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The Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy was briefed by Mintek and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), Mr Gwede Mantashe, on the entity’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The committee then welcomed the presentation, and expressed its appreciation for the good work that Mintek is doing.
The entity has repurposed its programmes and facilities since the declaration of Covid-19 as the National State of Disaster to develop capacity and produce 4 000 litres of surface and hand sanitizers per week. The products are only utilised by employees of Mintek and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE).
However, Mintek is currently working on increasing production capacity in order to commercially supply the market. The committee further welcomed Mintek’s announcement that it received in June this year the ISO 13485 certification to develop and produce test kits for Covid-19.
The committee Chairperson, Mr Sahlulele Luzipo, said: “It is refreshing to see that Mintek continues to be the beacon of good corporate governance and sound financial management.”
He further said that once the work is complete to repurpose and merge Mintek and Pelchem, another entity of the DMRE, the state is likely to have one big pharmaceutical company that could be a game changer in the sector.
The committee also deliberated on the Lilly and Optimum mine reports, which will be adopted in the upcoming meeting.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
