Mining in focus
Mining in the
new dawn
The mining industry in South Africa has been in limbo for the past couple of
years. Since the African National Congress (ANC) held its national elective
conference towards the end of 2017, there have been a lot of changes in South
Africa, which have impacted the mining industry, writes Dineo Phoshoko.
D
[30] MINING MIRROR AUGUST 2019
from the industry, Mining Charter III was
finalised and implemented.
Although, it looked like the mining industry
was experiencing much-needed positive winds
of change, this was not enough to convince
investors, who preferred to be cautiously
optimistic. For them, the outcome of the May
2019 elections would be the ultimate decider
on determining their investment future in
South Africa’s mining industry.
Addressing industry concerns
uring former president Jacob
Zuma’s administration, the
country’s political setting was
inconsistent, which resulted
in an unsatisfactory performance of the
economy. This had negative consequences
for many businesses in various industries,
including mining. Inevitably investors became
pessimistic about investing in South Africa’s
mining industry, creating a bleak outlook for
the future. Downgrades by various ratings
agencies exacerbated the situation. There was
also a lot of uncertainty with regards to policy
regulation, particularly around the mining
charter. Investors were holding back, waiting
for the outcome of the ANC’s national elective
conference and the national election.
The elective conference had the potential
to be the light at the end of the tunnel
for anxious investors, the mining industry
and many South Africans. There was hope
that there would be new leaders for South
Africa, who would bring positive change to
the country. After a nerve-racking election
process, Cyril Ramaphosa ‒ deputy president
of the country at the time ‒ was victorious
and became president of the ANC. Shortly
after that he became president of the country
when Zuma resigned in February 2018. When
Ramaphosa took to office, words like ‘new
dawn’ and ‘Ramaphoria’ became synonymous
with the recent developments in the country.
One of the changes he made in the early
stages of his tenure was to appoint Gwede
Mantashe as the Department of Mineral
Resources (DMR) minister, taking over from
Mosebenzi Zwane. Mantashe’s appointment
President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this year at the
Investing in African Mining Indaba.
was one of Ramaphosa’s ways of bringing back
investor confidence to the industry. Upon his
appointment, Mantashe tackled the biggest
problem in the industry at the time, the
unresolved mining charter, and vowed to have
it finalised before the end of 2018.
In addition, the new minister also worked to
rebuild trust and mend the broken relationship
between government and the mining industry.
True to his word, the new minerals resources
minister was appointed in February 2018 and
by the end of that year, after much deliberation
The Investing in African Mining Indaba 2019
was a historical event. Not only did the mining
conference turn 25, but Ramaphosa became
the first South African head of state to attend
the conference.
During his address at the conference,
Ramaphosa assured investors and world that
South Africa was ready and open for investment.
Apart from sharing what he called the “10 value
creating principles for a more modern, successful
and productive mining industry”, he also
addressed some of the industry’s concerns.
Among them was the mining charter and
whether it was satisfactory for all parties to
share in the benefits of mining in the country.
Ramaphosa recognised that the industry had
come a long way in resolving issues related to the
mining charter. “I’ve been very encouraged by the
energy that the minister has put into the mining
charter; by the enthusiasm and commitment by
mining companies who’ve been willing to engage
with the minister,” Ramaphosa said. He also
commended labour and communities for their
contribution to the charter.
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