NEWSFLASH: MINERAL WEALTH PORTAL
DMRE announces preferred mining cadastre provider – the main partner is first class
After years of senseless delays that have probably cost South Africa’s mining sector billions of rand in lost investment, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced the preferred bidder for the mining resource management system, or cadastre. And the consortium includes a company that is at the cutting edge of such technology.
And the winning bidder to replace the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s (DMRE’s) useless Samrad system for mining applications is … the PMG Consortium.
“PMG Consortium is a conglomeration of three companies, namely Pacific GeoTech Systems, MITS Institute and Gemini GIS and Environmental Services,” the DMRE announced on Wednesday, 31 January.
Pacific GeoTech Systems is the partner with the most relevant experience in delivering online resource management systems. The Canadian-based company has more than two decades’ experience in several Canadian provinces, and mapping is among its services.
It is part of the Esri stable, which is behind ArcGIS – a globally recognised software system for geographic information.
In short, there are no red flags on that front.
The other two are both South African tech companies and presumably at least one brings the BEE credentials to the consortium.
The consortium will have a titanic task putting together a proper cadastre for South Africa from the shambles of Samrad and the DMRE’s regional offices.
But it is a welcome step in the right direction.
The lack of a transparent cadastre and applications system is seen as the key reason behind a mounting backlog of applications for mining and exploration activities of various stripes.
Three years ago, the Minerals Council SA estimated this bottleneck was holding up a pipeline of projects worth about R20-billion.
The issue was again thrown into sharp relief when Daily Maverick reported in mid-January that, as of December 2023, more than 2,500 mining applications had been received in the financial year to date, and that not a single one had been finalised. This was according to a response to parliamentary questions by Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.
Read more in Daily Maverick: EXCLUSIVE — Mantashe reigns as the minister of no new mining as DMRE lacks admin capacity
A few days later, Mantashe contradicted what he had told Parliament – and what DMRE officials had said in response to our reporting – underscoring the need for a transparent system.
A functional mining cadastral system is an online portal that displays a country’s mineral and other forms of natural wealth in a way that is accessible to the public. It can serve the dual function of showing the state of play of mining activities while allowing companies armed with this knowledge to apply for various kinds of exploration or mining rights.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Explainer: A mining cadastre and public transparency
The DMRE, after years of foot-dragging, seems to have finally taken the plunge into transparency.
And it will allow Mantashe to tell the Mining Indaba in Cape Town next week that he has finally delivered. DM
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It’s about time! Whilst it’s so long overdue and the delays have caused so many potential investors to either go into financial ruin or change their minds about investing in SA, I remain sceptical about the government actually allowing the system and the service provider to get on with the job peacefully and efficiently. Surely there will be some level of interference and further bungling!
Yeah, right. Can we assume that this was quickly pushed through for bragging rights at the Mining Indaba next week.
No not just bragging rights at Mining Indaba but “Election” time allows for all the worms to come out of the woodwork
He got tired of holding out for bribes?
This will be fun… all those geographic datum neglect in the mining industry will finally be brought into uhm focus…
OK awarded, but what is the programme for delivery and implementation.
When are we going to get the first case of mining rights issued to a legitimate party and a connected party?
Yup, it can still take years and there will be massive interference by the ANC
Anything that is attached to Mr Mantashe’s department is bound to land in the swamp of political interference and no action unless of course some trough feeding is part of the deal.
The only reason why it took this long was for DMRE to find a way to syphon as much from this deal for BBBEE partners as possible. Don’t think Gwede did what was best for the country or the industry….
“The DMRE, after years of foot-dragging, seems to have finally taken the plunge into transparency.”
Rubbish. They have entered into an arrangement to spend a lot of our money. The notion that this will change anything about their ‘troll under the bridge’ policy is naïve in the extreme. I met a German fellow in December who was placed here by the German govt to assist in putting together renewable projects under the ‘just transition’ donation. He said that his interactions with Mantashes minions over the last year made it clear to him that they were blocking renewables through administrative jiggery pokery. They will do exactly the same thing with mining while spending a fortune on a system.
Yip! When officials stand to gain financially from the chaos, things will never get better! Same for rail vs road!
Try and visualise where our country would have been if this had been done 3 or 4 years ago. No rocket science needed. Just a new Minister of Energy to replace the dithering and inept one. Only problem is that he’s retained by an equally dithering and inept President. The ANC will crow loudly about implementing the new system to try and garner votes. The voters are not stupid and realise that SA has lost billions in local and foreign revenue over the past few years, not to mention thousands of lost jobs thank to Ramaphosa and Mantashe. Kick them out.
Bob F. – February 1st 2024 at 18:18
Surprised Mantashe us still round. With luck he will be out with the ANC after the looming election.
My first thought was that a cadastre was something to make clear that only cadres could apply. My bad.
This issue about minister of energy and mining. I think he need to retire. Cause he looks no energy on him. The grey and big tummy shows unfit and useless. There young people without job. They have working with no solution to fix youth unemployed, because they are greedy and not retire millions of youth loitering the street of this republic. It’s a shame on them as ruling government of ANC.
Gemini GIS and Environmental Services is the BEE company: Owned by a black female with the operations person also a black female with lots of GIS experience.
Will we finally know the identity of all the new ANC linked companies who have been granted licences to mine coal, chrome and manganese ore?