Gold mining is in decline, says Mantashe
Minister Mantashe was responding to reports that his department has over two thousand five hundred mining rights applications on delay in nearly a year.
FILE: Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe. Picture: Nthakoana Ngatane/EWN.
CAPE TOWN - Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said that gold mining was in decline.
Minister Mantashe was responding to reports that his department had a backlog of over 2,500 mining rights applications from nearly a year ago.
The minister, however, said that the state of mining in South Africa was stable.
According to Mantashe, the country had several other mineral resources besides gold.
He's also condemned illegal mining, which has hindered the mining industry.
"If you take a ton of a mineral, that ton is gone, it's not going to come back. That's why every mine has a lifespan. So ultimately, every mining sector is going to decline. If you take out minerals, that sector is declining, that's the nature of this cycle," Mantashe said.