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The Chamber of Mines notes the comments by the Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe, at a media briefing hosted in Pretoria today, arising from the weekend meeting called by the department to discuss the Mining Charter.

The Chamber confirms that discussions over the weekend were robust. That is no less than we and all other parties should expect on matters as critical to the industry as this. The industry is appreciative of the real engagement that Minister Mantashe began at the weekend, after an absence of such processes over the last few years.

We are aligned with the Minister’s thinking that transformation, competitiveness and growth are and should be mutually reinforcing goals. These imperatives are not at odds with each other.

The Chamber will participate in the two technical task teams established by the Minister – one to discuss the Mining Charter and the other to discuss competitiveness and inclusive growth – with a view to reaching an agreement that would ensure further effective progress on transformation and the sustainability of the industry.
 
The Chamber is seeking a practicable and workable outcome that all parties to the Charter can accept and defend. We look forward to creative thinking on transformation from all stakeholders which might result in some aspects of a new Charter being approached in ways different from the template of the first two iterations of the Charter that have operated since 2004.
 
The Chamber looks forward to an effective engagement process that, as the Minister indicated today, should include all interested parties including representatives of mining communities.

Issued by Chamber of Mines