The 128-year-old Chamber of Mines intends to come up with a new identity and name over the next few months. This may be one of the few occasions when rebranding is justified, though it is hard to imagine what else the chamber might call itself to reflect its evolution. The word "association" is no trendier than "chamber" and the word "group" is overused in social media. The leadership, burning issues and membership of the chamber have changed fundamentally since 1889, when it first became a formal organisation. Last week it elected its fourth black president, Exxaro CEO Mxolisi Mgojo, which would have been unimaginable a century ago. It would also have been unthinkable for a Chamber of Mines leader to acknowledge, as outgoing president Mike Teke did in his AGM speech, that the mining industry had been a direct cause of illness and hardship to some workers, and in some areas had allowed untenable situations to continue or had simply been absent when care was needed. It was trying to ...
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