[miningmx.com] — THE Chamber of Mines said black ownership among its members averages 28% and already exceeds state-mandated targets – politically charged findings that are at odds with anything the government has said to date.
The government has long held that companies are lagging in moves to give previously excluded blacks a bigger share of the mining industry, which is part of a wider economic empowerment drive aimed at rectifying the disparities of white apartheid rule.
The target under the country’s mining charter is 26% black ownership by 2014. While the mines minister said on the weekend that she was confident that the number would be exceeded, no one from government has suggested it is close yet.
In fact, officials said on Wednesday they would toughen the rules to ensure compliance. Parliament is conducting public hearings on the mining charter.
The chamber said in a presentation to parliament that its members, which include the country’s biggest platinum, gold and coal companies, had already achieved the targets.
“No chamber member is at less than 15%, measured according to the charter. Some are at 50% ownership and above, (with a) weighted average of 28% including six empowerment companies,” the presentation stated.
The 2009 target was 15%, but the government said last year that only 8.9% of the industry had been moved to black owners by then.
“We understand there are challenges ahead of us,” said Bheki Sibiya, the chamber’s chief executive.
“However, we are saying when it comes to broad-based black economic empowerment and transformation, the mining industry proudly says: We stand second to none. Nobody is going to say, ‘We have done a better job’,” Sibiya said.
According to the chamber, its members also performed better than expected in other fields of the mining charter scoreboard, such as capital goods and service procurement.
Earlier, an official from the department of mineral resources said the department was reviewing mining laws to strengthen penalties for non-compliance with the charter.
“We are looking at beefing up the penalty provisions that may be imposed on mining companies for non-compliance to serve as a deterrent and to ensure there is greater compliance,” said Andre Andreas, director of mineral policy development.
Members of South Africa’s chamber of mines include Anglo American Platinum, the world’s top platinum producer, Anglo Gold Ashanti and Kumba Iron Ore .
