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South Africa’s Cabinet Approves New Mining Charter

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses a media conference at the end of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on July 27, 2018, as the heads of the BRICS group -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- met in Johannesburg for an annual summit dominated by the risk of a US-led trade war. Five of the biggest emerging economies on July 26, stood by the multilateral system and vowed to strengthen economic cooperation in the face of US tariff threats and unilateralism. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Themba Hadebe

The South African Cabinet has approved the latest version of the long-delayed mining charter which layouts requirements for black ownership levels and other targets, a cabinet minister said on Thursday.

Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane disclosed to reporters that more details about the charter would be announced on Friday by President Cyril Ramaphosa when he unveils a new economic stimulus package.

The mining charter could still be the subject of legal challenges from the mining industry, if companies are unhappy with its contents after it is published.

“The mining charter was deliberated upon and indeed cabinet has approved the mining charter,” Mokonyane told a news conference.

Analysts say policy certainty in the mining sector could lead to billions of dollars of new investment, in a boost for Ramaphosa’s drive to kick-start economic growth.

Separately, mines minister Gwede Mantashe had withdrawn the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment (MPRDA) bill, a draft law which was the subject of hot debate within the industry, Mokonyane added.

The MPRDA amendments were initially passed by parliament four years ago but were then sent back to lawmakers by former president Jacob Zuma in 2015 due to concerns over whether they were constitutional.

The bill had planned to give wide-ranging powers to the mines minister, including requiring a portion of extracted resources to be processed domestically and not be exported in raw form.

It would have also allowed the minister to declare minerals strategic.

By so doing he aimed to give the state 20 per cent minority stake in new gas and oil exploration and production ventures, which the industry had said would discourage investment.