A memorandum of understanding between Minerals Council South Africa and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) will illuminate SA mining’s investment into research, development and innovation (RD&I). The partnership, facilitated by innovation-focused advisory firm, the Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS), will produce an inclusive, industry-wide survey to gain critical insight into the key investment aspects that drive – or impede – mining innovation in South Africa.
The global mining sector lags behind other sectors in terms of innovation spend, with research in 2020 finding that investment into R&D was less than a percentage of gross revenue. To provide context, in the same period the global oil and gas sector spend on R&D stood at three percent, as a share of EBIDTA. Typically, oil and gas spend more than the mining sector. However, consider that banking stood at 12%, and chemicals and agriculture at 17% in the same period. While this does not compare apples with apples, these figures provide an indication of mining’s relatively low RD&I intensity despite the sector being an important contributor to global GDP, employment and export earnings.
Innovation is a crucial enabler in the mining sector’s move towards sustainable practices and modernisation. In leading jurisdictions such as Australia, innovation output has been found to improve safety and health, drive heightened productivity and sustainable practices. Sietse van der Woude, Senior Executive for Modernisation and Safety at Minerals Council South Africa says, “Mining cannot be globally competitive without innovation, and often this innovation stems from outside the mining ecosystem. Working with the HSRC and RIIS, we aim to provide a clear view for industry on, among others, how much investment is being allocated to RD&I, what specific areas are the focus of investment, where investment gaps lie, and what investment opportunities there may be in supporting sector progress towards enhanced performance on economic, environmental, social and governance measures.”
The HSRC, which is Africa’s largest research institute focusing on the social sciences and humanities, annually conducts a national survey into private sector R&D. Dr Glenda Kruss, Executive Head at the HSRC’s Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators, says that this is an exciting initiative given the potential industry impact that the survey could have. “Providing critical statistics on the state of mining RD&I investment can drive real industry impact, from assisting with the development of institutional innovation investment policies to providing industry RD&I investment benchmarks that have not been previously articulated.”
Davis Cook, CEO at RIIS, says that the Minerals Council’s modernisation partner previously undertook a comprehensive review of the SA mining innovation ecosystem’s performance between 2017 and 2022 on behalf of Minerals Council. The review found (among others) a need for more diverse and innovative funding mechanisms. “Investment is critical for RD&I, but SA continues to struggle with an eroding investment attractiveness, according to the Fraser Institute’s survey on the investment attractiveness of mining companies across the globe. Considering both policy and mineral potential, SA ranks in the bottom ten as one of the least attractive jurisdictions in the world. The RD&I survey will further enhance our understanding of mining’s innovation ecosystem and indicate how considered investment will ensure mining’s position as a robust contributor to the SA economy.”
The mining RD&I investment survey will begin with an industry-wide call for participation, with survey results anticipated for release in the latter part of 2024. Interested parties who would like to take part in the mining RD&I investment survey can register their interest by emailing: miningsurvey@riis.africa.
