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BusinessLive writes that new Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has muddied the waters around ownership levels in mining at a time when he is setting out to create certainty after years of instability under his predecessor.
At a media conference this week, Mantashe did not give a clear answer on whether the government would push required black ownership of mining companies beyond the 30% that is under negotiation with the industry, labour and communities, and which has increased from the 14-year-old level of 26%. Mantashe singled out regulatory and policy certainty as a priority task for the start of his tenure. He was, however, vague when asked whether the 30% target would be nudged up. The target set out in the controversial, and now suspended, third iteration of the charter that the Chamber of Mines took to court to be reviewed and scrapped was not an issue at weekend talks between the industry and labour, he said. "There is no problem around the 30%. That’s it. Whether we will ever revise that issue is an issue that is ongoing. My argument is [for] 30% [black ownership]. People were arguing 30% is not substantial and I said to them [at the weekend] 30% is not substantial if it’s against 100%, but if you move to 30% from zero, that is a substantial move,” Mantashe told journalists. He also said the department was "not married" to the third iteration of the charter, which Zwane suspended after the Chamber of Mines’ legal challenge. The Chamber broke its silence over the weekend’s talks, conceding they had been "robust".
- Read this report by Allan Seccombe in full at BusinessLive
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