Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane has begun constructive bilateral engagement with the Chamber of Mines - led by its President‚ Mike Teke - on pertinent issues in the sector‚ including the recently gazetted draft Mining Charter‚ the parties said in a joint statement.
“The Minister is encouraged by the parties' openness and willingness for frank and robust discussions. “Engagements continue‚ and any further announcements will be made in due course‚” the brief statement read.
Aspects of the unexpected and unilateral draft changes to the Mining Charter have been criticised by the industry. The charter has also put the embattled industry on the back foot ahead of negotiations on empowerment.
The revised charter came exactly a month after the start of a court case by the Chamber of Mines‚ seeking a declaratory order on the "once-empowered‚ always-empowered" clause in the version of the Mining Charter finalised in 2010.
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“The interpretation of the contentious clause has been bogged down in dispute between the Department of Mineral Resources and the chamber‚ according to BDlive.
The department is insistent that mining companies must retain 26% black ownership no matter the reason for it falling below that target‚ and the revised charter leaves no doubt about that. But the sector argues that past deals must be recognised towards the ownership target.
Sibanye Gold‚ the largest miner of South African gold‚ has criticised the Department of Mineral Resources for its unilateral publication of the revised charter.
“It is disappointing that the draft mining charter was published without extensive consultation‚ and while court procedures seeking to clarify elements of the previous mining charter are still in process‚" Sibanye CEO Neal Froneman told BDlive.
The overhaul of the Mining Charter could not come at a worse time for the industry.
Commodity prices are depressed; China is no longer growing as fast as everyone needs it to; and demand in the post-2008 global economy has not fully recovered.
In SA‚ these issues feel magnified‚ because it comes with the added complications of large electricity-price hikes‚ rising labour costs‚ and fractious industrial relations‚ BDlive reported.
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