Latest news with #MineralResourcesDevelopmentBill
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Mantashe faces criticism over changes to mining law draft
Activists and experts have accused Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe of bowing to pressure from powerful mining companies. South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, is facing strong backlash over his recent changes to the draft Mineral Resources Development Bill. Critics say the revisions favour big mining interests at the expense of communities, the environment and the national push for economic transformation. Two key changes in the updated draft have sparked outrage. The first is the removal of the requirement for Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) participation in applications for prospecting rights. The second is the scrapping of a clause that required ministerial approval when control of a listed company holding mining rights changes. Activists and experts have accused Mantashe of bowing to pressure from powerful mining companies. David van Wyk, a respected researcher in the field, questioned the minister's intentions. 'Prospecting is where it all begins,' Van Wyk said. 'Companies make millions by selling these rights after identifying valuable mineral deposits. Without BEE, transformation becomes just a word. And when companies change hands without any oversight, it makes it easy for them to dodge their environmental and social responsibilities.' Van Wyk also warned about the consequences of poor regulation in the sector. 'We already have more than six thousand abandoned mines in this country. These are environmental disasters, and the communities around them suffer the most. If the minister is not informed when ownership changes, there is no one to hold accountable when something goes wrong.' Christopher Rutledge, director of the organisation Mining Affected Communities in Action, said the changes show how the government has shifted its loyalty from people to business. 'The Bill's amendments are not about fixing technical errors. They are a political decision that turns away from the goals of transformation and accountability,' he said. Rutledge believes the removal of BEE requirements in prospecting is a deliberate decision to maintain control of the industry in the hands of the same elite. 'This ensures the same old faces keep control of the mineral wealth. It opens the door to secret deals, takeovers and asset sales, with no regard for the people on the ground or the environment.' He added that the state needs to play a far stronger role. 'Public ownership of minerals and the mining process is the way forward. The revenue should support a sovereign wealth fund that benefits all South Africans, not just a few. Right now, the state-owned mining company barely has a footprint in the sector, and no one knows how much has gone into the sovereign fund.' Trade union federation Cosatu has also raised concerns. Spokesperson Mathews Parks said the federation would engage with Mantashe to get clarity on the goals of the changes. 'Legislation must be aligned with economic transformation. We cannot afford to backtrack now.' Meanwhile, the Minerals Council South Africa has welcomed some parts of the draft but says more work is needed to support investment. Public comments on the Bill will close in August, but for now, the debate continues over whether the government is acting in the national interest or putting profits first.
Daily Maverick
11-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Mantashe pulls back on BEE proposals for mining exploration
Exploration is an extremely risky business, and BEE ownership rules on the activity would be a major obstacle to the deployment of capital on this front. Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has changed clauses in the draft Mineral Resources Development Bill (MRDP) that would have imposed BEE requirements on previously exempt exploration companies and projects in the mining space. The BEE requirements on the high-risk exploration arm of the mining sector provoked backlash from the mining industry, and Mantashe made comments last month that suggested he was not aware that the draft Bill contained such provisions — but if it did, he would correct them. 'Now, and in the future, there's no provision for BEE on exploration,' Mantashe said in late May during a media briefing at the conclusion of the AGM for the Minerals Council SA. Earlier this week, Mantashe issued an erratum notice to correct the draft and remove the BEE requirements for exploration and prospecting. 'The granting of such rights will further the objects referred to in section 2(d) and comply with the broad-based socio-economic empowerment prescribed elements,' was in the original wording regarding prospecting, but that has now been removed. South Africa's share of global exploration spend has collapsed from around 5% two decades ago to less than 1% in the face of a range of challenges, including massive applications backlogs that the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources hopes to address soon with a new mining cadastre. Exploration is an extremely risky business, and BEE ownership rules on the activity would be a major obstacle to the deployment of capital on this front. 'The Minerals Council South Africa notes the gazetting of … corrections to the Draft Mineral Resources Development Bill,' said the council, the main mining industry body, in a terse statement. 'The Minerals Council continues to review the Bill amending the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and we will submit our perspectives within the scheduled timeline of 13 August 2025.' Overall, the industry is not happy with the Bill, which once again moves the goalposts at a time when investors are crying for certainty in a sector that remains crucial for South Africa's low-growth and high-unemployment economy. One bone of contention is embedding the Mining Charter into the legal framework, which could again unleash the 'once empowered, always empowered' debate, which the industry has already won in court. 'Once empowered, always empowered' means that once a company meets a threshold for black ownership, it does not have to keep topping up endlessly if black shareholders sell their stakes. 'The Bill in its current form does not encourage or sustain the growth and investment that the mining industry needs to realise its full potential to create employment, stimulate the economy and fulfil its social mandate,' said the Minerals Council. DM
IOL News
29-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Criticism of South Africa's new Mineral Resources Bill: A disaster in the making?
Sharp criticisms have emerged over the structure of the new Mineral Resources Bill that was gazetted for public comment last week by Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe Image: Reuters Sharp criticisms have emerged over the structure of the new Mineral Resources Bill that was gazetted for public comment last week by Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe with the DA on Wednesday saying, "The new minerals bill is a disaster in the making." This comes hot on the heels of the Minerals Council on Tuesday saying its contributions were not incorporated. Mantashe and other government officials hope that the Mineral Resources Development Bill and the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy blueprint will help to shore up mineral exploration, spearhead SA's production of critical minerals and attract international investment into the mining sector. 'The bill is poorly thought out. It is contradictory and unclear in several places. It grants new powers to the Minister to rule the industry according to his own whim,' said James Lorimer, the DA's spokesperson on mining issues. He further said the bill will 'end the already tottering case for foreign investment' in the mining sector. Among the stipulations that the DA is opposed to is a provision requiring ministerial approval for the change of control of any listed company holding a mining licence. Lorimer also voiced out concerns over a 'vague requirement that certain minerals would have to be made available for local beneficiation' adding that there was no clarity over 'who would do the beneficiation or at what price' mines would have to make the minerals available. Mzila Mthenjane, the CEO of the Minerals Council, said the published bill 'does not reflect inputs' from the grouping of SA's mining sector players. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'The draft bill is not altogether optimal,' said Mthenjane, adding that an industry preference seeking that the legislation 'specifically exclude prospecting companies from empowerment' had not been included. 'Exploration is the highest risk part of the mineral value chain and imposes an unnecessary burden on prospectors who must sink every rand into drilling and data interpretation. Yet in this draft bill, none of that is included,' he explained. Lili Nupen, a mining policy expert who founded Johannesburg-based NSDV, told Business Report though that the bill's effectiveness will be hinged on how it is implemented. 'NSDV Law is of the view that the South African mining industry stands to benefit from the implementation of the Mineral Resources Development Bill and the Critical Minerals Strategy, if they are executed effectively and supported by consistent policy implementation,' said Nupen. She added that the Mineral Resources Bill was supposed to be representative of the South African government's recognition of investor concerns and, therefore, should be a mechanism of reforming the legal framework that governs the mining sector to address concerns. 'For example, the alignment of the mining and environmental regulatory timeframes and processes, as well as their acceleration, is directly aimed at addressing current concerns regarding the backlog of the processing and authorisation of mining projects. Similarly, the Critical Minerals Strategy provides much-needed clarity on South Africa's mineral priorities, which could guide investment decisions and support coordinated development efforts.' South Africa, a major mining hub in the region, has identified platinum, manganese, iron ore, coal, and chrome ore as 'high-critical minerals' under the new Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy.
Daily Maverick
28-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Industry sees red after Mantashe says no BEE for mining exploration, contradicting draft Bill
A new mist of uncertainty has shrouded mining policy just as progress is being made on other fronts such as the looming rollout of the long-awaited mining cadastre to address the applications backlog for mining and prospecting rights and permits. The draft Mineral Resources Development Bill (MRDP) has stirred a hornet's nest in the mining industry and with the ANC's GNU political partner the DA, and its ill-conceived nature was on full display on Wednesday when Minister Gwede Mantashe confusingly said the BEE requirements for exploration were not there and would be removed if they were. 'Now, and in the future, there's no provision for BEE on exploration,' Mantashe, the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (MPR), said during a media briefing at the conclusion of the AGM for the Minerals Council SA, the main body representing the country's mining industry. That's neither the Minerals Council's reading of the draft Bill nor Daily Maverick's interpretation of it. 'We raised this point over and over in our engagements with the department that the amendments must specifically exclude prospecting companies from empowerment requirements … Yet in this draft Bill, none of that is included,' Minerals Council CEO Mzila Mthenjane said in a statement on Tuesday. The thing about prospecting – or exploration – is that it is an extremely high-risk activity that onerous BEE rules will severely curtail. And without exploration, the South African mining industry has no viable long-term future. Daily Maverick asked Mantashe to clarify this afterwards and he responded by saying: 'If there is a BEE requirement in the Bill for prospecting, it must be removed.' So, the industry's complaints on this front are not falling on deaf ears, though it has raised concerns that its inputs were not included in the draft. And a new mist of uncertainty has shrouded policy just as progress is being made on other fronts such as the looming rollout of the long-awaited mining cadastre to address the applications backlog of mining and prospecting rights and permits. Overall, the industry is not happy with the Bill, which once again moves the goal posts at a time when investors are crying for certainty for a sector that remains crucial for South Africa's low-growth and high-unemployment economy. 'When we ask ourselves this question, does this Bill promote investment and create jobs, we see it has some serious short-comings,' said Paul Dunne, the CEO of Northam Platinum, who was re-elected as president of the Minerals Council SA. 'They are both substantive in nature and technical … Council is a very considered, professional advocacy group. We represent at least 99% of the mining industry in this country and our submission [on the draft Bill] will be made public when the right time comes, and we will engage very, very robustly with the department and the minister on this issue,' he said. The good-natured Dunne added: 'The minister knows us very well. We are very tough. And minister, we are coming.' That raised a chuckle from the audience and Mantashe, but it is no laughing matter – except for lawyers, who are going to giggle all the way to the bank. The draft Bill raises the almost certain prospect of arduous and time-consuming legal and court battles – another obstacle to the investment that the mining sector and wider South African economy desperately need to reach faster levels of growth and job creation. It has also raised hackles in the GNU, which is supposed to be the ANC's main governing partner. One bone of contention is embedding the Mining Charter into the legal framework, which could once again unleash the 'once empowered, always empowered' debate which the industry has already won in court. But fresh legal scraps could loom on this front. This played out in the courts when Gupta stooge Mosebenzi Zwane was the minister in charge of mining, and the term refers to the industry's contention that once a company reached a required BEE ownership threshold that should be set in stone even if black shareholders decided to sell their stakes – which is the point of owning shares. The government at the time held that mining companies needed to endlessly keep topping up BEE stakes, a state of affairs that would dilute value and repel foreign as well as domestic investment. 'By expressly including the Mining Charter as law and not simply policy, the Bill allows for the rapid overturning of t'once empowered, always empowered', opening the door to the need for constant injections of new BEE investors, a feature which would on its own make investing a lossmaking prospect,' MP James Lorimer, the DA spokesperson on Minerals and Petroleum Resources, said in a statement. 'The Bill is poorly thought out. It is contradictory and unclear in several places. It grants new powers to the Minister to rule the industry according to his own whim.' What this means More policy confusion and uncertainty at a time when South Africa needs both to extract wealth, investment and job creation from its rich minerals endowment. It will also test the GNU and likely trigger a tsunami of legal challenges for South Africa's already stretched court system. The ANC is acting like it has a two-thirds majority in Parliament on this front and has yet to be pulled back to Earth by the laws of political gravity. Mantashe on Wednesday reminded the industry of its racist past, and that is no bad thing – in an age when US President Donald Trump is parroting fascist-inspired lies about 'white genocide', hard historical truths need to be confronted head-on. The South African mining industry was the economic bedrock of apartheid, subjecting an overwhelmingly black migrant labour force to ruthless exploitation. But the times are changing and the industry – partly in response to government regulation and union demands but also wider concerns among investors foreign and domestic – has made strides from the indignities of the apartheid past on a range of fronts, including ownership, wages, communities, health and safety. BEE as a mantra has not delivered a utopia while enriching a relatively small elite, and it is also starting to look like a fossilised relic in an age when – despite the Trump administration's efforts to turn the tide – capital is largely looking for kinder, gentler returns. The Bill, for now, is not law and open to public comment. Break out the popcorn for the fireworks. DM
Bloomberg
27-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa Mining Group Says Advice on Draft Law Ignored
South Africa 's mining lobby group said new draft legislation to regulate the sector has failed to include its recommendations, especially on Black ownership and advancement rules. The Mineral Resources Development Bill, opened to public feedback last week, 'does not reflect the inputs' of the Minerals Council South Africa, the industry group said in a statement on Tuesday. The government says the proposed law will improve regulatory certainty and streamline administrative processes.
