South African Business 2019 edition

OVERVIEW Mining Mine

OVERVIEW Mining Mine owners are preparing for change. The South African mining industry is going through a time of change. Gold and platinum mines are under pressure because of global price fluctuations and the cost of doing business. Safety issues are to the fore and national mining policy is the subject of heated debate. The body that has represented mine owners since 1889 has undergone a re-branding, a strong symbol that change is under way. What used to be the Chamber of Mines is now the Minerals Council South Africa. The Minerals Council wants to reposition the South African mining sector so that it regains its place as the country’s “foremost industrial sector”. It aims to double real investment in mining by 2030. The council wants to assist in obtaining the objectives of the National Development Plan (NDP) regarding economic growth, development and transformation. The gold sector has shed several thousand jobs in the last five years and in mid-2018 a large cutback in platinum sector employment was announced. A proposed new mining charter (Mining Charter 3) did not go down well with mining companies, and the new President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, appointed a new mining minister to come up with a better arrangement. Both Ramaphosa and Minister Gwede Mantashe have held the post of Secretary-General of the National Union of Mineworkers so there is no shortage of first-hand knowledge of the sector in the upper echelons of government. SECTOR INSIGHTS The Gamsberg zinc and lead project (pictured) is South Africa’s biggest. • Afrimat has expanded into mining. The level of black ownership and whether that percentage must be “topped up” every time a black shareholder sells are two of the contentious issues that must be resolved. A court ruling in favour of “once-empowered, alwaysempowered” will probably not be the end of the debate. The Minerals Council says that the value of BBBEE deals since the year 2000 is R205-billion. SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2019 70 cont on pg 72

E&T Minerals A hands-on approach is paying dividends for this coal business and its clients. PROFILE E&T Minerals is a South African-based commodity brokerage and trading house specialising in coal, coking coal and other coal products. Vision E&T envisages building an African business with global reach which capitalises on the continent’s rich natural resources while guaranteeing efficiency, reliability, excellence and transparency to and for its clients. Services • commodity trading • sampling • contract management • management of performance risk • logistical management Reliability and efficiency Founded in 2013, E&T Minerals is poised for a new dawn as the enterprise has matured with experience. Supported by a far-reaching network of suppliers and producers in addition to a very hands-on approach, what sets the E&T team apart is a constant physical presence in the coal fields which ensures the smooth running of all supply contracts. This includes quality maintenance by efficient sampling of all product stockpiles, management of logistics by supervision of all trucks loading material from the different sites up to the clients’ point of delivery. As a result of this approach, reliability of services to clients is assured. Emmanuel Ngulube Emmanuel Ngulube is the cofounder and current CEO of E&T Minerals. His responsibilities include sales, marketing, business development and the client relationships. Having worked for many years as a yellow metal trader, Emmanuel has an extensive network within the mining industry along with an excellent understanding of the processes of the domestic and international commodities market. Emmanuel studied finance at the University of Johannesburg. 71 SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS 2019