Department Of Mineral
Transformers in Cape Town

The Department of Mineral Resources aims to formulate and implement policy to ensure optimum use of the country’s mineral resources. The vision of the Department of Mineral Resources is to enable a globally competitive, sustainable and meaningfully transformed minerals and mining sector to ensure that all South Africans derive sustainable benefit from the country’s mineral wealth. With Citibank estimating in 2010 that South Africa had R2,5 trillion worth of mineral reserves, it is clear that the mining industry is crucial in the war against poverty and underdevelopment in South Africa. This is achieved within our legislative framework and as the legitimate custodian of the country’s mineral wealth.

The vision of the Department of Mineral Resources is to enable a globally competitive, sustainable and meaningfully transformed minerals and mining sector to ensure that all South Africans derive sustainable benefit from the country’s mineral wealth. This is achieved within our legislative framework and as the legitimate custodian of the country’s mineral wealth. To promote and regulate the minerals and mining for transformation, growth, development and ensure that all South Africans derive sustainable benefit from the country’s mineral wealth. In the case of the other provinces, the history will differ, as each former colony before unification, had its own structures in place. In the case of the former Cape Colony, the history of the Department stretches as far back as Mining featured in the Department’s name until 1980, when the name of the portfolio was changed from Mining, Environmental Planning and Energy, to Mineral and Energy Affairs. She held this position from 1999 until 2005, when she was appointed as former Deputy President. She and then Deputy Minister Susan Shabangu, were also the first female Minister and Deputy Ministers of the Department, respectively, the only Department to have had women as Minister and Deputy Minister at the same time. It also provides for the development of the Broad Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter, which is popularly known as the Mining Charter. The Mining Charter, as promulgated in 2004 made provision to review the progress against agreed targets after five years of its implementation. The introduction of the Mining Charter in South Africa was aimed at transforming the mining industry to redress historical imbalances engendered by apartheid so that the industry is consistent with the changes in South Africa’s overall transformation of its social, political and economic landscape. The small scale mining sector has historically been mainly comprised of alluvial diamond and in-land salt mining, but lately the bulk of the demand for small-scale mining ventures is associated with industrial commodities, such as slate, sand, clay, sandstone, dolerite and granites for the production of infrastructural development products such as tiles, clay and cement bricks, aggregates and dimension stone for cladding. The small-scale mining sector is faced with many challenges such as lack of access to finance and markets, shortage of skills and inadequate or non-compliance with regulatory requirements all of which the DMR is working towards addressing. Mine environmental management forms an integral part of the management of mineral resources in South Africa. In order for the department to effectively manage it has to undertake research, develop mine environmental policies (legislation, strategies), provide strategic guidance on mine environmental management, mine rehabilitation, water ingress, mine environmental legacies and on sustainable development. The department has prioritised management of rehabilitation of these mines as categorised on earlier established data base; to this end a strategy has been developed and will be implemented. Embedded in the Mining Charter are provisions to assess the extent of progress towards the attainment of its objectives and to review the charter within five years of implementation. In reviewing the charter, community upliftment will be among the key focus areas to ensure that mining development does not continue at the exclusion of communities. They do not end in 2014, but are meant to permanently transform the industry to be truly reflective of South Africa. The Department of Mineral Resources’ focus over the last five years has been on the transformation of the minerals and mining industry. The Department has, as of 2009, conducted inspections on all social and labour projects to ensure that companies deliver on their commitments. The Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate is responsible for protecting the health and safety of mineworkers or people affected by mining activities, by being responsible for implementing mine health and safety legislation. The activities of the Inspectorate focus on achieving a safer and healthier mining industry for all. The Inspectorate works closely with industry and worker unions to reduce t