Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has said the migration to a new mining cadastre system is expected to be completed by June 2025.

The former Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, which has been split in the seventh administration, in February announced the appointment of the PMG Consortium to design, implement and maintain the mining licensing system, or cadastre.

During a July 17 post-Budget Vote media briefing, the Minister reiterated what was announced in his July 11 Budget Vote speech, namely that a service level agreement has been concluded with the consortium and that the systematic implementation of the project has begun.

Other highlights from the Minister's Budget Vote speech was the announcement that the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources was drafting a report on the 'State of Mining' in South Africa, which would consider several factors such as the contribution of mining to GDP; the performance of the mining sector in terms of production, exploration, exports, sales and prices, as well as trends in these areas; and the challenges facing the industry and the interventions needed to resolve those challenges.

"At the conclusion of this work, we will have pointed answers on how to address challenges facing the sector," he said, adding that this work was being done in parallel with the development of a 'Critical Minerals Strategy', which would serve as the country’s blueprint policy for the exploitation and processing of critical minerals. The strategy was expected to be launched in October.

Mantashe also noted that, given South Africa’s endowment with considerable mineral reserves of strategic significance to the global economies, increased exploration would enable the country to meaningfully benefit from its global advantage. 

To enable this, the department has, in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), established an exploration fund to support emerging and junior miners.

The first funding call, focusing on copper, nickel, lithium, rare earth elements and graphite was issued on July 3 and closed on July 12.

"We intend to intensify our engagements with several fund managers and the investor community to secure additional financing to sustain the fund into the future," Mantashe said.

In addition, the department has allocated R72-million to fund artisanal and small-scale miners, including women and youth-owned companies.

"Twenty-one of these companies that responded to the funding call, have successfully completed a rigorous due diligence process. Following the conclusion of contracting agreements between the IDC and the beneficiaries, funds towards their projects will be disbursed no later than September this year," he noted.

Meanwhile, Mantashe said the department had also entered into an agreement with the mining industry for the development of minimum standards and guidelines to mitigate against road fatalities, while intensifying the fight against illegal mining.

"We have noted, with great concern, the emerging trend of fatalities related to motor accidents and disasters involving illegal miners," he said.