Radical economic transformation is a key driving force behind the creation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill, says Department of Mineral Resources mineral policy and promotion deputy director Nhlanhla Jali.

Speaking at the Gauteng Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Economic Development, Environment, Agriculture and Rural Development public hearing on the Bill, last week, in Johannesburg, he emphasised that black South Africans would be provided a greater stake in the country’s mining sector through the implementation of the Bill.

One of the measures in the Bill to advance this agenda is to amend Section 11 of the MPRDA, which relates to the transferability and encumbrance of a prospecting or mining right. Jali said mining companies would require the Mineral Resources Minister’s consent prior to the transfer of any interest in unlisted companies and change in controlling interests in listed companies.

“The purpose of these provisions is to discourage the dilution of black economic- empowerment ownership in mining companies. In granting Section 11 consent, the Minister must reaffirm the rights and interests of affected groups, including workers and communities,” he stated.

Moreover, Jali said, the broader objectives of the Bill were to remove the ambiguities that existed within the MPRDA, particularly relating to providing for the regulation of associated minerals, increasing the positive socioeconomic impact of mining, partitioning of rights, and enhancing provisions relating to the regulation of the mining industry in respect of beneficiation of minerals or mineral products to promote national energy security, and streamlining administrative processes.

The forum allowed for mining companies, mining-impacted communities, industry associations and the general public to make written and oral submissions about the Bill.

A small, peaceful demonstration involving some ten people took place outside the Johannesburg City Hall, where the hearing was held. The demonstrators were demanding that mining-affected communities should be consulted in the process of allo- cating mining licences, the development of communities and the distribution of mining income, among other issues.