Prof Fred Cawood: A man of vision

After a long and illustrious career, Prof Fred Cawood has retired as director of the Wits Mining Institute. Leon Louw interviewed him one last time.

Prof Cawood, you had a long and distinctive career at Wits. Can you name two or three specific highlights that stood out for you during this time?

The main highlight for me was always the opportunity to work with young people. Working with students comes with responsibility, and this is not only academic. It is also the responsibility to allow students to make mistakes in a safe environment where learning can take place, to teach them in no uncertain terms where the boundaries are, and to instil a value system in them that aligns with that of the sector they will work in.

Other highlights were the opportunity to be head of school, and to be director of an exciting research institute – the Wits Mining Institute; but these were secondary to working with the next generation of industry leaders.

You have been actively involved in the mining industry for even longer. What, would you say, were special moments that changed the trajectory of the South African mining industry during this time?

The mining industry today is much cleaner and safer than when I started my career. In South Africa, a lot has to do with the Mine Health and Safety Act, and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. Although aspects of these laws are often criticised, there is wide acknowledgement of their positive impact – firstly, in minimising mine health and safety risks, and secondly, in terms of integrating economic, social, and environmental requirements with the mineral licensing system. This would not have happened without the advent of democracy in South Africa, which was a special moment and particularly good fortune that it happened during my career.

When, in your view, did the South African mining industry experience its worst times and biggest crisis, and how did the industry manage to overcome those challenges?

The mining industry is used to both hard times and good times. The difference between the good and the bad is generally the result of commodity price cycles. The mid-1990s were particularly hard because of a ‘double whammy’ of low commodity prices and political change in South Africa.

There was a transitional government which had to implement the newly elected ANC’s Reconstruction and Development Plan. The sector had historically operated with private mineral rights ownership as a fundamental principle, and this could not be reconciled with the objectives of the RDP for mining.

I was fortunate to be part of the policy workshops and witnessed first-hand the extreme policy positions that were held but also the will to make things work. There were many CODESA-like moments at the workshops but in the end, all parties had South Africa’s best interests at heart. This led to a new policy and legal framework for mining that at the time successfully balanced the country’s reality with international leading practice.

What major challenges does the South African mining industry face today, and how do you suggest we overcome these difficulties?

Ironically, the ground-breaking law and policy regime that I referred to earlier is now our biggest challenge. There can be many reasons for this, including the way that the laws have been implemented, and the way they are administered today. Of course, one can always do better from an implementation perspective, but insufficient preparation went into developing the skills for the effective implementation and administration of a complex policy and legal framework.

<Subheading4> During your time at Wits and setting up Digimine, you worked very closely with some of the top mining CEOs in the world. You have been an exceptional leader in your own right. What are the attributes, in your mind, that set good leaders apart from the rest?

Three industry leaders that I worked with closely stand out for me. What they said to me over the years summarised what I consider as good leadership. In 2010, we took occupation of our new space in the Chamber of Mines building at Wits University. We had all the space we hoped for, but no budget for equipment and furniture.

During a visit to the university in 2010, I showed Martin Hobbs, then managing director of Aveng Mining, the empty spaces and explained our plans for what we wanted to do with the spaces. His response was: “Fred, you don’t have much to show apart from vision – and I will back that.” So, vision is an important leadership attribute.

The second lesson in leadership came from Nick Holland, CEO of Gold Fields. After a report back session on how we are using the Gold Fields donation, Nick said: “Fred, I like what you are doing, but let’s do more.” This speaks to the need for ‘better’, rather than ‘aiming for perfection’.

The third lesson from a CEO came from Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater. In preparation for my first meeting with him, I studied SibanyeGOLD’s annual review report and included a chart from the report to illustrate a point – but I misinterpreted the meaning. He immediately corrected me: “Professor, this is not actually what we mean by that chart.” He then continued to explain the real intention of the graph to me. This was a most important lesson in leadership for me – to listen carefully, ask questions and request more input when faced with a problem. Also, the best person to ask for input is the one closest to the problem.

How does Digimine and the Wits School of Mining empower students and prepare them to become leaders in their field?

Youth unemployment – and in our context, graduate unemployment – is a significant issue in Africa. The DigiMine approach is, with sponsorship from mainly Sibanye-Stillwater and the Mine Health and Safety Council, to offer graduates with good degrees the opportunity to do technology research that will improve mine health, safety, and efficiency. While doing postgraduate studies, they get a small salary in the form of a university stipend while improving their chances of employment. We have a good track record in this regard, with students being accommodated in the job market on getting their higher degrees, or even before. These jobs are in the new world of work in mining, giving them a competitive advantage over their peers.

What role did Digimine play in terms of research since its inception? Maybe you can highlight a few of the best research projects.

DigiMine does not have the budget to do earth-shattering research. However, with the help of Sibanye-Stillwater, we identified the main health and safety risks and then focused on improving the technology systems and processes for advanced warning of such risks. Projects that stand out for me are these: research on the application of visible light communication systems to establish communication hotspots at critical underground locations; the application of numerical modelling techniques to visualise air quality and ground movement risks, and to improve support and ventilation design; remote monitoring of tailings storage facilities; and the integration of data from different sensor systems into a single platform for decision-making purposes.

How will Digimine prepare students for the 4th Industrial Revolution and mine of the future?

All projects within DigiMine are directed at the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Future of Mining. This requires collaboration between disciplines, which explains why DigiMine students are registered across all university faculties. This gives us the opportunity to apply their fundamental or core knowledge to mine health and safety problems. It is good for mining and good for the student, who then appreciates that the perception of mining as dark, dirty, and dangerous, is wrong.

In your vision, what does the ‘dream’ mine look like, 10 years from now?

Firstly, we must understand that mining is not a nice-to-have economic sector. Mining provides the essential raw materials and metals that are not only requested by you and me (through market demand) but are also vital for society’s survival. The ‘dream’ mine must meet the requirements of responsible mining, which are to bring the resources in the ground to people above the ground, for their benefit and without harm to the environment and society. Where there may be harm, appropriate measures must be introduced to mitigate and eliminate such harm.

Please tell us more about your future plans and how you will remain active in the mining industry.

In my capacity as Visiting Professor to Wits University’s School of Mining Engineering, I am currently in communication with several universities and mining research groups to create a global version of DigiMine.  Here, students registered at their home universities will be able to work with students in Africa on global 21^st century mining problems. I also want to assist government and industry with developing plans to address capacity shortfalls, especially for the technical and vocational streams.

On a personal level, I want to do more things that fall within the definition of ‘doing good’ – with less of a focus on striving to
do better.

In your opinion, do you think that South African mining is on the right path – especially in terms of exploration and developing new projects?

The statistics tell us that we are not on the right path, because there is not enough exploration to ensure a consistent stream of new mines being developed. In addition to Covid-19, South Africa has poor service delivery, high unemployment, and below-par economic growth. Were it not for the mining industry’s contribution to the economy in 2020, we would have been much worse off. So, mining is still important for South Africa.

However, we must not fool ourselves that mining can continue to do this. The truth is that 2020 was a good year for mining because of high commodity prices – and we know that the cycle will change.

Our law and policy framework needs improvement, so that we can attract more investment in new projects and new commodities. For this to happen, we must do what we did during the mid-1990s; we must get stakeholders together and debate the issues, to improve the investment framework in the broader context of responsible mining. I think it is time to measure the intention of the initial law and policy against its actual outcome, and to update our vision for mining and improve the law for the greater benefit of everyone.

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