In the October edition of Modern Mining, the editor touches on the need to revisit the licensing regime to unlock mining investment in Africa. That the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world in ways not seen since the world wars is no overstatement. We would all agree that no event since World War II has had as extreme a global impact as COVID-19. Apart from the public health crisis, the pandemic is leaving a trail of economic destruction on a scale unseen in generations.

In the September edition of Modern Mining, the editor touches on the changing dynamics in the African gold mining sector. The history of gold in South Africa dates back to 1873, when first large-scale production began with the unearthing of alluvial deposits at Pilgrim’s Rest. This was followed shortly by the Witwatersrand gold find in 1984. The discovery of gold in the late 19th century gave rise to the development of the city of Johannesburg, Egoli, or the City of Gold and for many years, South Africa was the world’s primary gold producer.

This is no longer the case and South Africa’s gold output has continued to decline for several decades. From peak production of around 1 000 tonnes (t) in 1970, the country’s gold output fell to 130 t in 2018, with South Africa now only accounting for roughly 4% of the world’s gold production.

Modern Mining Digital August 2020

In the August edition of Modern Mining, we look at the impact of the proposed tax amendments on contract miners. On July 31, 2020, the National Treasury released the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill for comment. The Bill includes proposed amendments to both section 15 and section 36 of the Income Tax Act (ITA), effectively noting that capital expenditure allowances are only available to taxpayers that hold mineral rights. The proposed amendment was alluded to earlier this year as part of Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s budget speech, during which he noted that it was being considered.

In the July edition of Modern Mining, the editor is encouraged by copper prospects in the DRC. Notwithstanding the country’s many challenges, the copper mining industry is likely to further raise the value of the DRC mining sector.

In 2013, the DRC surpassed Zambia for the very first time, to become Africa’s leading copper producer, with a total annual output of 925 000 tonnes. This was an extraordinary achievement, given that barely 10 years earlier, the country had been producing a mere 70 000 tonnes annually. Fast forward to 2020, and the DRC is among the top five copper producers in the world, with a total annual production of 1,3-million tonnes.

In the June edition of Modern Mining, the editor notes some encouraging prospects for economically troubled Zimbabwe on the mining project front. Despite the economic turmoil currently prevailing in the country, with annual inflation surging to 785,55% in May from 765,57% in April, the country is likely to find some solace in its mining industry.

Judging by the current project pipeline, the mining industry in Zimbabwe may be poised for a boom, with new discoveries in diamonds and gold, as well as a new coal project likely to enter production this year, signalling a new wave of mining activity.