MINING NEWS relatively reasonable balance between the interests of the state and the private sector ”, the industry was suddenly thrown into turmoil in 2012 , when the government announced drastic reforms . �ese included increasing the state ' s free carry from 5 % to 30 %, doubling royalties on copper , cobalt and gold to 6 %, and imposing local bene ciation quotas . “ In the face of strong industry resistance , these reforms were never implemented , and at the 2016 Mining Indaba , the DRC ' s mines minister announced they had been formally abandoned ,” says Leon . �e prolonged investor uncertainty “ hobbled investor con dence ”, and saw the DRC plunge in the Fraser Institute rankings , from 54th place in 2011 to 75th in 2012 and 2013 . It recovered to 67th in 2014 and 60th in 2015 . “ Similar dynamics played out in Guinea , Tanzania , Zambia and , of course , South Africa , where amendments to the Mineral and
Petroleum Resources Development Act proposed in 2013 have entered the fourth year of legislative limbo …,” Leon said . Leon ' s reference to Zambia relates to the numerous changes made to the country ' s mining legislative framework and mining-tax regime in the past decade . �ese changes culminated in the ill-fated 20 % Mineral Royalty Tax proposals of 2014 / 15 , which nearly brought the Zambian mining industry to a standstill and threatened its very existence . Leon argues that for African countries to get the best out of their mining industries , they should heed the guidelines of the Africa Mining Vision . �is vision was adopted by the African Union heads of state in 2009 as a roadmap to “ transparent , equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to underpin broad-based sustainable growth and socio-economic development ”.
�e African Mining Vision Guidebook recommends collaborating with the private sector and other stakeholders to develop “ clear , transparent , predictable and efficient legal and regulatory frameworks ”, which would require “ adequate protection of property rights , an effective judicial system , and independent enforcement and oversight bodies ”. Following these guidelines would yield better results than the “ hasty and haphazard adoption of bolt-on reforms with which many African governments have experimented in the past ve years ”. Leon further said : “ If African governments begin to embrace the essential conditions for investment in the mining industry , and if mining companies accept the principle of mining-led sustainable development , there is no reason to think that mining cannot signi cantly transform the economies of Africa ' s key mineral producers .” www . cmscepcor . com