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Against the backdrop of a discernible new wave of resource nationalism worldwide, much of the discussion centred around the disparity between Africa's mineral potential and the benefits reaped from the mining sector to host communities and governments.

Speaking during a session on sustainability development, Gold Fields chairperson and director of Anglo American Dr Mamphela Ramphela said the mining industry needs to take the lead in promoting sustainable development policies that add social and economic value.

The call for resource nationalisation has evolved into a tidal wave that threatens the viability of the industry, she said.

"Every week there are new proposals on mining taxes, environmental obligations, indigenisation measures or other regulations being imposed on the industry somewhere on the globe."

Ramphela also highlighted the seemingly never-ending list of demands in South Africa from government, labour and the community.

"As we speak - with the budget around the corner - South Africa is looking at imposing a new carbon tax while talk of windfall taxes and nationalisation refuses to die down. The Mining Charter - the cornerstone of South Africa's regulation of the industry - is being mired in controversy about what constitutes actual black economic empowerment ownership of the industry. The certainty that we thought we had established and the trust we believed we had entrenched in markets, is under threat."

Blaming the industry for its narrow and cynical interpretation of BEE, she said industry players have reduced the policy to a points system that rewards BEE ownership at the expense of critical issues like economic development of mining communities; training and skills development, particularly for the youth in these communities; and the economic welfare of employees.

"Even the BEE ownership programme itself is skewed towards investment companies and wealthy individuals who have no direct interest in the well-being of communities and employees."

She called on mining companies to do a lot more to entrench sustainability in their operations, as that is the only way in which mining companies can mitigate against further regulatory interventions by governments.

"We need to demonstrate the unique ability of the private mining sector to create innovate approaches, products and organisational mechanisms that can leverage economic value to the benefit of communities. I would like to see a situation where a mining company comes into a community and starts to sow these sustainability seeds from the initial exploration stage of a project right through to the eventual and inevitable mine closure."

The CEOs of three major miners, during a panel debate, revealed what they believe are the main sustainability issues facing mining companies worldwide.

In a panel discussion on corporate social responsibility at the Mining Indaba, Andre Wilkens, CEO of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), cited climate change, social upliftment and carbon emissions as three challenges his company faces.

Mark Cutifani, CEO of AngloGold Ashanti (ANG) highlighted resource nationalisation as a major issue.

He said if you look at the at the world has developed over the past 30 years and the growth of China, India and Africa, it is clear that the world is short of commodities, including water and energy - there is just not enough to go around. "It's very difficult to get access to raw materials and commodity price reflect that situation," he noted.

He said the group is cognisant of what it does on a global basis and Africa is particularly relevant and actions should benefit the entire community.

"We have got to be a part of the debate and a constructive player to uplift Africa."

Another issue he highlighted was community development. He said when his company moves into an area where there is an opportunity to develop a mine - only 20% of the population will get direct jobs. To benefit the rest of the community, the investment must be made in infrastructure.

GoldFields CEO Nick Holland said companies have to align their business objectives with the particular country they are making the investment in. He said the company has to ensure that there are no tensions between what the local country believes the developers are going to put in place versus what the companies are wanting to put in place.

He added that governments may be looking for different outcomes and formulas. He said there was a need to know up front what the rules of the game are and align these with the objectives.

"If we are going to build mines we need to incorporate renewable energy," he added.

He added that mining companies could not build mines without the active participation of the communities - and this needs to start at with the exploration drilling on site - the local community needs to know what the impact of the project will be on job creation and the associated multiplier effects on other industries.

Another important factor, he said, is localisation and the procurement of local goods and services.

Turning to safety, Holland said all the miners feel passionately about safety - "collectively and as an industry - we are all keen to improve our safety."

Cutifani added that resource nationalism was a key challenge for the mining industry in Africa and that had implications for investment.

He said resource nationalism was a natural consequence of increasing commodity prices and government' legitimate expectations that they should benefit from this.

He added the mining industry is about real estate and having access to those resources that miners will develop to improve society from a general perspective. "And the mining industry has to be very sensitive to that."

Ramphela stressed that sustainable development implemented effectively has the potential of rewarding not only the communities within which mining operations exist, but also the industry itself.

"We need to do all this to secure the future of mining. We need to do this because we are better equipped than government to provide innovative solutions to investing in local communities and the creation of local economic development," she said.

She added that she had no doubt that when it's done right, mining brings social and economic benefits to local communities and host governments. "I have seen this in evidence at many of the companies I engage with. But I also know that the industry needs to do more to become the development partner that these communities and government are looking for."