Cape Town, 12 February 2015: The Union Minister for Steel & Mines Narendra Singh Tomar had a bilateral meeting with Ramatlhodi, the Minister of Natural Resources of South Africa. The meeting led to fruitful discussions, with each side sharing the changes they have brought in their respective mining regulations in order to make it more equitable and transparent.
While welcoming the first mining delegation from India to Indaba to be led by a member of the cabinet, the South African minister emphasized the shared history & common heritage between the countries. Ways of strengthening mutual collaboration was the main focus of the deliberations. The two countries agreed to revive the MoU, signed in 1997, for cooperation in Mining Sector. Ramathlodi assured to provide all possible support to Indian business in South Africa. It may be noted that present bilateral trade between India and South Africa is about 11 billlion US dollar and there are about 150 Indian companies working in SA. India is largest buyer of South African Gold and coal.
In the next bilateral meeting with the Minister from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR), the discussion revolved around the prospects of collaborative efforts. It was agreed by the two ministers to sign a Memorandum of Understanding to formalise a structured engagement between the nations. Copper and cobalt are to two main areas of mining interests in Congo. It may be noted that DCR is one of the richest in terms of mineral reserves in African continent and holds very high quality of copper and cobalt.
Alan Davies, CEO Rio Tinto Minerals & Diamonds met with the Minister, with his senior team and showcased their operations in the African continent in brief.
Sylvia Lucas, Premier of Northern Cape province of South Africa called on the Minister and complimented him for leading a high profile delegation to the Mining Indaba, which was well represented by the Indian mining companies.
