Banks balk at risk of funding Mining Charter’s black-ownership deals
SA’s plan to force mining companies to give the black majority a bigger stake in the nation’s mineral wealth faces a major obstacle: convincing banks to back billions of dollars of fresh deals in an industry in decline. Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on June 15 that local mines should be at least 30% owned by black people, up from the previous requirement of 26%. The mining companies need banks to help fund transactions that transfer the stakes to black investors who often do not have the capital to invest. Companies often use dividends or divert cash flows to pay off the debt on behalf on the black empowerment partners, which means full ownership only vests years later. The sector, once the economy’s bedrock and the foundation on which Johannesburg was built, now accounts for only 7.3% of GDP, while fixed-investment into the industry shrank, hitting a 10-year low 2016, according to the Chamber of Mines, which represents the biggest producers. SA holds the biggest r...
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