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A future 01042022 1The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world of work forever, as it catalyzed and brought forward changes to work arrangements for all companies. The Minerals Council as a progressive and agile organization also adapted to the ‘new For the last 132 years the Minerals Council (previously known as the Chamber of Mines) has had a leading presence in the inner city anchored in the Minerals Council building, which was constructed in 1921. It was a six-storey building, constructed in the Renaissance style with the Minerals Council taking occupancy at the end of 1921 and holding its first AGM in the building on 27 March 1922.


Over the next three decades the building was expanded on the vacant land adjacent to the building and then in 1956 the various sections additions and extensions were united by cladding the building with precast stone and breaking though the various sections of the building to form a cohesive unit.
COVID 19 brought to light the simple fact that the 100-year-old building is no longer appropriate for the Minerals Council and for the foreseeable future world of work especially as the building was established to house a much larger centralized function than that of lobby and advocacy which the Minerals Council provides today.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought forward significant changes to the way that organizations work and function which catalyzed new thinking on the world of work. After two years of working from home, we have a better understanding that in our circumstances and given the nature of the Minerals Council activities, work is an activity and not a physical location. Simply stated, team members have been equally and more effectively operating from home than in the traditional office-based work arrangements.

The Minerals Council is in a process of moving out of the Inner City to a smaller building that is more in keeping with an agile modern organization – a building that is fit-for-purpose, adaptable and flexible. And although we do so with a certain nostalgia, we are looking forward to an exciting new chapter in our 132 year old existence.

Jeannette Hofsajer

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