Gwede Mantashe, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, asserts that the Council for Geoscience (CGS) plays a crucial role not just in the future of mining in South Africa, but also in propelling the country to the forefront of the green hydrogen economy.
Tuesday at the CGS meeting in Durban, he delivered a speech.
The Minister stated that he expected the CGS to collaborate with the corporate sector to maximize South Africa’s geological potential.
“There has never been a better time for the geosciences community to work together and prepare to uncover the potential of South Africa as a source of these minerals in a way that maximizes the benefit to the people of the country, given that the global economic trajectory requires new supplies of minerals deemed to be essential for reducing carbon emissions.
“As we create new technologies, the United States is home to a variety of minerals that will be utilized. This country contains a range of minerals that will be needed even in the development of the green economy of the future – hydrogen energy, diverse minerals, and rare earth elements – and only geoscience can unearth and promote these minerals, he said.
Minister stated that the CGS should take a “more dominant role” in tackling certain societal issues.
“These challenges include… energy security, just energy transition, sustainable food supply, economic growth, climate change, and disaster management arising from natural phenomena such as floods and earthquakes. “All of these occurrences and societal developments… only when they occur do we fully appreciate the importance of geosciences. Recently, KZN suffered the most terrible natural disaster, which destroyed homes and infrastructure…[the CGS] came here and applied science to the crisis,” he explained.
In addition, Mantashe stated that the CGS is anticipated to play a significant part in the nation’s infrastructure development efforts.
“The government’s multibillion-rand infrastructure build program will require CGS and the geotechnical community to play an active role in protecting investments in vital infrastructure. Infrastructure development must be complemented by reliable geotechnical investigations and information.
Prior to implementing any infrastructure development, it has never been more necessary to carefully analyze geotechnical conditions. “It is precisely in this context that the modification to the Geosciences Act authorized the CGS to analyze all geotechnical studies and offer local authorities with suitable recommendations regarding the infrastructure development program,” he explained.