Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management

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Assessing the Impact of Mining Legislation in the Design and Development phase of Opencast Coal Mining Projects in South Africa
(2014-01-21) Matambele, Thusani Comfort
It is a well-known fact that South Africa is rich with coal resources. Remaining coal reserves are estimated to be at least 69 billion metric tonnes. Both underground and opencast mining methods are used to extract the energy mineral in South Africa. South Africa uses its coal domestically as well as internationally for electricity generation and heating in the Iron and Steel industries. After the promulgation of South Africa‟s constitution, numerous mining related acts were passed in order to address social, economic and environmental factors in a sustainable way. The study sought to assess the positive and negative impacts of mining legislation in the design and development phase of opencast mining projects. An empirical, interpretivist and simple qualitative design approach was used. Data was collected from mining consultants, government authorities and mining companies through face to face semi-structured interviews. The study found that positive impacts of mining legislation on the budget, time and quality of opencast coal mining projects were: Standardised requirements to enter the mining sector, world class drafted legislation, timelines on authorisations, promotion of environmental consciousness and up-skilling of officials involved in authorisation processes. The negative impacts were: Lack of alignment on pieces of legislation, absence of timelines in some acts, turf war between the Department of Minerals Resources (DMR) and the Department of Environmental and Water Affairs (DWEA), long lead times to issue water use licences and environmental authorisations, insufficient clarity on Social Labour Plans and Political influence on authorisations. Recommendations on negative impacts are: Legislation harmonisation, proper and equal remuneration of staff involved in authorisation, site inspection by authorities, and clarity on SLP and stakeholder engagements
The impact of Contract Administration on project management success in the South African Mining Industry
(2014-01-20) Kolbé, Richard George
South Africa is estimated to have $2.5-trillion worth of mineral resources. The development of the assets to extract these resources is critical for the economic success of the country. Despite the fact that there have been major improvements in the project process, many projects continue to fail. Contracts are a critical tool for project execution as they are the means by which projects utilise resources to achieve their objectives. Limited research has been conducted into the impact of contract administration on project management success and the contract administration actions required to support project management success. This research aims to assist in filling this gap. A structured interview was conducted on a case study, the AngloAmerican Sishen South project. This project aimed to develop a 9 million ton per annum iron ore mine. A cross section of project members was chosen as participants in the interviews. Contract administration does impact the project schedule, project costs and project scope and thus the project management success. In line with literature, effective contract administration needs to incorporate scope management, performance management, document control and dispute resolution to positively impact project management success. In addition to these, the research highlights effective contract kick-off meetings, training of contract administration staff and continuous improvement as contract administration actions that are also needed to positively impact project management success. Project managers should view contract administration as an important project management tool that contributes towards to project management success. The contract administration team should be expected to contribute towards managing the project’s schedule, costs and scope.
Analysis of mining service providers' level of compliance to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa
(2013-10-14) Gloy, Abel Johannes Jacobus
No abstract available
The owner’s representative role in South African mining construction projects
(2013-10-04) Mrara, Bongani
The owner’s representative role has been identified as a means for project owners to improve the chances of success for their projects. Projects are an important means for mining companies to develop new resources or to extend the lives of their existing resources; however, little research has been performed into the owner’s representative role in the mining industry. The research objective was to describe the owner’s representative role in the South African mining industry, specifically in relation to the responsibilities of the owner’s representative, the characteristics, the owner’s organisation factors and the project factors impacting on the role. A list of propositions was developed, based on a literature review of the practice of the role in general industry. A survey was developed and tested on a sample of project professionals in the South African mining industry to test the propositions, as well as to determine the particular application of the role in the South African mining industry. It was found that that the responsibilities, characteristics and factors impacting on the role are similar to those in world literature, except for minor modifications. However, there were inconsistencies in the application in the South African mining industry, between the application of the role and owner’s organisation and project factors prevalent in mining companies. The key message is that owners should perform an analysis of the project environment, including a review of organisation and project factors that may impact on the owner’s representative role, before selecting an owner’s representative.
Mining Projects in South Africa: Aspiration Levels Versus Fairness when Negotiating Time Extension
(2013-10-04) Deysel, Roelof Jacobus
The relationship between mining companies and mining contractors is presently viewed as an adversarial relationship. During mining construction projects there are often underlying reasons for break-downs in client-contractor relationship as, for example, in the event of the client not awarding an extension of time. At this stage, the counter parties engage in re-negotiation of the completion date. The perceived wisdom is that the contractor has little bargaining power against the mining house. The purpose of this research is to establish the main reasons for the breakdown of the contractor, client relationship and to determine the positioning of the two counter parties on the Pareto curve. Using a small data sample of experts and also making use of qualitative research, semi-structured interviews were used to test the perceptions and opinions of these experts in order to assess and to understand the bargaining power position of the counter parties at the end of the project. The key findings were, that contractors profit from both constructive acceleration and extension of time. The general perception of the contractor’s poor bargaining position is often incorrect. It is also evident that close control on the project contract is extremely important and that the success of the project is ultimately closely related to the maturity of the contractor-client relationship, also, that quick action and reaction on scope variances are extremely important.
Altman Z-Score as a tool to predict Financial Distress of Junior Mines in Southern Africa
(2012-01-17) Munien, Neville
Many mines, both locally and internationally, have embarked on mining projects which have come to a point where they have to shutdown, slowdown or be put on hold with a view to be relooked at further down the line. This study intends to explore the possibility of predicting financial distress in mining companies using the Altman Z-Score prediction technique. This technique is simple and uses financial ratios to determine a Z-Score. Data was collected from financial statements of mining companies listed on various stock exchanges. An Excel model was developed to calculate the ZScores of the captured data. Results were then compared to the actual outcomes. Statistical tests were performed on the sets of Expected data and Actual data and the main finding was that the Altman Z-Score could not be used to predict financial distress in companies in the mining sector. Modifying the Altman Z-Score technique, by changing the coefficients and the boundary, as well as introducing variables that were of a subjective nature could improve the results. That is, the model used to predict financial distress should not be based purely on financial data.
HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY PROCESS FOR SMALL AND JUNIOR MINES FROM 1994 TO 2001
(2011-11-03) Leburu, Lehogwe Horatius
This research report uses a qualitative approach to study the relatively unresearched field of occupational health and safety policy-making processes for small and junior mines (SJM). The purpose of this research was to study the efficacy of the Mine Health and Safety (MHS) policy process for the small and junior mining (SJM) sector from 1994 to 2001 and add to the research capacity in this field. Research mainly found that inadequate policy communication and lack of participation by the weak SJM policy coalitions had primarily led to policy disintegration. One of the main recommendations of the research report is that an effective national SJM association should be established. Further, fundamental research is urgently recommended to study which philosophy between Risk Management and the Precautionary Principle should underpin the appropriate health and safety policy alternative for SJM.
Evaluation of sustainable development strategies in the mining sector
(2011-06-22) Stobart, Brandon Ian
Formulating, implementing, measuring and reporting on sustainable develoment strategies presents a range of challenges to companies in the South African mining sector. This study evaluates the performance of South African mining companies against standards identified both in the relevant literature and in international practice. In-depth semi-structured interviews and the relevant documentary evidence were used to obtain input from mining companies, related institutions and consultants in the field of sustainable development...
Reasons for foreign listings by South African junior mining and exploration companies
(2011-06-15) SHAW, VICKI ANN
The purpose of the research was to identify the reasons given by South African junior mining and exploration companies for their choice of listing location. This will assist the JSE Securities Exchange in developing a strategy to attract more listings by junior mining and exploration companies. A review of the available literature revealed six possible reasons for the choice of listing location, and these were used as propositions for the remainder of the research. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with CEOs of juniors listed on stock exchanges located in London, Toronto and Johannesburg, mining specialists and Alt-X Designated Advisors. A content analysis was carried out on the data collected. The most significant reason identified in the study is the access to risk capital, followed by the ratings attracted by the company and the liquidity of the exchange. The other reasons identified in the study will depend upon the individual requirements of the companies.
Perceptions of Project Success
(2011-05-17) Meyer, Geoffrey Lawrence
This study attempts to investigate some of the difficulties in achieving success in mining projects by exploring success criteria of projects and the role of project managers in mining projects. Anglo Platinum was used as a case study for this research. A structured interviewing method was used to answer three research questions. A cross section of project role players within the company was interviewed; these were: executives/sponsors, project managers, project users and project support. The key findings are: · Success criteria for mining projects in Anglo Platinum are: o Meeting project specifications, project completed within budget, project completed on schedule (time) and owners’ needs satisfied, project completed safely · The most critical success criterion for mining projects in Anglo Platinum is meeting the owners’ needs · The respondents were divided on the question of whether project managers are responsible for project management success or project success The success criteria and critical success criteria for projects in Anglo Platinum is in line with what is suggested in literature but like Anglo Platinum, literature is divided on whether project managers should deliver project management success or the project business case. It is believed that the lack of uniform understanding is partly responsible for sub-optimal project performance

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