CEO’s of the Gold and Platinum Mining Houses and their representatives,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Let me begin by thanking you for taking the time to participate in this very important discussion between my department and key leaders in our Gold and Platinum Mining industry.
South Africa has an extremely rich and diverse mineral resource base that could provide the platform for industrial development. We are currently one of the world’s major producers of gold and platinum. However, although we produce and export a large chunk of our gold and platinum, we have failed to ‘latch on’ and develop a growing precious metals beneficiation industry. Currently, we export the bulk of the raw product and import the processed goods back at a much higher price. As a response to this anomaly, government and Mintek have stepped in to work out ways of developing and supporting a precious metals beneficiation sector.
There already exists a suite of interventions to strengthen and support R&D within the gold and platinum sectors. However, it appears the industry is not yet fully conversant with this suite of interventions. This further reinforces the significant benefit that could be gained from a directed engagement between my department and CEO’s of major mining houses.
Discussions in this regard have culminated in my department initiating a proposal to combine Project AuTEK (which focuses on gold) and the Platinum Development Initiative (which focuses on platinum) to the CEO’s of six major mining houses in South Africa, and to look at ways in which industry and government can work together to enhance this joint initiative.
Significant progress has been made since the establishment of the Project AuTEK and the Platinum Development Initiative Programmes. The budgets have increased more than 15-fold and the human resource development more than 10-fold (to about 70 researchers). Our R&D expertise in precious metals is being built by involving local universities and establishing strong collaborations with international universities and laboratories.
This initiative will impact positively on our human resource development, the expansion of the country’s technical capacity, and the development of new applications for precious metals, which will in turn spawn new local industries and broaden the usage of precious metals into more diverse industries. The initiative will, as far as possible, also attempt to create and retain the precious metals value matrix and intellectual property in South Africa.
New technologies and applications for precious metals are of utmost importance to the economic growth of the mining sector and the country. We need to develop the critical mass of human capital required to build the identified research platforms to feed into a sustainable precious metals beneficiation industry. To do this effectively, government needs to partner with the precious metals producers in order to identify the R&D focus areas that have the highest potential for success, and to develop these actively into a sustainable precious metals industry in South Africa.
As a country we are increasing the national R&D spending and hope to meet our target of 1% of GDP by 2008. We are, therefore, committed to retaining some of the precious metals value matrix in South Africa by identifying, researching, developing and promoting new technologies and applications to a precious metals beneficiation industry in order to support the long-term future development of the mining industry. We thus need to ensure the implementation of active and effective R&D and innovation processes, where good ideas can be transformed into economically and socially valuable products.
So let us consider in a little more detail what our position on the precious metals beneficiation entails.
As a government, one of our key responsibilities is to improve the well-being of our people through sustainable development. Science and the associated technological developments are recognized as part of a toolset capable of providing tailor-made solutions to address key opportunities for, and problems of the nation.
The purpose of research is to generate new knowledge. And new knowledge not only allows us to better understand the nature of our environment; it also enables us to better manipulate, use and manage the environment to our advantage. Research has become a commodity and an agent for site2016. In a fast changing global economy, no institution or country can survive unless it meets the demands set by the local and global community.
Research and development is becoming increasingly important for the sustainable development of society. Science and technology is also clearly recognized as an essential component to future economic development, and to the development of a knowledge society. As government, we are committed to increasing the investment in our future, particularly in Science.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to briefly outline the key points of our discussion today which centre around sharing ideas on how we can partner to:
1.Positively impact on the human resource development and expansion of the country’s technical capacity;
2.Increase the usage of precious metals in new applications and more diverse industries;
3.Develop new local industries; and
4.Create and retain the precious metals value matrix and intellectual property as far as possible in South Africa.
This strategic discussion aims to position our country as a key player in the area of precious metals beneficiation, and seeks to support and strengthen an integrated development focus. We recognize the need to create opportunities for human capital development and develop the research and development infrastructure. This is our motivation for promoting the R&D and innovation in the precious metal beneficiation.
We need to recognize from the beginning that while government is committed to developing a precious metals beneficiation industry for South Africa, it can only do so through meaningful partnerships with its key role players. We need to maximize the use of our own intellectual property. And to realize business opportunities, we must invest in technologies that will enable us to commercialize products in the global arena.
May I, in closing, reiterate the need for precious metal beneficiation particularly in the social context. Some of the desired outcomes from developing this kind of industry include the generation of new export revenues, the eradication of poverty through the creation of new local jobs, skills development, lateral migration into other sectors, maintenance of excellent infrastructure where it exists, the creation of new ones where required, and other socio-economic spin offs. We need the engagement of industry with the rest of the national system of innovation to grow a distinctly South African opportunity in precious metals beneficiation.
For social benefits to grow, precious metals beneficiation should become one of our priority areas. As a department we are determined to give our local sector every opportunity to mature. Government has clearly demonstrated its commitment to creating the best possible climate for innovation to thrive.
I thank you.
