Mining Charter: Consultation may be extended

Mosebenzi Zwane could extend the comments period over the proposed controversial amendments to the Mining Charter.

Johannesburg - Mineral Resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane could extend the comments period over the proposed controversial amendments to the Mining Charter.

This is according to Reuters, which reported on Friday that the minister told a business briefing that “if there are issues that need us to go beyond that time we will do so”.

The controversial draft states firms need to keep black ownership at 26 percent.

Mining firms and trade union Solidarity have come out against the draft, which was published a week ago.

Read also: Mining Charter: Anglo American enters the fray

However, the National Union of Mineworkers has come out in favour of the empowerment clauses.

Zwane has said he will consult industry over the proposed changes.

“We are not radical... What we are proposing does not differ much from what has been there, but we have proposed some structural changes,” Zwane said.

The charter review says mining companies have three years from 2016 to raise their empowerment levels to 26 percent, and will be open for public comment for 30 days, the department of mineral resources said.

Failure to meet the empowerment targets can result in mining permits or rights being revoked in an industry which is an increasingly hard sell to foreign investors in the face of labour unrest, depressed prices, soaring wage and power costs.

The department and the Chamber of Mines, which represents the largest producers in the country, including Anglo American and Glencore, have gone to court over their interpretation of the charter, with the companies saying that they have still met the rules to hold licences even after black investors sold their stakes. The department says companies should maintain shareholdings by non-whites above the threshold at all times.

IOL & REUTERS