charting a new course
Finally, some certainty for SA’s minerals sector
The mining charter, finally gazetted last week, offers some policy certainty in the sector. But it remains to be seen whether all stakeholders can get behind it
The Cyril Ramaphosa-led government has moved swiftly to deliver a mining charter that will provide long-sought policy certainty for investors. It has also been advanced carefully to ensure it is a policy document that all stakeholders "can live with", as mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe has said. But with the document finally gazetted last week, the question remains whether they can. The charter is a mixed bag, with concessions handed out to all stakeholders, though some have got more than others. For example, the new charter has amended and even excluded some of the more controversial provisions that the industry lobbied against. Others, however, remain. The industry has won over the government on the important question of "once empowered, always empowered". Under the new charter a holder of an existing mining right who has already achieved a minimum 26% black shareholding will be deemed compliant‚ even if the empowerment partner has since exited. This win for the industry...
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