South Africa plans to declare copper precious metal

Andris Nel, Deputy Minister of the South African government, said during intense debate in Johannesburg that the administration intends to designate copper as a precious metal. The decision has been agreed and championed by many institutions, including the logistics giant.
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At the convention of the Association of Municipal Electricity Representatives, an appeal was made to the government to accelerate the introduction of new security measures to reduce the increase in the number of copper thefts, as well as to track the activities of copper cable syndicates. These actions should ensure normal conditions for the power supply of industrial enterprises and settlements. Since the funding of the municipality is not able to cover all the repair costs.

Late last month, copper thefts in the Gauteng subway caused a water supply disruption that lasted more than three weeks. In addition, the theft is delaying Gautrain's operations, which began last week in Pretoria, which has recorded the largest number of complaints about damage and the cost of restoring water supplies to homes due to broken pipes and taps.

Since the legislation lacks tough copper theft laws, it is extremely rare for copper thefts to be disclosed, according to the police department. To catch thieves of copper pipes and cables, the municipality established a task force last year after six substations were looted. As a result of the team's hard work, 53 offenders were arrested.