Small-scale mining has big future but requires formalisation, planning

With industrial mining on the decline, smaller- to medium-scale mining operations are the future, according to Bench Marks Foundation South Africa lead researcher David van Wyk. Addressing delegates at the Science Business Society Dialogue Conference on Linking Science, Society, Business and Policy for the Sustainable Use of Abandoned Mines in the Southern African Development Community Region, in Johannesburg, on Wednesday, Van Wyk added that, as formal mining decreases, informal mining will increase. However, he highlighted the need for the transition from large-scale, industrial mining to small-scale mining to be “orderly, sensible and safe”.