CAPE TOWN - The Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (MIASA) has welcomed the Lesotho Chamber of Mines to its membership, saying this signalled the grouping's growth in the region.
MIASA held its first biannual meeting of the year in Stellenbosch, ahead of the 26th annual Investing in African Mining Indaba conference which kicked off in Cape Town on Monday.
The association noted the retirement of Simon Tuma-Waku as president of the Chamber of Mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), meaning he will also step down from the MIASA board.
Louis Watum, who was recently elected as the incoming president of the DRC chamber, will replace Tuma-Waku on the MIASA board.
MIASA noted that Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state had adopted a proposed new regional mining vision and said it looked forward to engaging the organisation's secretariat on how the plan could be implemented to benefit all stakeholders.
The Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (MIASA) welcomed the Lesotho Chamber of Mines to the association at its first biannual meeting of the year in Stellenbosch near Cape Town. IMAGE/ Website
MIASA said it was concerned about the current unstable electricity supply in South Africa and the rest of the region, which would have a negative impact on the mining industry.
It urged governments, state-owned enterprises and the mining industry to come together and establish a viable, sustainable solution for electricity generation and supply, including the encouragement of private generation for self-use and the diversification of the energy mix.