[miningmx.com] — MINES minister Susan Shabangu will soon give her assessment of industry progress in reaching the targets of the Mining Charter, her spokesperson said on Friday.
“We expect the minister to pronounce on this issue within a matter of weeks once she has looked at all these latest reports,” Bheki Khumalo told Reuters, referring to reports that mining companies had to submit to the government by the end of July.
The company reports include their scorecards of progress they are making towards the charter’s goals which include ensuring the industry is at least 26% black-owned by 2014.
The Chamber of Mines said on Wednesday black ownership among its members averaged 28%, already exceeding the targets – politically charged findings at odds with anything the government has said to date.
The government has long held that companies are lagging in moves to give blacks a bigger share of the mining industry, and the sector’s charter is part of a wider “empowerment” drive across the economy aimed at rectifying the disparities of white apartheid rule.
Meeting its goals is seen as one way to blunt a push by radical elements in the ruling African National Congress to nationalise the industry, a prospect that has unnerved investors but also focused attention on pressing issues such as poverty, unemployment, and racial imbalances in ownership.
Shabangu told Reuters last weekend she was confident the targets would be exceeded by 2014 but no one from government has suggested it is close yet.
In fact, government officials said on Wednesday they would toughen the rules to ensure compliance.
Only 8.9% of mines were owned by blacks in 2009, well below a target of 15%.
Members of South Africa’s chamber of mines include Anglo American Platinum, Anglo Gold Ashanti and Kumba Iron Ore.
