Council (YPC) and assisting members with the registration process.

3. Liaison and advocacy – engaging directly with ECSA on behalf of our members to address miningspecific issues and ensure practical implementation.

4. Continuing professional development (CPD) – offering accredited events, conferences, and courses.

Registered professionals must accumulate 25 CPD credits every five years; SAIMM membership earns one credit per year, and participation in committees or volunteer activities also qualifies.

Corporate partnership with SAIMM extends these benefits to company professionals, providing access to technical programmes, mentoring support for registration, and structured CPD pathways.

A call to action

Every engineer, technologist, and technician involved in identified work must ensure that they are registered or actively working toward registration. Maintaining professional standing through ongoing CPD will be equally important.

The introduction of the IDoEW marks a major step forward in strengthening South Africa’s engineering standards and safeguarding the public interest. The SAIMM remains committed to supporting our members and the broader mining industry through this critical evolution in professional practice.

G.R. Lane
President, SAIMM

Our responsibility to develop future industry leaders

Details

Created: Tuesday, 21 October 2025 11:16

Written by G.R. Lane

At a recent conference, a young professional asked me: “What do I do if my boss won’t give me the time to get involved in SAIMM Young Professionals Council activities and events?” This question cuts to the heart of a broader issue: What is our responsibility as leaders to guide, coach, and prepare the next generation to take our place?

I remember being a young graduate, fresh out of university, unaware of what I did not yet know. It is easy to get consumed by the demands of a day job and neglect the time needed for personal and professional development.

Fortunately, I had the benefit of learning from some exceptional leaders in the industry who encouraged me to look beyond my immediate role. Their guidance helped me understand the importance of contributing to the broader mining community and part of my career and personal development.

While many companies offer formal management and leadership training, this is only one piece of the development journey. My own journey with the SAIMM began 20 years ago, when a respected industry leader encouraged me to join, get involved, and give back.

Over time, my involvement in the SAIMM has significantly contributed to my professional growth and confidence. I have learned how to present ideas clearly through technical papers and conference presentations, built skills through chairing conference organising committees, and gained insight into the value of collaboration across the industry. Serving as Chairperson of the Technical Programme for the past eight years has further strengthened my ability to lead, facilitate dialogue, and shape the Institute’s value proposition.

Now that I have taken on the role of the SAIMM President in 2026, I recognise how deeply this involvement has shaped my leadership capabilities—and how critical it is that we create the same opportunities for others.

Serving on the SAIMM Council provides professionals with exposure to governance responsibilities, often for the first time. It acts as a valuable stepping stone into board-level thinking and decision-making. The SAIMM is, without doubt, a vital platform for developing the future leaders of our industry.

But it only works if we, as the current leaders, support it. That means setting clear expectations for the professionals in our teams and explaining the value—to the company, the individual, and the industry—of dedicating time beyond day-to-day responsibilities.

In our company, every young professional is expected to become a SAIMM member, join the Young Professionals Council, and participate in conference organising committees. As they gain experience, they are encouraged to submit abstracts and contribute papers to conferences.

We have seen the results: Our Operations Director served as Chairperson of the Young Professionals Council, is now a member of the SAIMM Council, and has become a Certified Director. Connie Chijaraanother one of our own—is now the chairperson of the Young Professionals Council, the first female to take on this role.

We give them the time because we have seen the benefit—not just to them, but to the industry and to our company. These young professionals are not just contributors today. They are the leaders of tomorrow.

G.R. Lane
President, SAIMM

Final reflections and future considerations

Details

Created: Thursday, 28 August 2025 15:30

Written by E. Matinde

This month’s article will be my last contribution to the SAIMM President’s Corner. It has been a very interesting and rewarding twelve months as President of the SAIMM and I am thrilled to hand over the baton to my colleague Gary Lane as the newly inaugurated SAIMM President. As part of my communication strategy during the last twelve months, I deliberately selected a few, but very critical, areas of engagement affecting our mining industry. I also chose to structure my article contributions through the lens of a Socratic approach. Of course, any reasonable mind is bound to ask: Why the Socratic approach?
Originally attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates (c.a. 470-399 BCE), the Socratic method is a form of logical argumentation used to uncover hidden assumptions, challenge beliefs, and achieve deeper understanding of complex and contentious issues through a set of continual probing questions. As opposed to the conventional didactic, and often positional discussions based on perceived factual knowledge, the Socratic approach is a self-discovery method that encourages participants to explore complexities and plurality around sensitive topics by forcing them to evaluate issues from multiple perspectives. In my view, the challenges affecting our industry are way too complex, and indeed too complicated, to solve them through a positional and/or zero sum mindset. Case in point is the discussions around retrenchments and layoffs amid market disruptions precipitated by the turbulent global geopolitical environment.

In my first article I made a bold proposition that, with the right technological, economic, and policy conditions, critical minerals and metals can act as key levers for industrial development, leading to sustained technological and economic catch-up. My hypothesis still remains unchanged, particularly in the context of astronomical demand for critical raw materials that are needed to drive the clean energy transition. In essence, the clean energy economic epoch naturally presents windows of opportunity for technological upgrading and industrialisation through value-added manufacturing and localisation of value-added manufacturing activities. Although the role of mineral endowment in the technological and economic catch-up framework is still poorly understood, I support the urgent calls to increase the level of beneficiation of mineral resources in host communities. In my view, this call to action should be universal if we are to address the extractivist curse that has epitomised the mineral resources sector in the global south for centuries.
Obviously, I am not naive to the fact that developing and sustaining manufacturing capabilities is not a trivial endeavour. However, I remain convinced that, with the right economic incentives and policy enablers, such capabilities and competencies can be developed and nurtured for the long-term benefits of our industry and members. If value-addition and beneficiation is a mission, then all that we need are mission-oriented industrial policies and corporate strategies to drive the innovation and technological upgrading in our industry. As an avid reader on this subject, I would like to refer our readers to explore the interesting dimensions of mission-oriented policies presented in the work published by Prof. Mariana Mazzucato (open access article is available here: https://academic.oup.com/icc/article/27/5/803/5127692).

I also made reference in one of my articles to China’s deliberate efforts to industrialise its economy through strategic support of SMEs and SMMEs (they call them little giants due to their unique capabilities and positioning to grow into national champions) in critical industries. Despite the global contestations on the perceived methods used, the Made in China 2025 policy framework is a noteworthy sovereign strategy that provided the driving force required to catalyse innovation and drive the competitiveness of the value addition and beneficiation supply chains for Chinese enterprises. Germany’s SME-centric Industrie 4.0 strategic initiative, supported by a strong vocational education and training system, also provides a comprehensive template for the global south to learn from. Obviously, there are insurmountable challenges and complexities that we have to overcome before we can achieve some of these desired outcomes. I am looking forward to opportunities to engage further on this complex subject beyond my tenure as President of the SAIMM.

It was an honour that my tenure as SAIMM President coincided with the publication of the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy for South Africa. The timing of the strategy document is profound in that it comes at a time when we have strong convergence on the need to intensify the local beneficiation of our minerals. The bold declarations to improve the regulatory stability and regulatory flexibility, including deliberate efforts to address other critical bottlenecks, are well received and appreciated. Once again, I would like to reiterate the importance of alignment of the strategy to the broader socio-political economy for us to achieve meaningful economic transformation.

The contribution of mining to the fiscuses and economic development of host countries should never be questioned. However, it would be folly to ignore the negative externalities our industry presents to host communities in the form of potential environmental damage from mine residues, mine impacted water, and airborne emissions. In one of my monthly articles, I highlighted the challenges of legacy mine residues emanating from the historical closure of mining sites and smelters long before the nascent environmental practices came into effect. The environmental potency is obviously exacerbated by the fact that these mine residues are formed ex situ with the potential to undergo physical, chemical, and/or thermal alteration over a period of time, making their long-term geochemical behaviour unpredictable. Additionally, the absence of real-time monitoring data, including limited availability of historical data sets in open access platforms, complicates our understanding of the long-term environmental impact of these legacy challenges. Despite our best efforts, the production and accumulation of mine residues is unfortunately inevitable if humanity is to continue enjoying the same level of affluence and economic development. However, I am convinced that our technical programmes will continue to provide non-zero sum platforms designed to share knowledge and best practices that are required to minimise the environmental footprint of mining activities.

Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise the need for homegrown technological solutions to transform our industry. With collective effort to develop endogenous technological capabilities, I strongly believe that we can achieve technology sovereignty and mitigate against external technological dependency. To achieve this, we need to strengthen collaborations while continuously investing in building and sustaining multidisciplinary engineering and vocational skills to drive innovation and upgrade productivity and industrial competitiveness. I am optimistic about the future impact from the industry drive to fund artisanal, enterprise, and postgraduate qualifications in the mining industry through the various public and private sector initiatives. In particular, I would like to encourage our young professionals to aggressively pursue any self-learning opportunities available to them, which includes exploring the pursuance of postgraduate qualifications through the various platforms available to support personal growth in the industry.
In conclusion, I would like to thank all those who took their time to read my articles over the past year. I acknowledge the fact that it takes an insurmountable amount of patience to read articles on Greek mythologies, but at this juncture our industry needs to demonstrate hope, resurrection, and renewal, similar to the immortal phoenix bird that cyclically regenerates itself by rising from the ashes of its predecessor.
Capaci occasio.

E. Matinde
President, SAIMM

South Africa’s green hydrogen strategy: Challenges and opportunities

Details

Created: Thursday, 24 July 2025 07:10

Written by E. Matinde

Significant global efforts have been dedicated to mitigate the man-made impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. However, recent policy shifts by some of the major economic jurisdictions, such as the United States, to focus on prioritising domestic economic growth, potentially at the expense of climate change, and stricter environmental regulation is a major cause for concern. For example, the US’s policy changes to truncate the roll-out of electric vehicle incentives and subsidies, among other roll-backs on clean energy transition initiatives, will provide interim fiscal relief but may inadvertently undermine climate change mitigation measures in the long term. In addition, the emerging geoeconomic order and tariff regimes will also have a disproportionate impact on both the demand-side and supply-side of climate-neutral technology cooperation and financing mechanisms. Consequently, this will delay the deployment of nascent interventions required to reduce emissions from energy- and greenhouse gas intensive industries. Obviously, the impact is disproportionately high in critical but hard-to-abate industries such as cement clinker production, iron and steel manufacturing, and public transportation, of which their global CO2 emissions are estimated to be roughly 8%, 7-9%, and up to 14%, respectively.

Due to the high costs of technology development and complexity of integration into existing systems, global cooperation in the development and financing mechanisms for sustainable climate-friendly technologies, such as green hydrogen, carbon capture, and storage technologies, has immense benefits to mankind. Green hydrogen, in particular, is considered to be one of the most promising energy carriers with immense environmental benefits. According to the Green Hydrogen Organisation (https://gh2.org/what-green-hydrogen), green hydrogen is produced via an electrochemical process to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable sources of energy. Several technologies to produce green hydrogen at scale have been developed and/or are at different stages of development and commercialisation. However, each technology regime is characterised by its own inherent challenges and opportunities in terms of interoperability, efficiency, costs and availability. With substantial support from industry, policymakers and the public, the roll-out of green hydrogen technologies has been touted as a gamechanger, with massive global strategic efforts being deployed towards technology development and establishment of infrastructure and special economic zones, supported by the promulgation of targeted industrial policies as well as support with tax incentives and subsidies.

As part of the dual drive to attain both economic and energy sovereignty, South Africa launched an ambitious green hydrogen strategy to leverage the country’s abundant renewable energy resources, both for domestic use and for export. The Hydrogen Society Roadmap was launched in 2021 to support the implementation of the country’s green hydrogen economy, and its implementation is anchored on the attainment of four strategic outcomes, viz, (1) creating an export market for the country’s green hydrogen and allied products, (2) greening the power generation, (3) decarbonising the transportation and heavy industries and, (4) localising the green hydrogen supply chains. According to the Hydrogen Society Roadmap (https://gh2.org/countries/south-africa), the country aims to produce approximately 500,000 tonnes per annum of green hydrogen by 2030, achievable by 10 GW of electrolysis capacity in the Northern Cape special economic zones by 2030, and up to 15 GW by 2040. In addition, the Hydrogen Roadmap targets the deployment of 100 hydrogen-powered buses and trucks by 2025 and up to 500 buses and trucks by 2030, with the opportunity to create and sustain up to 30,000 jobs annually by 2040. According to a report by National Business Initiative (https://www.nbi.org.za/green-hydrogen-presents-the-opportunity-as-the-fuel-for-the-future/), South Africa has the potential to produce green hydrogen for USD1.60 per kg by 2030, one of the lowest costs worldwide. These ambitious energy transition targets are applaudable, despite the challenges to achieve them being the stated timelines and current technoeconomic landscape. In addition, there is an urgent need to revisit the assumptions used to formulate the stated impact targets, if one is to take into account the unprecedented number of bankruptcies by green hydrogen technology startups and established global companies due to inhibitive development costs and complexity of the associated systems and technologies.

Indeed, green hydrogen is going to be a game-changer due to its potential to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and drive innovations in sustainable technologies. However, it is evident that the suite of technologies to produce green hydrogen are emerging technologies, which are disproportionately prone to failure due to the high costs of electrolyser technologies, complexity of integration, and intermittency of renewable energy storage systems, among other challenges. Synergistic to bottlenecks from the complex technology systems is the valley of death faced by green hydrogen technologies due to misallocation of financing, and the “Lindy effects” arising from sunk costs and perceived performance of established fossil fuel-based technologies. Although the challenges in the roll-out of green hydrogen technologies is a global phenomenon, reliance on imported technologies, high cost, and availability of climate finance, further increases vulnerability for countries in the global south, South Africa included.

I had the privilege of listening to a keynote address by the Chairperson of SAIMM Limpopo Branch, Mr Steven Zulu, at the branch event held at the University of Limpopo earlier this month. In his opening address, Mr Zulu highlighted the need to develop sustainable technologies based on endogenous technology learning capabilities as a sovereign strategy to mitigate against perpetuation of external dependency, a phenomenon he referred to as “technology colonialism”. In particular, Mr Zulu highlighted some basic implementation strategies to attain technology sovereignty, such as building sustainable R&D and technology development skills. Furthermore, he emphasised the importance of developing home-grown technology alternatives, drive down technology costs, and unlock the ability to reverse engineer existing technologies to suit the domestic market requirements.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that green hydrogen can be a game-changer for South Africa and the region. However, the attainment thereof, together with the Green Hydrogen Roadmap impact targets, risk being wishful thinking unless collective efforts are channelled towards intensifying technology development initiatives to drive down costs and reduce dependency on imported technologies and components. Most importantly, open-minded approaches are required to take advantage of emerging geoeconomic dynamics, so as to establish genuine collaborations with all leading green hydrogen technology developers globally. As the SAIMM, we commit to continue supporting the dissemination of technical knowledge required to sustain the localisation of technology know-how in this highly contested domain.

E. Matinde
President, SAIMM

South Africa’s Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy: Challenges, opportunities and call to action

Details

Created: Thursday, 26 June 2025 06:36

Written by E. Matinde

The recent publication of the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy marks a significant milestone for the minerals industry in South Africa. The Strategy outlines the country’s critical and strategic minerals and metals that are essential to modern industrial technologies, economic development, and employment creation. The timing of the strategy document is profound in that it comes at a time when there is strong convergence among all stakeholders on the need to intensify the local beneficiation of our minerals. By leveraging the unique and abundant reserves of critical and strategic minerals and metals such as platinum group metals, manganese, vanadium, chromium, and titanium, among others, South Africa has the potential to create and sustain a thriving industrial ecosystem capable of generating high value products and services. Most importantly, the strategy underscores commitments by the state to providing enablers and interventions aimed at increasing the levels of value-added processing of the mineral products. These include bold declarations towards improving the regulatory stability and regulatory flexibility, facilitating the establishment of local and regional beneficiation and manufacturing hubs, and addressing critical bottlenecks such as energy availability and public infrastructure readiness.

Holistic implementation of the strategy has immense and long lasting benefits to the country. The full implementation of the strategic objectives will not only create jobs and national wealth through export of value-added products and services, but will also increase the endogenous and sovereign capabilities in manufacturing and value-added services. The strategy positions South Africa as an integral hub for regional minerals beneficiation and market for value-added products and services, thereby unlocking potential for growth of new industries and drive the expansion and diversification of the manufacturing and services value chains. By placing particular emphasis on areas where the country can build strong competitive advantages, such as in the emerging clean energy technologies value chains, and placing emphasis on applied research, technology development, and innovation, South Africa can positions itself as a regional innovation hub with the capacity to drive technologies of the future.

There is no doubt that the strategy comes at a time of intense geopolitical tensions and economic disruptions. Increased competition for investments to fund new and existing mining projects, coupled with unstable economic conditions due to fluctuating commodity markets, necessitates the need for targeted government policy and fiscal support to de-risk investments in strategic beneficiation projects. Public-private partnerships thus become a critical factor to ensuring holistic investment and resource allocation decisions; prioritise the investments in high demand multi-disciplinary skills, and ensure the development and robustness of innovation systems. Obviously, the alignment of the strategy to the broader economic and fiscal imperatives, including the political will to drive economic transformation and reduce barriers to entry for SMEs and SMMEs, is a critical determinant of the successful implementation of the strategy. Building international partnerships to leverage shared competencies through bilateral technical exchange platforms, such as Horizon Europe, African Mining Vision, and other pan-African initiatives, is a crucial element for creating synergistic impact.

In conclusion, the publication of the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy is a notable achievement for South Africa. For SAIMM and its stakeholders, the strategy provides a platform for more rigorous discussions and engagements through our conferences, webinars, and colloquia.

E. Matinde
President, SAIMM

Engineers dividend and the African mine of the future

Details

Created: Tuesday, 27 May 2025 11:54

Written by E. Matinde

The mining industry has experienced massive metamorphic and irreversible structural changes in the recent past. In addition to the recent unpredictable geopolitical conditions, the major challenges affecting the actors in the mining industry are intricately shaped by structural constraints such as geological, technological, and market conditions. Complexity in the geometallurgical properties of the individual ore bodies, for example, is irreversibly shaped by the geological conditions that existed billions of years ago. The grade and mineralisation properties of the ore bodies also have a significant impact on the choice of mining and processing technologies adopted, the economics of production, and the location of the mining operations. In addition, the mining industry also continues to face operational pressures to cut costs and increase productivity, while simultaneously navigating other challenges such as competition for high end skills, and meeting increasingly strict governance requirements and stakeholder expectations.

Due to the nature of mining as a business, it is clear that these inherent challenges are here to stay, and thus, the future of the industry depends on the ability to learn and adapt. The first, and perhaps most important priority for any mining operation, would be to strengthen its operational and cashflow resilience to enable it to weather the obvious challenges, such as geopolitical disruptions and cyclical downturns. Second to strengthening the economic position, the focus of a future looking mining operation would be to elevate its social licence to operate, achieved mostly through long term investments in human capital and environmental, social, governance, and sustainability KPIs. In fact, investing in talent and leadership has been considered a key variable to building a sustainable mining operation, as the mine of the future will be highly automated and will require highly skilled personnel capable of operating sophisticated systems and technologies. Establishing and strengthening economic linkages with other sectors of the economy is also critical to building value chain resilience and mitigating against the cyclical impact of the commodity markets.

In my October 2024 article, I introduced a controversial and yet highly ambitious proposition that critical minerals can result in sustained technological and economic catch-up. My hypothesis still remains unchanged, and I am convinced that it is possible to utilise the vast experience in complex mining systems and technologies on the African continent to build a vibrant manufacturing economy capable of providing value-added products and services to the rest of the world. I also highlighted that the ability to catch up is driven by deliberate efforts to build value-add competencies. Traditionally, the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills active in the economy was used as a proxy measure of technological capabilities, however more recently, interesting terms such as ‘engineer dividend’ are being introduced to broadly describe the nature and quantum of STEM skills that are required to drive and sustain technological innovation.

Borrowing from investment economics, the term ‘engineer dividend’ was introduced in a recent Bloomberg article to refer to a phenomenon whereby countries with a large and diverse skilled engineering workforce naturally develop competitive advantage in areas leading to technological advancement and industrial development (Bloomberg, available at https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-03-24/china-s-engineer-dividend-is-paying-off-big-time). Case in mind is China, which, according to Bloomberg, invested intensely in STEM education and managed to increase its number of engineers by close to 12 million in the period between 2000 and 2020. In this context, engineer dividend was described as an internal rate of return on investment in engineering competencies to create a concentrated community of experts and strong network of engineering skills capable of driving innovation in multiple fields. Although dependent on other factors to succeed, the high concentration of multidisciplinary and specialised engineering expertise fosters both competition and collaboration, leading to improved sector productivity and industrial competitiveness.

In conclusion, there is no doubt that resource-rich countries on the continent can leverage on the extensive experience in designing and operating complex mining systems and operations to build a robust manufacturing and value-added services economy. With all conditions remaining the same, would it be plausible to consider the ‘engineer dividend’ concept as a viable skills investment concept to derisk the future of African mining industry and, if so, which areas should we focus on?

E. Matinde
President, SAIMM

Legacy tailings and slag dumps: Turning challenges into opportunities

Details

Created: Thursday, 24 April 2025 05:38

Written by E. Matinde

As highlighted in some of my previous articles, the role of mining in the global economy cannot be underestimated. For centuries, the mining industry has contributed to the sustainable economic development of many countries. In fact, Max Plank, the father of quantum physics, is famously quoted to having said that ‘mining is not everything, but without mining there is nothing’. This century-old statement is still very relevant today, as all critical minerals and metals need to be mined, processed, and refined before they can be used in consumer goods, engineering equipment, and infrastructure. Unfortunately, the mining, processing, and refining of minerals and metals face its own environmental challenges. In particular, the various unit processes involved in the mining and recovery of valuable components from the run-of-mine ores generate large masses of waste materials, mostly in the form of chemically and mineralogically complex waste rock and tailings. Further downstream processes, such as those involved in the smelting and refining of metals and alloys, produce large volumes of wastes in the form of slags and fly ash. Regardless of the unit process producing them, these waste materials have common and overlapping characteristics in that their production is sometimes inevitable, they are produced in large volumes, and lastly, they tend to be chemically heterogenous and mineralogically complex.

Solid mine and metallurgical wastes (such as waste rock, tailings, slags, and ash) are collectively classified as mine residues. Due to the relatively low intrinsic monetary value, mine residues are normally disposed of in specially designed tailings facilities and slag ponds. Fortunately, the design of modern tailings storage and slag dump facilities is governed by various national legislations, global standards, and international best practices to minimise unintended impact on the environment and communities. Various industry standards and guidelines, such as the South African SANS 10286, provide guidance on the management of mine residue deposits and other forms of solid wastes. More recently, the global mining industry further reiterated its commitment to zero harm by voluntarily adopting the Global International Standards on Tailings Management (GISTM). The GISTM is a global standard that provides a common and standardised definition and best practices in the design, monitoring, and management of tailings facilities. The international standards and best practices require that active sites be continuously monitored throughout the lifecycle of the facility, an attribute that may not be applicable to legacy tailings and slag dump facilities.

For the purpose of this article, I would like to define legacy tailings and slags dumps as accumulated process residues emanating from the historical closure of mining sites and smelters long before the relevant standards and environmental legislation were promulgated and adopted. Both types of process residues have legacy ownership challenges, potentially due to multiple changes in ownership and/or the liquidation of known registered owners. This means that the management of the historical tailings and slag dump facilities then falls outside the active legislative mandates and best practice guidelines. Regardless of the process or commodity producing them, both legacy tailings and slag dump storage facilities have a number of common and overlapping characteristics in that: (a) they are man-made in nature and have potential to cause notable environmental impact from the accumulation of potentially toxic metal elements, (b) they are formed ex-situ and may have undergone physical, chemical, and/or thermal alteration over a period of time, an attribute that makes their long term geochemical behaviour unpredictable, (c) they form an emerging and irreversible component of the anthropocene, with the potential to permanently alter the natural environment and ecosystems, and lastly, (d) they both can play significant roles in the circular economy as sustainable sources of minerals through deliberate remining and other reclaiming activities.

The aforementioned attributes create both challenges and opportunities. Firstly, not much data is published in open access literature to highlight the long-term geochemical behaviour and impact of legacy mine residues. Secondly, in the absence of real-time monitoring data, it may be difficult to understand the long-term geochemical impact of these legacy facilities. Because of the legacy and ownerless nature of some of the storage facilities, the affected sites may fail to benefit from improvements in monitoring technologies and best practices. However, legacy tailings and slag dumps can play a significant role in the sustainable supply of critical raw materials. By taking a ‘waste-to-resources’ approach, legacy mine residues have the capacity to revitalise the economies of affected communities through their reclamation for use in transversal industries.

The production and accumulation of mine residues is inevitable if humanity is to continue enjoying the same level of affluence and economic development. It is a fact that some mining and smelter sites may close as a result of unavoidable factors such economic disruptions, technoeconomic cycles (such as the potential impact of clean energy transition on coal mining), and resource depletion. This means that there is a need for future thinking to mitigate the post closure economic and environmental impact of tailings and slag dumps. This pragmatic approach is not new to the mining industry and academia, and in fact, was discussed in detail during the recently concluded SAIMM Mine Closure Conference 2025. The upcoming SAIMM Tailings Conference 2026 also provides an important platform to further debate some of these pertinent issues. In addition, I also would like to draw attention to a very impactful paper by Prof. Isabelle Demers (available at https://doi.org/10.1017/mcl.2024.4).

Dealing with environmental issues emanating from legacy mine residues is not trivial. Rather, it is a complicated endeavour that requires a multi-disciplinary approach by all stakeholders. In conclusion, I would like to remind all policy makers, geotechnical engineers, geochemists, hydrogeologists, process engineers, pyrometallurgists, biologists, archaeometallurgists, among others, that the call for abstracts for the SAIMM Tailings Conference 2026 closes on the 1st of July 2025. Please register to attend the conference so that we can collectively discuss these issues.
https://www.saimm.co.za/saimm-events/upcoming-events/tailings-2026-conference

E. Matinde
President, SAIMM

Navigating the complexity of retrenchments and layoffs in the mining industry: In search of a collective ubuntu-based approach

Details

Created: Thursday, 03 April 2025 05:27

Written by E. Matinde

The mining industry is an integral part of the South African economy. According to the Minerals Council of South Africa, the mining industry contributed around 425 billion rands (or 6.2%) to the country’s GDP in 2023. In the same period, the mining industry also employed over 470,000 people, thereby contributing significantly to the socioeconomic wellbeing of mining and nearby communities. More details on the most recent statistics are available here: https://www.mineralscouncil.org.za/reports/2023/. As has been in the past, the mining industry remains a cornerstone and plays an inseparable role in the economy through multiplier contributions, such as investing in social projects and infrastructure, training and skills development, health and education.

The cyclical nature of mining sector profitability presents unprecedent challenges to the long term stability of the industry. Despite the net-positive impact of the clean energy transition on some commodities, domestic and global headwinds such as capital scarcity, declining commodity prices, disruptive technologies, rising operating costs, and harsh domestic economic conditions, among others, continue to present long-term viability challenges to most mining operations in the mining sector. These industry headwinds naturally affect the mining sector differently, with some operations being affected more adversely than others. The platinum group metal (PGM) industry, for example, was severely impacted by the long-term decline in commodity basket prices for PGMs in the global markets, mostly driven by the growing concerns about the demand disruption from electrical vehicles.

In order to survive these headwinds, the mining industry finds itself with the need to cut costs and implement drastic restructuring strategies. The recent cost cutting and restructuring measures implemented by some companies in the South African mining industry naturally resulted in the significant reduction in the workforce through retrenchments and layoffs. Within the last two years, notable retrenchments and layoffs were observed across the various commodities in the sector, with the PGM sector being the most affected. Being one of the largest employers within the South African mining industry, employing over 38% of the total mining workforce in 2023, any impact on the PGM industry will have an oversized weighted impact on the overall employment statistics and perception of the mining sector. Regrettably, retrenchments and layoffs are not common to the mining sector alone, but are also being experienced across the other core segments of the economy. Recent public reports attest to this painful reality in the manufacturing sector as well.

Retrenchments and layoffs can be viewed as an inevitable consequence of every bad business cycle. While retrenchments and layoffs might seem inhumane, they can sometimes be necessary, albeit drastic, measures to ensure the survival of the company during economic downturns. This means that implementing cost reduction and restructuring decisions can sometimes be a matter of survival and a necessary step to ensure long-term business continuity. However, if managed properly and conducted in good faith, retrenchments and layoffs can result in improved efficiency and profitability growth in the long term, leading to future protection of jobs and improvement in employee welfare.

Retrenchments and layoffs represent some of the most challenging and delicate decisions any organisation can make. Nonetheless, retrenchments and layoffs should be used as a last resort and should not be used as a tool to solve challenges emanating from temporary economic shifts, Trump-like geoeconomic disruptions, and poor strategic decisions by management. Due to the irreversible damage to organisational brand and the emotional and socioeconomic wellbeing of employees and affected communities, there is a strategic need to balance humanity over short-term profits. Although easier said than done, a more feasible approach would be to focus on cutting costs through improving operational efficiency and business model innovation, rather than arbitrarily reducing the employee headcount. In the worst case scenario, it is also important to explore alternative and more humane strategies to reducing headcount, such as natural attrition, voluntary separation, and early retirement, among others. Open communication and taking collective responsibility beyond what are mandated by national labour laws and company policies are crucial requirements to navigating the complexity and impact associated with a retrenchment process.

Job loss is always an emotive process. In addition to the usual feelings of anger, resentment, and sense of inadequacy, the feelings associated with a lack of job security often leads to the poor physical and mental health of affected individuals and their families. Since the impact of retrenchments and layoffs extend beyond the affected employees to their families and communities, there is a need for a collective approach to explore viable ‘beyond the fence’ support to assist affected individuals and communities to cope with the changes and losses. For example, collaborative efforts involving the state institutions, mining companies and their suppliers, industry bodies, organised labour, communities and local municipalities, among others, can have significant impact in assisting the affected individuals through community based social and enterprise development projects. It is also important to retain an active register of affected employees and giving them first preference in case of a successful turnaround.

A people oriented strategy is also required to support those affected by restructuring processes leading to a reduction in the workforce. For example, a longer term view on career transition support, through reskilling and multi-skilling the individuals who are at risk to acquire artisanry, technical and enterprise skills, can help to mitigate the socioeconomic impact of retrenchments and layoffs. Reskilling the workforce through artisanal, professional, and postgraduate training also increases employability of effected individuals in transversal industries. These approaches can only be successful if implemented early in one’s career so as to increase the chances of internalisation of the knowledge and skills, which in themselves are core determinants to building individual self-efficacy and the likelihood of entrepreneurial success. As SAIMM, we offer a wide variety of self-mastery and industry relevant CPD-accredited training courses, conferences, and webinars that can assist individuals to navigate the complex self-learning space. Self-learning through the various open access online platforms can also increase one’s ability to acquire new skills and adapt to shifting employment trends.

In conclusion, retrenchments and layoffs are very emotive issues. Thus, the purpose of my article is neither to take a moral position against retrenchments and layoffs, nor is it an attempt to glorify workforce reduction as a viable and moral corporate cost-cutting measure. Rather, the sole purpose of this article is to stimulate a healthy and constructive debate on how we can collectively navigate the complex needs for business continuity while mitigating the emotional and socio-economic impact on affected colleagues and communities.

E. Matinde
President, SAIMM