ALGER – The Minister of Mines and Mining Industries, Mourad Hanifi, received, on Wednesday in Algiers, the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa, Ronald Lamola, and the delegation accompanying him, in the presence of the Secretary of State to the Minister of Mines and Mining, in charge of Mines, Karima Bakir Tafer, to examine the prospects for establishing strategic partnerships between the two countries, based on the exploitation and local development of mining resources.
The meeting, which took place in the presence of executives from the sector, the Ambassador of South Africa to Algeria, Ndumiso Ndima Ntshinga, and the Ambassador of Algeria to South Africa, Ali Achoui, provided an opportunity to highlight the common ambition of the two countries to promote the mining sector towards new horizons, and to move from simple mining to the mastery of the industrial value chain, through the establishment of strategic partnerships focused on the exploitation and local development of mining resources, in addition to the use of South Africa’s proven expertise in mining resource management and geological research.
Mr. Hanifi also presented the main axes of the strategic road map for the mining sector, which is still being implemented on the ground, in line with the guidelines of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who attaches particular interest to this sector as a key lever for economic diversification and sustainable growth.
At this meeting, the Minister highlighted the incentives offered by the new Mines Act, stressing that it offers a stable and attractive investment climate, with strong guarantees, tax incentives and benefits for foreign investors.
In this context, Mr Hanifi expressed Algeria’s interest in advanced technologies and South African know-how, as both sides agreed to activate several priority areas for joint cooperation.
These include the technical and academic partnership aimed at strengthening the training of managers of the sector, through specialized programmes developed in coordination with South African institutions and the Sonarem Ettakwine Training Centre, in the fields of geological exploration and exploration, the processing of airborne geophysical data, laboratory techniques, ore processing and well drilling.
They also cover the transfer of advanced technologies in geophysics, geochemistry, geological modelling and remote sensing applied to mapping, as well as the expansion of geological cooperation through the launch of joint field research and prospecting programmes.
In the field of industrial processing and local recovery, both parties referred to the evaluation of joint projects for refining and processing phosphate, iron and high-value-added minerals, in addition to the development of structural projects aimed at ensuring the local transformation of mining resources, including copper, lead, zinc, gold, tungsten and lithium.
Discussions also focused on cooperation in the management of major mining projects and the exchange of expertise in the governance and management of the sector. Following the meeting, Mr Hanifi invited his South African counterpart to visit Algeria in the near future.