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Abstract
The paper examines the mining industry of South Africa from 1994 to the present, by reference to the legislative reforms and also the continuing contribution of mining to the economy of South Africa; with a focus on the case of gold. This is all affected by the push for ‘sustainable development’ (1987). In the past mining companies provided housing, clinics, schools, social amenities, and even infrastructure in mine towns, over and above the tax burden. In terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Development Act (2002) and related Mining Charter and Scorecard, it does not appear that the government expects any less in future. The influence of South Africa’s mineral endowment has diminished due mainly to expansion in the secondary and especially tertiary sectors of the economy. Social and environmental developments in mining are still emerging.
Notes
1. Barberton: ‘In the year 1884 Fred and Graham Barber discovered gold here and so triggered a gold rush.’ Citation[2]
2. ‘The Venetia diamond mine, which opened in 1992, is De Beers Consolidated Mines’ flagship operation. Situated 80km from Musina (formerly Messina) in Limpopo Province.’ Citation[3]
3. The oldest iron mines in neighbouring Swaziland date back 40,000 years Citation[4]!
4. There are also other factors to consider; for example, thermodynamics, a sense-of-place, the attitudes of people.
5. Sustainable: ‘capable of being continued…’ Citation[11]. Indefinitely? ‘The tendency is to look at an infinitely long period. This approach is not necessarily appropriate since it is impossible to accurately predict future events’ Citation[12].
6. Paul Sorensen, ‘The hierarchy of causes’, 2007, unpublished.
7. The Department: Minerals and Energy (DME) was split into the Department: Mineral Resources and the Department: Energy in April 2009.
8. Vehicle exporters have received a rebate on import costs since 1995. As a result, the contribution of the industry to GDP increased to 7.4% in 2006 from about 4.5% in the late 1990s, which was a record Citation[25].
9. The inflation rate is the percentage change in the CPIX between corresponding months in consecutive years (year-on-year). The other measurement of inflation, the PPI or Production Price Index, is based on a survey of the prices paid by a representative sample of ‘producers’: manufacturers, exporters and importers.
10. According to official sources South Africa still has a reserve base of 36,000 t of gold comparable in magnitude to what has already been extracted. This gold is at great depths, however, and apart from being expensive would be dangerous to extract by conventional means. It is effectively inacessible Citation[41].
11. This was recently undermined by the ‘debate’ by the ANC (Ruling Party) Youth League on nationalisation of the mines Citation[50]!
12. Patrice Motsepe, for example, is according to Forbes magazine is a dollar billionaire Citation[51].
13. Welkom: ‘Welkom was founded in 1947 following a major gold discovery the year before on the farm St Helena. It is one of the few completely pre-planned towns in the world and Sir Ernest Oppenheimer’s design in which the residential, mining and industrial sites blend to create an attractive garden city have been strictly adhered to’ Citation[60].
14. Orkney: “The town was proclaimed in 1940 on the farm Witkoppen” Citation[61].
15. Viginia: founded after the discovery of gold in 1954. It grew quickly on the banks of the Sand River Citation[62].
16. There are 167 parties at the provincial and 222 at national levels. On 4 April 2011 after closing date on 25 March 2011 (but presumably before reconciliation of numbers), 121 parties had indicated their intention to contest the municipal elections. At that point, 55,684 candidates had been registered Citation[65].