Scarce Funding Necessitates Effective Project Management

The South African mining industry is not a sunset industry, though it will continue its decline until there is a significant change in the relationship between industry stakeholders, such as government, labour and mining companies, states Paradigm Project Management (PPM) director Jeremy Clarke.

- Simone Liedtke

He mentions that, as the continued growth of civilisation will support the future mining of commodities, the global mining industry will continue to survive.

However, the challenges faced by the local industry are the result of inconsistent legislation – such as the new iteration of the Mining Charter – and a lack of confidence in government.

“South Africa is doing a very poor job in making it a suitable investment destination and this can be seen in a lack of investment,” PPM director Dave Porter tells Mining Weekly.

He highlights that investors are expecting a return on investment and, therefore, are looking to achieve some sort of result.

Although hopeful for positive growth after the 2019 presidential elections, Clarke notes that government and legislation are currently not the only factors at fault in the mining industry. Project management – when capital is made available for project execution through investment and funding – also plays a significant role in the survival and success of the industry.

“When a project is late, budgets are exceeded and functionality isn’t there – projects cost more money over a longer period of time,” Porter notes.