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Mining Charter to be gazetted next week – Zwane

Cape Town – The Mining Charter will be legally gazetted next week, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane announced at the opening of Evraz Steel on Tuesday.

It follows Zwane’s declaration on May 16 that the Mining Charter will be used to “to drive growth and transformation in the sector”, but that it would quell industry threats that a document without its imprimatur would be sent to the courts.

“The review of the Mining Charter, which was gazetted in April 2016 for public comment, is almost complete,” he told Parliament when he tabled the department’s budget.

How Zwane intends to achieve this – bringing about radical economic transformation while simultaneously pleasing the Chamber of Mines – is a complete and utter mystery, especially to the chamber, which is yet to see the document, David McKay explained in a Finweek report on Friday.

"The last sight of the mining charter redraft was in November when the Department of Mineral Resources appeared before a parliamentary committee," he explained. "At that point, the charter raised the prospect of additional levies and taxes of up to R3bn a year while R2bn already contributed by the mining industry for human resource development would be diverted into a new tax collection entity, the provenance and oversight of which was unknown."

Zwane considers miner feedback

Zwane told Parliament in May that "although we had initially intended to have the process finalised in March 2017, further consultations have been undertaken and we are confident that the charter that will be gazetted will be reflective of the careful consideration given, substantive inputs received and meaningful engagement with stakeholders".

“The final Mining Charter will be reflective of the views of stakeholders, in the interests of South Africa and provide for investor certainty,” he said at the Mining Indaba in February. “We call upon investors to come to South Africa and engage us frankly as we move towards transformation of our economy. We will continue to have an open door policy.”

The mining industry has previously complained that it has not been consulted enough in the process of formulating the Mining Charter.

However, Zwane said in May that the reviewed Mining Charter will have considered the substantial feedback provided by the industry, including on the sustainability of the matter of continuing consequences.

The Chamber of Mines, which noted the above pledge, said in a statement in May that “it is disappointing, however, that no mention has been made of the MPRDA (Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act) Amendments Bill, which is another critical piece of legislation required for improved certainty and investment”.

Zwane told the Mining Indaba in February that he expected amendments to the MPRDA to  be concluded by June this year.


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