Communities should invest in projects that will sustain
community members at the end of a mine’s lifespan.
into an economic minority by law
if you say that the shareholding in
the biggest industry in the country,
which is mining, is limited to
30%,” comments David van Wyk,
lead researcher at Bench Marks
Foundation.
Van Wyk mentions that the
organisation is engaging with the
DMR about the Mining Charter. He
highlights that the Mining Charter
further states that the ownership
percentage is required to gradually
increase from 50% to 100% throughout
a mine’s lifespan.
“We have a problem with that,
because in the last quarter of the mine’s
life, that is the most expensive quarter
because that is when the mine has to be
rehabilitated and shut. We already have
6 000 abandoned mines in South Africa,
so we don’t quite understand why there
should be a majority or complete black
ownership in the last quarter, because
you are just creating a huge liability
for communities, workers, and black
entrepreneurs in that last quarter.”
He expressed the Foundation’s delight
at the proposal to pay communities
1% of total revenue; however, there are
concerns about executing such payment.
“We are worried about the lack of detail
in the Mining Charter on how this is
going to work,” Van Wyk adds.
The Mining Charter states that
dividend payments to communities
Debswana
Mining in focus
will only be paid out after seven
years of a mine’s operation. In Van
Wyk’s view, this would not work for
communities, because some mining
licenses had a lifespan shorter than
seven years.
Policy uncertainty in South Africa
is another major problem, especially
for mines that are looking to include
communities as owners. Van Wyk
explains that mining companies
do not care what the ownership
percentage requirements are; however,
policy uncertainty caused by a lack of
consistency with the current policies
in place, makes it difficult for all
stakeholders to understand what is
going on. As a result, huge uncertainty
SEPTEMBER 2018 MINING MIRROR
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