The Department of Mineral Resources is a department of the national government of South Africa which is responsible for overseeing the mining industry of South Africa and the exploitation of the country's mineral resources. The department's origins lie the creation in the 1890s of the "Department van Mijnwezen" (Department of Mining) in the government of the Transvaal Republic. It has existed under its current name since 2009 when the Department of Minerals and Energy was divided and the Department of Energy was created. As of 2013 the political head of the department, the Minister of Mineral Resources, is Ngoako Ramatlhodi and his deputy is Godfrey Oliphant.