Madam Chair, it is common ground that South Africa has struggled to get its beneficiation industry off the ground during the last decades. To many it is hard to believe that a country with so much mineral wealth is still a small player in the world in regard to beneficiation. But there is no silver bullet, hon Hill-Lewis, to bring about this success - there isn't one. It is a process with steep challenges.
The government has developed a strategy for the new mineral beneficiation drive. With our economy currently built on the extraction of mineral resources, beneficiation stands out as the next economic frontier. However, we have first to overcome steep challenges. A major one is our eminent energy shortages. I am not going to dwell on that today, but hopefully this will stabilise in the next two years. Another one is our skills shortages, mentioned already. This requires immediate attention and substantial investment to develop and fast-track the process. If we are not successful, the required talent pipeline will have to come from the developed world. Therefore, an approach of partnership with them to kick-start this industry is not a bad idea.
Another key challenge is whether there will be a market ...