Pretoria - The Department of Mineral Resources has refuted claims that Minister Susan Shabangu did not properly consult stakeholders during the review of the Mining Charter.
"The department puts on record the extensive consultative engagement process with all mining stakeholders, under the auspices of MIGDETT. No stakeholder can claim to be oblivious to the contents and intent of the amended mining charter," said the department in a statement on Thursday.
Government launched a Reviewed Mining Charter in September after an assessment of the former charter revealed certain targets had not been met.
The reviewed Mining Charter sought to facilitate sustainable transformation, growth and development of the mining industry and put emphasis on the target of achieving 26 percent of mining assets to be Black Economic Empowerment-owned by 2014.
Under the new charter, companies found not complying could face penalties which could include the revoking of a mining company's license.
At the time, Shabangu said the reviewed Mining Charter represented collaborative work among stakeholders under the auspices of Mining Industry Growth, Development and Employment Task Team (MIGDETT).
MIGDETT was established in December 2008 with a two-pronged mandate - to find mechanisms to mitigate the effects of the global financial and economic crisis and to propose interventions that will position the South African mining industry along a growth trajectory when the global economic upswing returns.
It is a multi-stakeholder task team, chaired by the department, with other government representation including the Presidency, National Treasury, Trade and Industry and Public Enterprises, the Chamber of Mines and South African Mining Development Association (SAMDA), as well as organised labour
According to the department, during the latter part of 2009, MIGDETT identified two major attributes that would position the South African mining industry along a sustainable growth path, namely transformation and competitiveness.
"To this extent, MIGDETT established two working groups, chaired by the Chamber of Mines and SAMDA respectively. This process recognised that we have previously dealt with competitiveness and transformation of the mining industry as mutually exclusive and MIGDETT was specifically tasked to emphasise the symbiotic relationship and mutually reinforcing nature of these attributes," it said.
The second phase of the MIGDETT process culminated in the signing of the declaration on "The Strategy for Sustainable Growth and Meaningful Transformation of South Africa's Mining Industry" on 30 June, said the department, adding that all stakeholders represented in MIGDETT, including the Chamber of Mines, SAMDA, NUM, UASA and Solidarity signed the declaration document.
"The revised mining charter was presented to all stakeholders on 9 September and all representative constituents were allowed to contribute additional inputs to the document by Sunday the 12th September, preceding the release of the amended mining charter.
"All inputs were considered in the finalisation of the amended Mining Charter, as published on the 13th September 2010," explained the department.
