Search

Until recently, the deepening of financial markets in developing countries has been widely seen as growth-enhancing. A well-developed capital market – so the argument goes – provides a source of finance for productive investment, thus fostering growth. South Africa possesses one of the oldest stock exchanges among emerging economies, making the country a good case study to scrutinise such growth-enhancing effects. Employing a detailed – and original – analysis of company annual reports and financial statements, this article questions the validity of the growth-enhancing claims made for financial deepening. Although the South African equity market is a source of substantial funds for mining companies, the consequences of their activity do not appear to enhance growth but rather to induce financial fragility. New evidence will show that listed mining companies use financial markets to support their speculation in mining assets. As a consequence, financial funds are channelled into few productive activities with limited impact on job creation. Crucially, detrimental effects on monetary policy and domestic credit growth can be expected, since external finance is not flowing towards productive investment but ends up as cash holdings on corporate balance sheets. This trend in turn encourages rapid credit expansion, which recently favoured unsustainable consumption-driven growth in South Africa,1 leaving the country with heavy job losses and high household debt in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article explains why rock drill operators (RDOs) initiated the 2012 strike wave in South African mining. It does so by sketching the history of the specific industrial occupation of rock drilling over a century, describing its central role in the mining labour process and discussing a case study undertaken in 2005 after a strike by over 400 RDOs. It argues that due to the centrality and stability of the machine rock drill, resulting from stalled mechanisation at the rock face, the continued presence of large numbers of rock drillers and other underground workers are still required to mine both gold and platinum. The consequence is a mass-based mining working class reminiscent of early industrial capitalism. This, the argument goes, is the basis of the objective social power recently wielded by the RDOs. For these reasons rock drillers have consequently been singled out for differential treatment by mining companies for over a century. The contemporary evidence for this is the case study of the struggle of a group of RDOs whose independent workers’ committees have been traced back to 1985. When the RDOs went out on a series of strikes in 1999 and 2004, the parallels with the 2012 strike wave in mining are notable. When analysed from the perspective of their historical point-of-production struggles in the labour process, the reasons why the RDOs were at the forefront of the strike wave in 2012 are explained. A fuller explanation of the strike wave, its underlying causes and the ensuing political events, it is argued, must begin by understanding the occupation of the rock driller, the source of their social power and their history of struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The measurement of performance is an essential part of the management process. The planning function usually defines the goals and objectives for the business enterprise or division of the enterprise. The control function should monitor the performance measures and establish corrective action if actual performance deviates significantly from planned performance. Maintenance performance measurement is therefore essential to ensure that maintenance objectives are achieved, and that maintenance adds value for the company. The objective of this paper is to discuss the findings of a project that investigated aspects of the maintenance performance system of a number of mining companies in South Africa. The findings of a survey indicated that maintenance performance management is not yet used to its full potential in the mining industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to report on research conducted into the use of stories and storytelling to share knowledge in a large mining company based in South Africa. The paper shows how the use of oral methods combined with other media can be used to support a number of different objectives and yield a wide variety of benefits. Design/methodology/approach - This paper presents the results of a case study which used a largely qualitative approach to gather data on a specific community of practice within the case study company. Findings - The research identified an innovative approach being used to combine a number of approaches to sharing knowledge through the use of stories and storytelling, in particular graphical representation of the stories and the use of graphics in conjunction with oral storytelling methods. Research limitations/implications - This research was conducted in only one company, in one country. Further research would be necessary to further test the effectiveness of the approaches identified in this case. Practical implications - The innovative approach of combining media and methods for sharing knowledge through stories and storytelling represent an opportunity for other organisations to use similar techniques in their efforts to improve knowledge sharing. Originality/value - This is the first time that a case study exploring the use of stories and storytelling in the South African mining industry has used empirical research findings to evaluate the use of stories and storytelling. Significant value may be gained by others seeking to understand how best to use stories and storytelling to share knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally and in South Africa, mining companies are increasingly referring to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and partnerships in terms of the business case, or the expectation that being responsible and collaborating with stakeholders is good for profits. Based on a case study of platinum and chrome mining in South Africa, this article argues that the business case is circumscribed by companies’ institutional context. In the past, mining companies’ dominant interpretation of CSR has been in terms of charitable donations and support to good causes. These efforts have not alleviated the contribution of mining companies to growing social problems around the mines, primarily because they have not impacted on core business practices and have not contributed to necessary cross-sectoral collaboration. Recently, however, there has been an important transition involving the broadening of the interpretation of CSR and increasing commitment to these issues amongst corporate leadership. Though market-based incentives have contributed to this, the key driver has been the State's legislated transformation programme premised on State sovereignty over mineral resources. Hence, while the interrelationship between companies and their institutional context has, in the past, brought about a vicious cycle of irresponsibility and minimal collaboration, this cycle may be reversed into a virtuous one, driven in particular by the State. The broader implication is that references to a business case for CSR and partnerships cannot be relied upon independently of continued efforts at shaping the public sector context of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply determinants of mining companies have been identified in several factors, with no consensus on their relative importance. These factors, which include mineral commodity prices, the institutional framework, geological characteristics, the scale of mine operations, and specific features of the controlling holdings, can influence the objectives of the mines, and their ability to achieve these objectives. Following a brief overview of alternative literature hypotheses concerned with mineral supply determinants, statistical and econometric analyses are applied to partly pooled cross-mine data over the period 1984-95, for gold and other major export minerals in South Africa. - Des déterminants de l'offre des sociétés minières ont été identifiés dans différents facteurs sans qu'un consensus se dégage quant à leur importance relative. Ces facteurs, au nombre desquels figurent les prix des produits minéraux, le cadre institutionnel, les caractéristiques géographiques, la taille de l'exploitation minière et les caractéristiques de la société de holding majoritaire, peuvent influer sur les objectifs des mines et sur leur aptitude à atteindre ces objectifs. Après une brève revue des hypothèses sous-tendant diverses théories relatives aux déterminants de l'offre des produits minéraux, une analyse statistique et économétrique est effectuée à partir de données partiellement communes, portant sur la période 1984-95, concernant l'or et d'autres importants produits minéraux d'exportation en Afrique du Sud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]