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 mining industry is looking forward to new investor-friendly legislation.

Creamer: Yes, Minerals Council South Africa had a roundtable this week and they explained that in the last few decades, they have really got well ahead in socioeconomic transformation. They have done their bit, plus some. They have included people in suppliers lists beyond compliance. They have developed communities beyond compliance. They have increased women in mining to 90 000 of the total number of 480 000emeployees. In small business development, mining has done very well. What they are saying is now they are awaiting amendment to the legislation. So, the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) is going to be amended and the announcement is expected in due course. They are really hoping now that the inclusion achievement of the mining industry must be recognised by the government as being very good, and that the time has now come to boost the growth of the mining industry, which has been badly held back over the last few decades. If they allow this growth, particularly starting with exploration, it is going to mean so much for the industry, so much for jobs. That inclusion of suppliers is going to grow. That community development is going to grow even further. Small business development, including the people of South Africa in a big way, will grow. So, the message to government is, let's look at enabling potential to get into performance, because the mining industry has got so much potential.

Kamwendo: The chemical industry training authority has declared green hydrogen to be ‘South Africa’s new gold’.

Creamer: It is very good that the CHIETA education and training authority has highlighted the huge economic potential of green hydrogen. South Africa has superior sun, we’ve got prime wind, we’ve got all the platinum you need. We have got the expertise in electrolyser development, fuel cell development. So, what they are doing as a chemical education and training authority is setting up all the courses that are needed so that the skills are there to get people ready for what they say is the new gold, a reference to the face that it was gold mining that formed a platform of economic growth for South Africa more than a century ago. But, on the green hydrogen front, South Africa now needs to move much faster as it has fallen behind in this region, because Namibia has beaten us to the punch already. Namibia last month began to generate their first lot of green hydrogen. They’re even converting iron-ore into steel using green hydrogen. So, they have had great help from Germany. We can also have that help and we know that. The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was here and she urged us to get going on green hydrogen, because Europe is ready to buy green hydrogen, which is planet friendly. So, let's get going with this new gold. It’s going to be a growth area. We can see, too, that just about every country in the world is growing on this and if the Europeans are inviting us now, it is wonderful.

Kamwendo: South Africa’s Hydrogen Corridor Project has been short-listed for Just Energy Transition funding.

Creamer: The hydrogen corridor is a project that was mooted some time ago, but it has now been redesigned so that it really works in a fashion that grows step by step, so that it can get going fast. Anglo American announced last week at the event, which was promoting platinum group metals, that they have now been shortlisted for funding under the Just Energy Transition. We should really look forward to soon seeing some fuel cell electric vehicles driving around, fuel cell electric trucks driving around and some infrastructure used that can supply and refuel the fuel cell vehicles that turn the green hydrogen back into electricity, without any carbon emission.

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