South Africa To Send Students To Learn Mining In Indonesia

Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung, Oct 16 (ANTARA) - South Africa wants to send its students to Indonesia to learn mining techniques. The plan was revealed by the Member of the Mayoral Commission (MMC) responsible for Integrated Development Planning (IDP), Councillor Tshepo Maifala in a series of working visits to Bangka Belitung, in Pangkalpinang on Monday. "We are the largest tin producer in the world, but unfortunately we do not have universities for mining engineering," said Maifala. According to him, Rustenburg will send about 20 students to study mining engineering in Indonesia. "We were amazed with the potential of Indonesian youths, especially those studying mining engineering, during a group discussion yesterday," he said. Rustenburg produces about 60 percent of the world`s platinum. According to the National Census 2001, it has a population of 395,761 people and lies at the foot of the Magaliesberg Mountains in the North West province in South Africa. The visit of the Rustenburg delegation to Pangkalpinang on Sunday was a follow-up to the business investment seminar hosted by the Rustenburg local municipality in March this year. Subsequently, bilateral trade was formalized in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties, namely Rustenburg local municipality and the Republic of Indonesia, wherein the two agreed to co-operate and establish trade in the areas of local economic development, cultural exchange and infrastructure development. The delegation visited Pangkalpinang city for two days. It also visited Muntok City in West Bangka and will proceed to Belitung Timur to visit the tin smelter and will then fly to Jakarta to attend the Indonesia Trade Expo from Wednesday to Sunday (17-21/10).