The Department of Mineral Resources is a
department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of the national
government of South Africa which is responsible for overseeing the
mining industry of South Africa and the exploitation of the country's mineral resources. The department's origins lie the creation in the 1890s of the "" (Department of Mining) in the government of the
Transvaal Republic. It has existed under its current name since 2009 when the
Department of Minerals and Energy was divided and the
Department of Energy was created. the political head of the department, the
Minister of Mineral Resources, is
Ngoako Ramatlhodi
Ngoako Ramatlhodi (born 21 August 1955), a senior member of the African National Congress, was South Africa's Minister of Public Service and Administration from 2015 to March 2017. In the first Zuma administration he had been an MP and a contro ...
and his deputy is
Godfrey Oliphant
Gaolatlhe Godfrey Oliphant (born in Warrenton in the Northern Cape Province) is the current Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources in South Africa, a position he has held since 26 May 2014.
See also
*African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights ...
.
In the beginning of June 2014, during the
platinum wage dispute between mining companies and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), Ramatlhodi threatened that the mineral resources department would withdraw from the negotiation process. An agreement between the sides was reached by the end of the same month.
In September 2015,
Mosebenzi Joseph Zwane was appointed as the Minister of Mineral Resources.
The replacement of Ngoako Ramatlhodi was considered controversial and greeted with criticism from Labour Unions.
On his appointment, Zwane urged a quick resolution to mining disputes and labour disruptions. In 2016, he was applauded for his resolution of Section 54 mine stoppage issues that had been negatively impacting mine production.
In January 2017, during a judgement on the case between Aquila Steel and six respondents, which include the Minister of Mineral Resource and the department management, the Guateng division of the High Court of South Africa stated that the DMR stood in the way of private investment into the mining industry in South Africa, and failed to resolve central issues in a time effective and responsible manner, thus building a solid case for its own substitution.
The department has its head office in the Trevenna Office Campus in
Sunnyside, a suburb of the national capital
Pretoria. There are regional offices in
Polokwane,
eMalahleni,
Johannesburg,
Klerksdorp,
Durban,
Port Elizabeth
Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...
,
Mthatha,
Cape Town,
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
,
Springbok and
Welkom. The department had 1 099 employees in 2012, and received a budget of
R1 394 million for the 2013–14 financial year.
The department's chief inspector of mines is David Msiza.
References
Mineral Resources
South Africa
Mining in South Africa
Minderal
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