The future of mining in South Africa has been given a lift with the launch of a mining school in the Northern Cape.

The School of Mining, located in Concordia, is aimed at securing a skills base for the industry for years to come, reports Mining Review Africa.

Established by Copper 360, it will start by offering unaccredited, practical courses and workplace training, but will also develop courses for formal accreditation later.

According to Copper 360 chief executive Jan Nelson, the company has adopted a long-term approach to the school and will expand it as the resources sector grows in the region

‘[Northern Cape] is probably one of the richest mineral provinces in the world. The resources are there, the people are there, but the people need skills to be able to, in this modern era, drive the mining advancement that we need,” he says.

According to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, the province’s mineral resources include diamonds, manganese ore, iron-ore, lithium, rare earths, fluorspar, zinc, copper, lead and molybdenum ore.

25 July 2023
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