ADDRESSING the first day of the Council for Geoscience (CGS) summit being held in Durban until October 27, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister, Gwede Mantashe, said the CGS has a critical role to play not only in the future of mining in South Africa but also in helping to catapult the country to the forefront of the green hydrogen economy.
The Minister said he expects the CGS to work with the private sector in order to bring South Africa to its true geological potential.
“As the world economic trajectory demands new sets of minerals deemed to be critical for lower carbon emissions, there has never been a better time for the geosciences community to work together and prepare to unravel the possibilities of South Africa as a source of these minerals in the manner that optimises the benefit of the people of the country,” the Minister said.
“As new technologies develop, the minerals that are used in these technologies can be found in this country. Minerals that will be used in developing the green economy of the future – hydrogen energy, and various other minerals including rare earth elements – are in this country and only geoscience can unravel all those minerals and bring them to the fore,” he said.
The Minister added that the CGS needs to play a “more preeminent role” in addressing some societal challenges.
“These challenges include energy security, just energy transition, sustainable food supply, economic growth, climate change and disaster management that arises from natural phenomena such as floods and earthquakes.
Furthermore, the Minister said the CGS is also expected to play a major role in the country’s drive towards infrastructure development.
“The government’s multibillion-rand infrastructure build programme will require CGS and the geotechnical community to play an active role in safeguarding critical infrastructure investment. It is essential that infrastructural development is accompanied by sound geotechnical investigations and information.
“It has never been more important for any infrastructure development to consider geotechnical conditions appropriately before affecting such development. It is precisely in this context that the amendment of the Geosciences Act empowered the CGS to review all geotechnical reports and provide appropriate advice to local authorities in consideration of the infrastructure development programme,” he said.
The Summit brings together researchers, scientists, decision-makers as well as nationally and internationally renowned experts for the exchange of knowledge, experiences and research innovations in the geoscientific space.
The CGS which celebrates 110 years of existence and excellence in geoscience research, also uses the summit as a platform to showcase its operational programmes and strategy which are aligned with the national developmental imperatives of South Africa.
