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The Citizen
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
SA created 159 new mines in five years, creating over 15,000 jobs
The establishment of new mines follows a structured application process overseen by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. South Africa has established 159 new mining operations over the past five years, creating over 15 000 direct jobs according to Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe. The information was revealed in response to parliamentary questions posed by MK Party MP Mzwanele Manyi regarding the state of mining development in the country. '159 mines were established over the past five years,' Mantashe confirmed, adding that '15,131 jobs were created through the granting of the specified mining rights.' New mining operations and registration process The establishment of new mines follows a structured application process overseen by the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. To improve this process, the department has recently procured 'a streamlined online licensing system to improve transparency and efficiency in application processes,' Mantashe explained in his response to EFF MP Nqobile Matilda Mhlongo. This new system forms part of broader efforts to 'improve regulatory certainty and stakeholder engagement, creating a more attractive environment for both local and international investors,' the minister added. Mantashe said the department ensures sustainable mining practices through strict regulatory oversight. 'The department ensures that mining activities are conducted sustainably by applying the principles of the National Environmental Management Act (Nema) when granting mining licences.' He added that each mining operation must comply with environmental regulations before receiving approval. 'Each mining right is accompanied by an approved Environmental Authorization, which outlines measures to address potential ecosystem disturbances and biodiversity loss,' the minister explained. Moreover, he stated that the department 'also conducts regular inspections to monitor compliance.' ALSO READ: Here's what some of South Africa's SOE bosses earn Community development through mining Mining companies operating in South Africa are required to contribute to local development as part of their operating agreements. According to Mantashe, 'the Department ensures that the development of mining balances social, economic and environmental sustainability'. This approach is formalised through mandatory development plans. 'Each approved mining licence includes a Social and Labour Plan (SLP), outlining the company's development commitments,' he noted. These plans have resulted in tangible benefits, with 'notable projects including the construction of the Malekana Steel Bridge in Limpopo and the completion of JS Skenjana Secondary School in the Eastern Cape'. ALSO READ: R16m Gauteng gold bust: Pair arrested after tip-off Mineral beneficiation shows mixed progress The department has implemented legislation to encourage local processing of minerals rather than simply exporting raw materials. In his response to Manyi, Mantashe highlighted that 'The department has implemented the Precious Metals Act and the Diamonds Act both of which have provisions for supporting domestic beneficiation by availing of precious metals and diamonds for domestic beneficiation through the State Diamond Trader (SDT) and South African Diamonds and Precious Metals Regulator (SADPMR).' Results from these beneficiation initiatives have been mixed so far. 'Between 2022 and 2023, gold jewellery fabrication declined from 1482kg to 1030kg,' Mantashe reported. However, other minerals showed improvement: 'Domestic platinum jewellery fabrication grew from 50kg to 121kg in 2022, whilst diamonds beneficiation increased from 223,005 in 2022 to 234,109 in 2023.' ALSO READ: Tshwane's R54.6bn budget draws mixed reactions Tackling illegal mining challenges Illegal mining remains a significant challenge for South Africa's mineral sector. In addressing Mhlongo's questions about this issue, Mantashe said the department had come up with a comprehensive approach involving multiple government agencies. 'An Interdepartmental Task Team made up of the DMRE, Saps, Home Affairs, Justice and Sars is working together to identify, disrupt, and prosecute illegal mining activities,' the minister explained. The department's strategy includes several key components to address the problem: 'Efforts have been made to seal off and rehabilitate derelict mines, cutting off access for illegal miners and addressing safety and environmental risks,' Mantashe noted. Additionally, the department is 'working with the Reserve Bank and Sars to crack down on the illicit trade of minerals like gold and chrome to protect the formal economy.' To strengthen enforcement capabilities, the Department has deployed 'more trained mining inspectors to illegal mining hotspots, working in coordination with law enforcement agencies.' Legal frameworks are also being reinforced, with 'revisions to the MPRDA underway to increase penalties and classify illegal mining as a serious economic crime to enhance enforcement powers.' Modern technology is being incorporated into these efforts as well. 'Drones and satellite surveillance are being piloted to monitor illegal activity, supported by intelligence-led operations that have resulted in successful interventions and arrests,' according to the minister. Community engagement forms another important element of the strategy, with 'awareness campaigns launched to educate communities about the risks of illegal mining, while promoting legal and sustainable small-scale mining alternatives.' NOW READ: Nearly 2 000 arrested during nationwide Vala Umgodi operations in April
IOL News
15-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Macua report uncovers massive fraud in South African mining sector
Mining Affected United in Action (Macua) investigation revealed looting in the mining industry. Image: File / IOL An investigation report by the Mining Affected United in Action (Macua) revealed that over R284 million allocated for Social and Labour Plan (SLP) delivery in the mining areas went missing. Macua said this was based on audits across eleven mining communities. The organisation said the money was either undocumented, misrepresented or effectively lost to fraud and non-delivery. The report is called 'Crumbs Capture'- a morally bankrupt system in which even the limited funds earmarked for development are misappropriated through inflated tenders, ghost projects, falsified delivery reports, and elite capture - while communities languish in deepening poverty. The report was launched on Thursday (today). Macua said the report, using participatory research, physical site verifications and testimonies from directly affected communities - is a culmination of three-year-long audits of 11 SLPs of mining companies in North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State and Northern Cape. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Macua said the companies from the eleven mining communities collectively reported over R376.25 million in SLP commitments but only R92.25 million was confirmed as delivered through infrastructure or community services. This leaves a whopping R284m unaccounted for, read the report. Macua said this was not merely a gap in implementation, but the looting of legally mandated development obligations under the guise of corporate social investment. But this is only part of the picture. Collectively, according to the report, the audited companies generated an estimated R218.8 billion in turnover over the five-year SLP period, yielding estimated profits of R72.23bn. Yet from these vast earnings, only R92.25m, which is 0.13% of the total estimated profit, was delivered in tangible, verifiable community benefit. 'This is not underperformance. It is developmental theft - a system of Crumbs Capture, in which even the legally required entitlements of the poor are systematically looted, while mining companies and politically connected actors continue to profit from public deception,' the report stated. SLP is a document that mining companies must submit to the Department of Mineral Resources and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) as part of their application for mining rights. The SLP outlines the company's commitments to the well-being of communities and workers affected by the mine. These include human resources development programmes, mine community development plans, housing and living conditions plans, employment equity plans, and processes to save jobs and manage downscaling and closure of operations. Mining activist Daisy Tshabangu told the attendees that despite this, there are no still developments in her area in Phola, Mpumalanga. She said many young people are unemployed while some communities are experiencing a shortage of water. She added that the living conditions were dire and the mines were not listening to their plights while DMPR did nothing about the situation. Asked to comment, the department spokesperson Johannes Makobane, on Tuesday said they were working on the responses but could not respond by deadline. Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Petroleum Resources, Mikateko Mahlaule, said the issue of SLPs is sitting firmly on the committee's agenda, as per the recommendation of the legacy report of the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy from the 6th Parliament. 'Although without an official report before it, the committee is aware of the allegations regarding the short-cutting of budgets and over-reporting on unverifiable SLP projects by mining companies. The committee views the report by Macua in a serious light, and, therefore, will find time in the current financial year to ask Macua and the department to brief the committee on this matter,' he said. Minerals Council South Africa said it has asked Macua for a copy of the report and a meeting to discuss it. In the statement released on June 2024, the council said the mining industry spent an estimated R4.9bn on social investment and development programmes during 2023 to improve the quality of life in mine-host communities. It said this expenditure was an addition to the R135bn that the sector contributed to the fiscus through corporate taxes, pay-as-you-earn (PAYE), and royalties, which benefitted the country and its citizens. The council said the estimate was derived from a research study of its member companies which represent 59% of total mining industry employment. Their annual report, according to the Minerals Council South Africa, indicated that these companies in platinum group metals, gold, coal, diamonds and iron ore, had spent a total of R2.9bn on social investment programmes. 'The Mineral Council has inferred, based on the proportion of the industry the companies represent, that the industry's total expenditure on social investment programmes would have amounted to approximately R4.9bn. The programmes include a broad variety of community development projects contained in, inter alia, the SLPs that are required in respect of each mining right.' However, Macua described the expenditure as a sector-wide misrepresentation. The organisation said when this pattern is extrapolated nationally, it points to a staggering R25bn in potential developmental theft across South Africa's mining sector, revealing a coordinated system of fraud, elite capture and institutional neglect on an industrial scale. 'If mining companies can steal legally mandated development funds without consequence, while the State looks away and criminalises resistance, then the constitutional project has failed the people it was meant to uplift. Over R25bn in looted development is not an accounting error, it is a crime.' The organisation said that DMPR, as the national regulator charged with ensuring that SLP obligations are fulfilled in mining-affected communities, was at the centre of this failure. It said despite receiving multiple detailed audit submissions over several years, the department refused to conduct follow-up investigations and take corrective action. 'Meanwhile, Parliament refuses to act. The DMPR remains a conduit for falsified self-reporting. Law enforcement agencies prosecute the poor but shield the powerful. This is not neglect—it is a coordinated system of elite capture and state-sanctioned impunity.'
IOL News
14-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Macua says R284 million in social development funds missing from South African mining sites
In a statement on Tuesday, Macua - a prominent social and community advocacy organisation - argued that if this pattern was extrapolated nationwide, it pointed to an astonishing R25 billion in potential theft from communities dependent on mining activities. Image: Supplied Banele Ginidza The Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) has announced that a conservative estimate of at least R284 million in Social and Labour Plan (SLP) funds remained unaccounted for across 11 mining sites. This alarming trend, termed 'Crumbs Capture,' suggests a systematic appropriation of developmental funds intended to uplift mining-affected communities. In a statement on Tuesday, Macua - a prominent social and community advocacy organisation - argued that if this pattern was extrapolated nationwide, it pointed to an astonishing R25 billion in potential theft from communities dependent on mining activities. 'Crumbs Capture' describes a morally bankrupt ecosystem where even the limited resources allocated for development are siphoned off through inflated tenders, ghost projects, falsified delivery reports and elite capture, all while communities languish in deepening poverty. The findings will be formally presented in a report scheduled for launch this Thursday, representing the third volume of Macua's series of community-led investigations conducted since 2018. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ This report culminates from extensive audits of SLPs across various provinces, including North West, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State, and Northern Cape, revealing the stark realities experienced by communities in Phola, Mononono, Robakala, Ikemeleng, Meloding, and Magojaneng, among others. "Rather than benefiting communities, these resources are routinely iInflated through tenders, reported as complete without delivery, hijacked by local elites and used to greenwash exploitation under the guise of corporate social responsibility," it said. "In essence, 'Crumbs Capture' refers to the looting of the little that was meant to redress historical injustice—a morally bankrupt system where even the crumbs are stolen, deepening poverty and inequality in the name of development." The audits illuminate a disheartening disparity: while the 11 audited mining companies reported over R376.25m in SLP commitments, only R92.25m was confirmed to have been delivered in terms of tangible infrastructure or services. This discrepancy leaves a staggering R284m unaccounted for — either undocumented, misrepresented, or lost to fraudulent practices. Macua said the 11 companies involved reportedly generated a collective turnover of R218.8bn over the SLP period, yielding profits estimated at R72.23bn. Such figures starkly highlight the grotesque imbalance between corporate profits and community neglect. Macua said while mining firms thrive, the communities meant to benefit from legally mandated development are left grappling with crumbling infrastructure and unrealised promises. "The audit findings do not reflect isolated administrative errors—they reveal a systemic model of developmental dispossession, where accountability mechanisms are absent, public institutions remain silent, and mining companies operate with near-total impunity," Macua said. "The R284 million unaccounted for is not just a number—it represents broken clinics, unsafe roads, undelivered skills programmes, and lives diminished by a system designed to extract and abandon." The report also critiques the Just Transition Illusion, a narrative woven into the broader context of the Just Energy Transition (JET). While government and mining firms tout JET as a pathway to inclusive growth and climate resilience, the report depicts a bleaker reality: JET is being employed as a facade to conceal systemic fraud, elite collusion, and broken commitments, with SLPs that should redistribute mining wealth instead acting as instruments of theft. The community audits revealed shocking completion rates across mining areas. In Mononono, for example, an abysmal 10% completion rate was tallied, with a mere 5% of promised community benefits delivered. Similarly, Rabokala achieved just 7.1% completion and 9.6% value, while MNS reported no project delivery whatsoever. These findings collectively paint a portrait of a systematic pattern of exclusion, misreporting, and financial opacity. The Chancellor House case study in Magojaneng serves as a striking example of these discrepancies. Here, the United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK)—partially owned by Chancellor House, the investment arm of the African National Congress—failed to account for over R172m in SLP obligations. Official reports boasted extensive infrastructure development, yet investigations revealed a stark contrast: little evidence of completed projects, and community members reported exclusion from essential planning processes. Visit:
