Mining Charter takes from Peter to pay Paul, but where's profit?
Banks will simply stop financing BEE deals if industry is 'uninvestable'
It's more than a decade since the introduction of the first Mining Charter in South Africa, and the story of black entrepreneurs taking over mining companies is still one that gets many commentators fuming. Over time, empowerment deals have yielded some apparent success stories, such as Exxaro Resources, but many ventures have failed. One negative example is the collapse of Tokyo Sexwale's mining vehicle Mvelaphanda Resources, which failed in the aftermath of the global crash in 2008. The former human settlements minister spoke of his ambitions of being a "black Harry Oppenheimer", referring to the son of Ernest Oppenheimer, who founded Anglo American almost 100 years ago. The first Mining Charter, drawn up in consultation with the government and mining houses, was signed in 2004. At the heart of its failure, and that of many empowerment consortiums, was funding. The third Mining Charter addresses the issue of BEE partners, which in the past found themselves in a lot of debt due to ...
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