Zwane gazettes Mining Charter review for comment

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane on Friday gazetted the draft reviewed broad-based black economic empowerment Mining Charter for public comment.

The Ministry said in a release to Creamer Media’s Mining Weekly Online that the draft sought to strengthen the charter’s efficacy to effect meaningful transformation of South African mining.

It also sought to integrate government’s transformation policies and legislation in order to "enhance the ease of doing business, create regulatory clarity, predictability and certainty".

It was aligned, the Minister said, to the provisions of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act of 2003 and the Codes of Good Practice and it would be published for 30 days from Friday, during which time there would be engagement with organised mining business and labour.

Written comments should be submitted by May 31.

In its response, the Chamber of Mines noted the publication of the new draft, which would be used as the basis for engagement between the Department of Mineral Resources and key industry stakeholders.

The chamber added in a release to Creamer Media's Mining Weekly Online that in a meeting on Friday morning, the Minister and the chamber team agreed on a process over the coming month, or beyond if necessary, to deal with the content of a revised version of the Mining Charter.

The chamber said that Friday was the first sight the industry had had of the draft and was currently studying its content.

It described the original Mining Charter as the instrument that gave effect to the intentions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.

It initially came into effect in 2004 and a revised version was gazetted in 2010.

Member companies continued to be committed to the achievement of all the transformation objectives of the charter and, for the most, had met the targets set by the 2010 version.

A further factor to be considered was that the chamber was currently seeking clarity through the High Court on the interpretation of black economic empowerment ownership transactions carried out between 2004 and 2014.

This decision, which was only expected later this year, would undoubtedly influence both the assessment of the industry’s historical performance in terms of ownership and the way forward and could significantly influence the latest draft version.

“With more than a decade of the application under our belt, we have better understanding of the drivers of transformation that yield the most desirable outcomes, and some of the potential pitfalls.

"We look forward to constructive interaction with government and the other stakeholders in the period ahead. It is in all of our interests that a mutually acceptable version of the revised charter is finalised at the earliest opportunity,” chamber president Mike Teke said.

Harmony Gold CEO Peter Steenkamp said in a release that his company would "actively participate" in the discussions on the provisions of the draft charter to ensure that the interests of all of its stakeholders were protected.