Why would I Do My Own Exploration if I can Simply Take Your Mine? (From the Editor's Desk‪)‬

Over the past decade the mining sector has had its ups and downs. Looking at the 2009 national accounts, they show that mining's contribution to GDP historically ranged somewhere between 6% and 9%. As from 2006, the impact of the new uranium mines is also clearly visible from the statistics when the contribution first jumped to around 12% and then to a historic high of just under 16% in 2008. Like all primary industries, this sector did not escape the fall-out of the financial crisis and fell back to around 10% in 2009. As for last year, I assume that the improvement in diamond sales and mining, would comfortably take the sector to back around 12%. As for the future, with more uranium mines, as well as some smaller mines coming onstream, it is possible that mining may again contribute around 16% to GDP. Since percentage contribution depend on a ratio relative to other sectors, it equally depends on the performance of such sectors, most notably manufacturing, tourism and agriculture. What the statistics show unambiguously is that mining is after government, the biggest contributor to the economy. And remember that the official statistics follow conventional economic classifications and definitions so beneficiation of minerals is excluded under those mining statistics that form part of the primary sector. Taking this into account, it is safe to say that mining activities and mining products, in toto, contribute more than what formal sectoral statistics may indicate. It is also reasonable to assume that as local beneficiation takes root for more types of minerals, and as the value-added chain is extended for existing commodities, the downstream effect of mining will increase.