[miningmx.com] — THE decision by the ANC on Friday to consider the nationalising of mines “and other strategic sectors’, will probably extend the investment drought in the country’s mining industry to at least 2012.
Only hours after Friday’s announcement by Trevor Manuel, minister of planning in the presidency, that the ANC would look into nationalisation, UBS adjusted its rating for Anglo American – the country’s largest mining company – down from “buy’ to “neutral’.
This immediately caused Anglo’s share price in London to lose 3.3% to 2 467p – the sharpest intraday decline in a month. UBS says in its report that political risk and other challenges such as irregularities in respect of mining licences are not reflected in the price.
The report was compiled by a London analyst, Olivia Kerr, and sent out as soon as the ANC’s decisions in South Africa became known in the British capital.
Kerr points out that this year Anglo will have to earn more than 50% of its income in South Africa.
It was decided that nationalisation be placed on the agenda for the next ANC policy conference in 2012.
Jeff Radebe, head of policy for the ANC, managed to send Malema and his hangers-on back to their seats.
Midnight had already passed and it was resolved to adjourn the meeting to the next morning so that emotions could calm down.
A settlement was reached overnight – that the National Executive Committee would study international experience with regard to the nationalisation of mining industries and report back at the next policy conference in 2012.
This is a settlement that Manuel and Enoch Godongwana, public enterprises deputy minister, conveyed to the outside world the next morning.
They made the announcement as though nationalisation was merely one of many economic options being considered but, when President Jacob Zuma closed the national general council meeting with a speech two hours later, the implications became obvious.
Whereas eight months ago at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town Susan Shabangu had informed mining investors worldwide that nationalisation of mines “will not happen in South Africa in my lifetime,’ it is now officially on the ANC’s agenda.
Zuma said that the Youth League had proposed the issue of nationalisation and the possible establishment of a state mining company. It had been instructed to do so within ANC structures and to follow procedures.
Now that it had been correctly proposed, it had become an issue to be processed by the entire organisation. It was no longer a Youth League issue, said Zuma.
Sake24
