Zambia and Mali have pushed for State participation of 25% to 35% in mining projects, while Zimbabwe has an indigenisation policy which states that 51% of any mining project in the country should be held by indigenous Zimbabweans, whether they be private investors or government, Bello says.

“Further, a new mining code has just been promulgated in Guinea, West Africa, and the country has revised several mining contracts that were signed by the previous government,” he says, adding that all these measures have been described as resource nationalism.

Many of the measures regarded as resource nationalism are a result of a lack of capacity at government level, Bello says. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces a large mineral output, but there is a critical lack of capacity in the country – it does not have the specialists to measure the value of the resources being mined.

However, when companies seek unfair concessions in incapacitated countries, such as the DRC, they undermine the rights of host communities, inadvertently inviting interventionist government actions, Bello states.

“It is, however, a risky strategy for governments to move against foreign mining interests without completely following the rule of law,” he adds.

African governments should not stand back for multinational mining companies, but decisions on mining should be taken competently and constructively, Bello suggests.

Irrespective of not being able to define the exact meaning of resource nationalism, the perception of this concept can be incredibly damaging, as a government is regarded as being hostile to international capital, Bello says.

He points out that issues pertaining to resource nationalism were also on the agenda of this year’s Investing in African Mining Indaba, which was held in Cape Town last month.

“There were discussions about the possibility of a resource tax and whether additional taxes are needed to ensure that the extractive sector contributes its fair share to the economy.”

Further, the question of whether South Africa needs to look towards establishing a State-owned enterprise in the extractive sector was also topical.

“Those who favour the idea believe that it will be a way for the country to better capture a greater share of the value being created through mining activities in the country, while those who oppose the idea argue that there are other policy options better suited to the South African environment,” Bello explains.

Other policy options could include mining companies working with government to establish a greater degree of beneficiation.

“All these discussions were relevant to how South Africa could ensure equitable remuneration for its mineworkers and what the responsibilities of mining companies were in ensuring that their activities had greater benefits for communities in which they take place,” he concludes.