Date: 09/07/2004
Source: Ministry of Science and Technology
Title: M Mangena: Mintek Gala Dinner
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, AT MINTEK 70 GALA DINNER, 9 July 2004
Mr Master of Ceremonies,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
CEOs of companies and Science Councils,
Directors General,
Vice-Chancellors,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Reaching a 70th anniversary is a major milestone in the life of any organisation. While similar specialised bodies internationally have become much smaller, or have ceased to exist altogether, Mintek, on the other hand, has not only grown from strength to strength, but has also firmly established itself as a world leader in the field of metals and minerals technology development. This is a noteworthy achievement, which also points to the strategic and economic importance of South Africa's mineral wealth.
This success can largely be attributed to Mintek's unique ability of accurately interpreting and implementing its broad mandate of assisting and promoting the development of South Africa's rich mineral heritage, and identifying the changing needs of its major partners in order to re-position itself to meet the new demands.
Some examples from history serve to illustrate these trends. We learn that during the 1930s, shortly after its founding as the Minerals Research Laboratory at the University of the Witwatersrand, one of Mintek's first investigations entailed the beneficiation of corundum being mined by what we would call in today's terms, artisanal miners in the then northern Transvaal.
In the 1950s, a major effort was expended on a wide-ranging collaborative programme to develop technology for extracting uranium from the Witwatersrand gold ores - then a matter of national strategic importance.
The 1970s and 1980s were marked by the development, in close collaboration with industry, of a number of 'breakthrough' technologies which produced an industry-wide impact on productivity, and for which Mintek became renowned. These include carbon-in-pulp for gold recovery, which rapidly became the industry standard internationally. The process for recovering platinum-group metals from the Upper Group 2 Reef of the Bushveld Complex, led to a major expansion of South Africa's PGM (platinum group metals) industry.
At the end of the 1980s, Mintek's operating framework changed as it began a transition to greater self-sufficiency, which not only gained it greater autonomy, but also pushed it towards aggressive commercialisation of its new technologies. At that time Mintek set itself a target of achieving a level of 50% commercial funding and 50% state funding, which was thought by some to be an impossible goal. As it turns out, currently only 35% of Mintek's budget is now sourced from the Core Funding - the remainder is from commercial activities and competitive funding from the Innovation Fund. The optimal ratio will depend on what extent new technologies are being developed or existing technologies being depleted. But at this stage, any further increase in the ratio of private-to-state funding would probably come at a cost of endangering long-term pre-competitive research.
In 2002, Mintek became one of the first science councils to ring-fence its Science Vote funds, which are used primarily for medium- and long-term technology development, with portions allocated to human capacity building and socio-economic development.
In the same year, Mintek also took an important step of establishing a wholly owned commercial subsidiary, Mindev, which already has four operating projects that are essentially joint ventures. The motivation behind Mindev was to ensure that Mintek derives benefits from the technology it develops, while ensuring that the gains from the commercialisation of its technology are reinvested in the organisation to fund long-term research.
Until the early 1990s, South Africa's expenditure on R&D was relatively high - about 1% of the GDP. This subsequently dropped to around 0,7%, due to the termination of key technology missions such as defence, energy and food security. This reduction came at a time when the national system of innovation needed to expand to cope with the needs of 40 million citizens, as opposed to only 5 to 6 million that was previously catered for. Innovation is not the same as R&D - it is the key process that creates products, processes and services, and by which business creates jobs and wealth. In the social sphere, innovation has a direct impact on poverty alleviation and the improvement of the quality of life. The goal of the Department of Science and Technology is to increase the country's R&D spending to about 1%, by identifying specific areas in which we can excel.
The National R&D Strategy, which was approved by Cabinet in 2002, recognises that given South Africa's limited resources compared with other nations, the successful promotion of R&D requires building on our natural strengths, including mining and minerals processing, which have long been a cornerstone of our economy. Specific technology missions under the Strategy include poverty alleviation, the development of advanced manufacturing technologies, and leveraging and developing our largely resource-based economy to a more technical base. Cutting across all these fields are the requirements for increased interaction between government departments, R&D organisations and industry, and human resource development.
Mintek has responded to these challenges with a number of initiatives.
The Resource-Based Development Strategy, carried out under the auspices of the Mineral Economics Strategy Unit (MESU), is identifying opportunities for export of South Africa's mining inputs, such as high-value goods, consumables and services.
Mintek has consolidated all its support activities for the small-scale and informal mining sectors into a dedicated artisanal and small-scale mining (ASSM) division, with the mission of enhancing employment opportunities within the ASSM sectors.
In the field of biotechnology, an area identified by the Strategy as a key Technology Platform, Mintek, in association with partners from industry and other research organisations, has embarked on two major consortium-based bioleaching R&D programmes. The outcomes of these programmes, which are being funded by the Biotechnology Partnership and Development (BioPAD) initiative, could have a major impact on industry worldwide.
Mintek has consolidated all its educational initiatives under the umbrella of a Section 21 company, Bopa Batho Foundation, focussed on human resource development for the mining and minerals industries. It is envisaged that this would become a vehicle for broad-based capacity building in the mining and mineral-processing industries, particularly for individuals from historically disadvantaged communities.
Mintek, together with the CSIR, NECSA, the universities, industry, and several government departments, is a key driver of the Advanced Metals Initiative, which aims to develop advanced technologies for new products and new industries. Again, a major element in this programme is human capital development.
But challenges still remain. Mintek will be developing technologies to assist new entrants to our mining industry operating at various scales, as well as addressing key areas of the Mining Charter, human resources development and poverty alleviation. Work done in these areas is likely to impact positively on developments in the mining sector both locally and internationally.
The demands of the National R&D Strategy put more pressure on R&D organisations to form collaborative partnerships to optimise their output. We understand that strategic alliances will form an increasingly important basis for Mintek's future interactions with other institutions and with industry. A particular challenge is the extent to which Mintek can assist our economy to increase its production of locally manufactured products, and stimulate the growth of new industries.
Through its 70 years of existence, we believe that Mintek has gathered enough experience and expertise to cope with changing demands for the metals and mining sector, which have prepared it to tackle future challenges with the success it has shown in the past.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Science and Technology
9 July 2004
Source: Ministry of Science and Technology
Title: M Mangena: Mintek Gala Dinner
KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, MR MOSIBUDI MANGENA, AT MINTEK 70 GALA DINNER, 9 July 2004
Mr Master of Ceremonies,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
CEOs of companies and Science Councils,
Directors General,
Vice-Chancellors,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Reaching a 70th anniversary is a major milestone in the life of any organisation. While similar specialised bodies internationally have become much smaller, or have ceased to exist altogether, Mintek, on the other hand, has not only grown from strength to strength, but has also firmly established itself as a world leader in the field of metals and minerals technology development. This is a noteworthy achievement, which also points to the strategic and economic importance of South Africa's mineral wealth.
This success can largely be attributed to Mintek's unique ability of accurately interpreting and implementing its broad mandate of assisting and promoting the development of South Africa's rich mineral heritage, and identifying the changing needs of its major partners in order to re-position itself to meet the new demands.
Some examples from history serve to illustrate these trends. We learn that during the 1930s, shortly after its founding as the Minerals Research Laboratory at the University of the Witwatersrand, one of Mintek's first investigations entailed the beneficiation of corundum being mined by what we would call in today's terms, artisanal miners in the then northern Transvaal.
In the 1950s, a major effort was expended on a wide-ranging collaborative programme to develop technology for extracting uranium from the Witwatersrand gold ores - then a matter of national strategic importance.
The 1970s and 1980s were marked by the development, in close collaboration with industry, of a number of 'breakthrough' technologies which produced an industry-wide impact on productivity, and for which Mintek became renowned. These include carbon-in-pulp for gold recovery, which rapidly became the industry standard internationally. The process for recovering platinum-group metals from the Upper Group 2 Reef of the Bushveld Complex, led to a major expansion of South Africa's PGM (platinum group metals) industry.
At the end of the 1980s, Mintek's operating framework changed as it began a transition to greater self-sufficiency, which not only gained it greater autonomy, but also pushed it towards aggressive commercialisation of its new technologies. At that time Mintek set itself a target of achieving a level of 50% commercial funding and 50% state funding, which was thought by some to be an impossible goal. As it turns out, currently only 35% of Mintek's budget is now sourced from the Core Funding - the remainder is from commercial activities and competitive funding from the Innovation Fund. The optimal ratio will depend on what extent new technologies are being developed or existing technologies being depleted. But at this stage, any further increase in the ratio of private-to-state funding would probably come at a cost of endangering long-term pre-competitive research.
In 2002, Mintek became one of the first science councils to ring-fence its Science Vote funds, which are used primarily for medium- and long-term technology development, with portions allocated to human capacity building and socio-economic development.
In the same year, Mintek also took an important step of establishing a wholly owned commercial subsidiary, Mindev, which already has four operating projects that are essentially joint ventures. The motivation behind Mindev was to ensure that Mintek derives benefits from the technology it develops, while ensuring that the gains from the commercialisation of its technology are reinvested in the organisation to fund long-term research.
Until the early 1990s, South Africa's expenditure on R&D was relatively high - about 1% of the GDP. This subsequently dropped to around 0,7%, due to the termination of key technology missions such as defence, energy and food security. This reduction came at a time when the national system of innovation needed to expand to cope with the needs of 40 million citizens, as opposed to only 5 to 6 million that was previously catered for. Innovation is not the same as R&D - it is the key process that creates products, processes and services, and by which business creates jobs and wealth. In the social sphere, innovation has a direct impact on poverty alleviation and the improvement of the quality of life. The goal of the Department of Science and Technology is to increase the country's R&D spending to about 1%, by identifying specific areas in which we can excel.
The National R&D Strategy, which was approved by Cabinet in 2002, recognises that given South Africa's limited resources compared with other nations, the successful promotion of R&D requires building on our natural strengths, including mining and minerals processing, which have long been a cornerstone of our economy. Specific technology missions under the Strategy include poverty alleviation, the development of advanced manufacturing technologies, and leveraging and developing our largely resource-based economy to a more technical base. Cutting across all these fields are the requirements for increased interaction between government departments, R&D organisations and industry, and human resource development.
Mintek has responded to these challenges with a number of initiatives.
The Resource-Based Development Strategy, carried out under the auspices of the Mineral Economics Strategy Unit (MESU), is identifying opportunities for export of South Africa's mining inputs, such as high-value goods, consumables and services.
Mintek has consolidated all its support activities for the small-scale and informal mining sectors into a dedicated artisanal and small-scale mining (ASSM) division, with the mission of enhancing employment opportunities within the ASSM sectors.
In the field of biotechnology, an area identified by the Strategy as a key Technology Platform, Mintek, in association with partners from industry and other research organisations, has embarked on two major consortium-based bioleaching R&D programmes. The outcomes of these programmes, which are being funded by the Biotechnology Partnership and Development (BioPAD) initiative, could have a major impact on industry worldwide.
Mintek has consolidated all its educational initiatives under the umbrella of a Section 21 company, Bopa Batho Foundation, focussed on human resource development for the mining and minerals industries. It is envisaged that this would become a vehicle for broad-based capacity building in the mining and mineral-processing industries, particularly for individuals from historically disadvantaged communities.
Mintek, together with the CSIR, NECSA, the universities, industry, and several government departments, is a key driver of the Advanced Metals Initiative, which aims to develop advanced technologies for new products and new industries. Again, a major element in this programme is human capital development.
But challenges still remain. Mintek will be developing technologies to assist new entrants to our mining industry operating at various scales, as well as addressing key areas of the Mining Charter, human resources development and poverty alleviation. Work done in these areas is likely to impact positively on developments in the mining sector both locally and internationally.
The demands of the National R&D Strategy put more pressure on R&D organisations to form collaborative partnerships to optimise their output. We understand that strategic alliances will form an increasingly important basis for Mintek's future interactions with other institutions and with industry. A particular challenge is the extent to which Mintek can assist our economy to increase its production of locally manufactured products, and stimulate the growth of new industries.
Through its 70 years of existence, we believe that Mintek has gathered enough experience and expertise to cope with changing demands for the metals and mining sector, which have prepared it to tackle future challenges with the success it has shown in the past.
I thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Science and Technology
9 July 2004
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