The fact is that South Africa would not be what it is today without the mining industry. But the cost on the lives of black South Africans and migrant workers from neighbouring states and on their families, has been traumatic.

No one can deny the massive impact the mining industry has on our economy: while there are numerous ways to measure this, according to Statista, the industry contributed an added value of about R202.05-billion in 2023.

This does not take into account the hundreds of thousands of South Africans employed in the sector; or the thousands of communities benefiting from local development through social labour plans and procurement opportunities for local SMMEs.

The fact is that South Africa would not be what it is today without the mining industry.

Having said that, there is no escaping the hard truth that the modern South African mining industry would also not be what it is today without its painful past. The cost of the industry's success on the lives of black South Africans and migrant workers from neighbouring states employed by the mines, and on their families, has been traumatic.

Thirty years after our transition to a democratic state founded on the values of human dignity, the achievement of equality and advancement of human rights, the mining industry has yet to acknowledge in any way this extraordinary history.

In 1997, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission offered a unique opportunity to do so....