In days of yore we had Tips For Trevor ahead of then finance minister Manuel’s budget speech. That was a welcome break with tradition, and an invitation for citizens to give input into the nation’s annual-crunching exercise.
Yesterday, mining and energy minister Gwede Mantashe took the concept to a new level. In a relaxed address to the Junior Mining Indaba in Johannesburg, the former trade unionist sent some tips the other way.
Drawing on the most recent research conducted by the State’s Council for Geoscience, Mantashe urged junior miners to explore for gold to the east of the Vredefort Dome; to tap into nine metre thick coal seams in the south of the Springbok Flats; and to look closely at highly prospective opportunities near Molteno in the Eastern Cape and in Mantashe’s nearby home town of Cala. He added Government has already done its bit by removing BEE requirements for exploration operations.
Ahead of the May 8th election, president Cyril Ramaphosa banged on about how his new Government was determined to be friendly to business. From what I saw yesterday from the first public address by one of his new cabinet, that was no idle promise. Hope springs.
