Every Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo speaks to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly. Reported here is this Friday’s At the Coalface transcript:

Kamwendo: South Africa’s Anglo American is spearheading exciting new clean hydrogen transport technology across Europe.

Creamer: This is very exciting, because when you hear the word clean hydrogen and green hydrogen, think of South Africa's platinum, because the only way they can get that is through the use of our platinum. We really need to market our platinum very well. This is what is happening now in Europe.

Anglo American has got a situation where they spearheading the deployment of green hydrogen mobility across Europe. This is in taxis that are going to use it, and, of course, buses also use it. Coming up is the Paris Olympics and that is going to also be a green hydrogen Olympics again, as it was in Japan, trying to prove to the world that keeping the air clean in this way is what can save our planet from climate change destruction.

When you say save it with green hydrogen, that also means South Africa coming forward with its platinum group metals, so it is of wonderful benefit for us.

Kamwendo: Minerals Council South Africa this week spelt out how mining growth reduces poverty and inequality.

Creamer: Minerals Council South Africa spent a lot of time trying to show how important mining is. Mining is an industry that is the epicentre of what can be the saviour of our socio-economic situation in South Africa.

The Minerals Council came up with a figure that nearly knocked me over. They said that a R1-million increase in mined output takes 10 people out of poverty. This is because of the multiplying effect of mining, which South Africans need to grasp. I think that the government needs to grasp it and the Minerals Council is calling for acceleration of the growth of the mining industry. They are really determined that they want to help South Africa by accelerating the growth of mining.

What they want is a one-stop regulatory environment, so when people go for licensing to extend mining, that occurs in the same place that they get the communication that they have got their mining licence. This will mean that investors wanting to mine and to explore won’t have to go from one department to the other, which wastes so much time and which stops South Africa from growing the very important mining economy.

Kamwendo: Thanks very much. Martin Creamer is publishing editor of Engineering News & Mining Weekly.