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Zuma urges mining turnaround plan

Pretoria - Government and business need to work together to help reverse the current mining sector downturn, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.

"The mining sector is facing an acute challenge, partly as a result of the dramatic drop in commodity prices," he told reporters in Pretoria.

Zuma was giving a progress report on Operation Phakisa, an initiative by government to boost job creation and economic growth with the help of business and academia.

A large number of companies were making losses, while investments in exploration and extraction had also dropped significantly, he said.

"At current prices, more than 40% of the country's platinum mining industry and 31% of the gold mining industry is loss making.

"We need to work together to turn this around."

Operation Phakisa's mining project's objective was to unlock investment and optimise the sector's positive impacts on the economy and society.

This would be done through partnerships between the government and key stakeholders in the sector, Zuma said.

"As part of the Mining Phakisa process, we continue to implement a comprehensive stakeholder consultation process with government departments, the private sector and labour."

He said more than 30 consultations had been held with business associations, individual mining companies, trade unions, civil society organisations and government departments.

The consultations were in preparation for the actual Mining Phakisa Laboratory, an intensive work session, which is set to begin in October.

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