The South African government and the Chamber of Mines on Tuesday released the much-awaited mining scorecard, which is a checklist of the provisions contained in the mining empowerment charter.
The document was released at the eighth annual International Mining Indaba in Cape Town. The South African government earlier on Tuesday indicated that it would release the new black empowerment scorecard for the mining industry on
Wednesday, February 19, when it was set to appear on the Department of Minerals and Energy’s website.
Minister of Minerals and Energy Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka added that the government’s new mining royalty system, as outlined in the Money Bill being
developed by the Treasury, would be detailed by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel
in his Budget Speech on February 26.
The scorecard is designed to facilitate the application of the charter in terms of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act requirements for the conversion of all the “old order rights” into new rights within a five-year conversion window period, but recognising the full 10-year period which is likely to end in June 2013.
Progress by stakeholders in achieving the aims of the charter as enunciated in the scorecard can be measured in two ways: the specific targets set in the charter and the targets set by the companies.
“The scorecard is a very simple and basic administrative tool to allow mining companies and mineral license holders to check their progress in meeting the aims of the empowerment charter,” Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
Each applicant for a new order mineral licence will have to submit a copy of the scorecard as well as detailed documentation on each checklist item.
“The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) will also conduct spot checks on the mining operations to ensure the facts submitted are correct. The mining companies’ unions and workers will also be watching the companies like hawks,”
Mlambo-Ngcuka said.
The checklist items are: human resources development, employment equity, migrant labour, mine community and rural development, housing and living conditions, procurement, ownership & joint ventures, beneficiation and reporting.
Chamber of Mines president and Anglo American Platinum (AngloPlat, AMS), executive chairman, Barry Davison, said the mining industry was happy with the
simple and clear mining scorecard.
“We need to achieve transformation as both a political and economic objective so as to modify South Africa so more people can be involved in the economy,” he added.
“I hope that in 10 years all the targets will be met and that all the various objectives contained in the charter become taken for granted and that there is therefore no need for the charter any more,” Davison said.
Mlambo-Ngcuka agreed, saying she hoped for a decreasing role by government in the mining industry as new players come to the fore and that there is no more need for “hand holding” as new empowerment players will have had experience and will have established the requisite credibility.
In response to concerns about the DME’s lack of preparedness with regards to the administration of the new mining legislation, Mlambo-Ngcuka said the department had been granted extra posts for this particular job and would fill them in the future.
“The people processing the administration related to the new mining legislation will be market-friendly with good financial knowledge. We will also hire an economist too,” she added.
Davison said the government’s ability to process mining applications was key to AngloPlat, which is in the process of substantially increasing its annual platinum metal output from about 2,2-million ounces in 2002 to 3,5-million oz of annual production in 2006.
“We are concerned as we need to supply platinum to a world that has a deficit of platinum. We are concerned about the high platinum price choking off with demand,” Davison said.
Previous tardiness by the South African government in processing mining authorizations led to delays in AngloPlat’s expansions, which in turn played a role in pushing the spot platinum price to 23-year highs close to US $700/oz.
“AngloPlat was losing more than R100 000 a day or more while it waited
for authorisations,” Davison said. – I-Net-Bridge