South Africa mining group says advice on draft law ignored
South Africa’s mining lobby group said new draft legislation to regulate the sector has failed to include its recommendations, especially on Black ownership and advancement rules.
The Mineral Resources Development Bill, opened to public feedback last week, “does not reflect the inputs” of the Minerals Council South Africa, the industry group said in a statement on Tuesday. The government says the proposed law will improve regulatory certainty and streamline administrative processes.
The Minerals Council — which counts major mining companies like Anglo American Platinum Ltd., Exxaro Resources Ltd. and Harmony Gold Mining Co. Ltd. among its members – singled out its advice that the law “must specifically exclude” exploration companies from Black-ownership and advancement requirements to revive investor interest in the sector.
South Africa introduced a mining charter in 2004 to distribute the benefits from mining more widely among the country’s citizens to help repair the economic impact of racial discrimination during apartheid. At the time, that included a minimum Black shareholding target of 26%.
“We raised this point over and over in our engagements” with the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy because “exploration is the highest risk part of the mineral value chain,” it said. “Yet in this draft bill, none of that is included.”
The Minerals Council said it intends to hold talks with the government to create a regulatory environment that “will attract and support investment in exploration, mine development and the sustainability of existing mines.”
