The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, launched the R15-million Isondo Precious Minerals (IPM) feasibility study project in Cape Town on 09 February 2016.
The project will identify particular components that can be manufactured and assembled locally for fuel cell units. The feasibility study is intended to accelerate mineral beneficiation and localisation of fuel cell manufacturing in South Africa.
The Minister’s press release follows:
“It is a known fact that we are in a difficult time as producers and exporters of primary mineral resources as a result of the significant price fall of commodities. And this has affected many of the industrial mineral commodities that we produce as a country. Because of the instability presented by commodities’ price fall we have realised that we need to find new uses for our resources,” said Davies.
Minister Davies mentioned that there had been a rise in technological development of fuel cells with demand for platinum in the fuel cell sector being at its most stable.
“It is as a response to this demand that government and the platinum mining sector resolve to encourage an increase in the demand for platinum. Amongst the factors of increasing demand we have an additional interest in making sure that those new uses generate and support industrial development in South Africa so as to capture the manufacturing that takes place in this particular industry,” said the minister .
He added that South Africa had homed in on two potential uses of fuel cell technology around which the country could drive and manufacture.
“The first is the small power unit that could be used to power remote areas 20km away from the existing grid connection, and the other use is of powering underground money equipment within the mining industry. What we are doing as government is to support different initiatives that can realise the industrial development opportunities. This will also help us to achieve the beneficiation objectives,” said Davies.
Minister Davies stated that the study was envisaged to be completed in a year’s time.
“What we want to do through this feasibility study is to understand better the building blocks of fuel cell units and to look at the particular competencies and capabilities that can be developed in the country. We want to establish this technology on the African continent as something which builds into the platinum industry that supports and sustains an expansion and stabilisation of the industry,” said Davies.