MINING entrepreneur Robert Friedland on Wednesday made a plea for “responsible leadership” from mining companies, labour unions and the South African government in resolving the turmoil on the country’s platinum mines.
Addressing the Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Wednesday, Mr Friedland said that while “workers labouring in the deep underground mines certainly deserve better, it is equally important for workers and their leaders to understand that mining companies must make a profit or investors will not inject the billions of dollars needed to find and build profitable mines”.
“So, workers and union leaders need to carefully consider the impact and consequences of their actions. What is required is responsible leadership all around,” he said. Mr Friedland is a flamboyant and legendary personality in the mining industry because of his successes in finding and developing the huge nickel mine at Voisey’s Bay in Canada and the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, now controlled by Rio Tinto.
His latest ventures are being developed through Toronto-listed Ivanhoe Mines and include the Flatreef underground platinum project near Mokopane in Limpopo and the Kamoa copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ivanhoe is sinking a shaft to take a bulk ore sample at the Flatreef project, over which it has applied for a mining licence.
“However bleak some people think the outlook (for platinum) may look in the short term, the growth prospects for the medium and long term remain extremely positive,” Mr Friedland said.
“From where we are sitting there are short-term problems that come with the territory but we are profoundly optimistic about the long-term prospects.”
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