The Chamber of Mines (CoM) says it looks forward to contributing constructively to consulting on regulations giving effect to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill and commended the Mineral Resources Minister, Advocate Ngoako Ramatlhodi, and his team for the commitment they had demonstrated since he assumed office.

During his maiden Budget Vote speech in Parliament on Tuesday, the Minister announced the establishment of an inter-Ministerial committee that would deal with the regulations under the Amendment Bill passed by Parliament on March 12, which the CoM supported.

“Having spent time listening to stakeholders and taking cognisance of the fact that under our Constitution, a Bill before the President can be referred back to Parliament if it cannot muster a Constitutional test, I am ready for any eventuality,” Ramtlhodi said in his speech.

In June, Mining Weekly Online reported that the uncertainty created by the MPRDA Amendment Bill in the oil and gas sector in South Africa had come to the attention of new  Minister, who had started to echo the sentiments of many companies and stakeholders in the industry.

Ramatlhodi told journalists on Tuesday that the State could negotiate further with regard to legislation pertaining to government being allowed a 20% free-carry interest in all new exploration and production rights in the oil and gas sector.

The chamber noted in a statement on Wednesday that it promoted the expansion and development of the South African mining industry and, to this end, was “encouraged by the concerted effort to address legislative issues related to petroleum and shale gas mining”. 

Meanwhile, with regard to pronouncements on the Mine Health and Safety Amendment Act, the CoM hoped that the robust interaction undertaken during the amendment of the MPRDA would ensue again.

“Chamber member companies take safety and health very seriously and hope that the tripartite partnership that has yielded gains in this area will underpin the amendments,” highlighted the CoM.

Further, the chamber welcomed the pronouncements on skills development as the sector sought to address the legacies of the past and ensure that new entry-level workers within the sector had multiple skills, thus, giving them labour market versatility.

“Chamber member companies have demonstrated through their allocation of substantive budget on training that they are committed to the human resource development requirement of the Mining Charter and beyond,” said the CoM.

With the Mining Charter on transformation marking its tenth year, Ramatlhodi said, during his speech, he expected "100% compliance" from companies.

“The CoM believes that the sector has achieved commendable progress but can do much more taking into cognisance the challenges faced by the country.  “We remain committed to the objects of the Charter and we indeed note the pronouncements on issues of ownership,” said CoM CEO Bheki Sibiya.

The CoM noted that, through the Mining Consultative Forum, now led by President Jacob Zuma, the chamber had made significant contributions to issues around addressing living conditions of mineworkers.

To this end, the CoM pointed out that members remained committed to ensuring that compliance was achieved and would contribute to public–private partnerships to address human settlement needs in host communities.

On July 10, platinum producer Lonmin handed over land to the North West government, as part of the Marikana Extension 2 housing project, on which more than 2 600 housing units would be built.

“It is indeed encouraging that the Minister, during his media briefing, highlighted the housing development wherein the provincial and local government, in partnership with Lonmin, was launched last week. This is a clear demonstration that when we work concertedly as partners results are realised urgently,” said CoM president Mike Teke.

Meanwhile, the CoM said it was extremely encouraged by the acknowledgement by the Minister that the mining industry’s stability could only be realised by a “condusive environment”.

The CoM said Ramatlhodi’s specific reference to the platinum strike was a call for all stakeholders to heed the call for greater introspection as solutions were sought to avoid such a strike in the future.

“The chamber looks forward to participating in the Mining Summit and we hope the already established Mining Lekgotla, due to be hosted jointly on August 13 and 14 with the [Department of Mineral Resources] and our labour partners, will serve as a starting point for such introspection,” said Teke.