PINKY Kekana, Deputy Minister in the Presidency has encouraged women to be disruptive in a constructive manner in order to be mine owners.
Kekana was addressing women at Harmony Gold Mine in Allenridge in Welkom, Free State on Saturday, 7 October.
She told the women to work hard, be educated, willing to learn and be brave enough to protect minerals of the future to establish a fruitful South Africa.
"We have discovered that women in mining communities are vulnerable to TB, HIV/AIDS, as well as an interstitial lung disease by breathing in tiny bits of Silica (Silicoses).Women should have a piece of cake in mining houses. They should participate when the economy flourishes," she said.
Kekana said the vacuum in the mining industry requires well capacitated women with the relevant qualifications and overwhelming knowledge.
"Don't be exhausted of training. Minerals are non-renewable products. We need to focus and disrupt the status quo. We also need to take over the agricultural sector as an alternative in case minerals are finished.
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"We must break the wall that makes us participate only by employment. Women with capacity should own mines and have a strategy to stop overwhelming export of our minerals," she said.
Kekana made a humble plea to all relevant stakeholders and government institutions to prioritise immediate rehabilitation at hazardous Allenridge Dam which consists of mining chemicals to avoid what happened in Jaggasfontein.
"We shouldn't wait for another tragedy. Women must be smart to acquire relevant skills and expertise to champion mining environment, protect communities. We need an independent power producer to be well documented by experienced women. We won't comprise quality because it's women. We should be jealous and deliberate with minerals," said Kekana.
Kekana also called on municipalities and their Economic Development Departments to stop sleeping on duty and finance exceptional initiatives by Women.
Mining experts in Lejweleputswa District Municipality discovered that the area has Helium and gas that have to be mined for the next 30 years. The area has been classified as an intensive mining hub.
