SA slips in global mining rankings
SA was placed 74th out of 104 global mining jurisdictions in a Fraser Institute survey. It was overtaken by countries such as the DRC, while Zambia romped back into the top 50.
SA was placed 74th out of 104 global mining jurisdictions in a Fraser Institute survey. It was overtaken by countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Zambia romped back into the top 50, as SA’s regulatory uncertainty and labour issues continued to weigh on perceptions about the country.
Perceptions of SA worsened in 2016 in a survey sent to 2,700 mining managers and executives across the world.
SA had risen to 74th out of 109 a year earlier.
The country has been mired in regulatory uncertainty since 2012 when amendments were drafted to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.
They are yet to be finalised. The third iteration of the Mining Charter has drawn fierce criticism from the mining sector.
Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said in February the charter would be gazetted by the end of March and finalised before June.
“On policy perception alone, ignoring geology, SA now ranks as the third-least attractive mining jurisdiction in Africa, followed by Zimbabwe and South Sudan. This is obviously concerning,” said Peter Leon from Herbert Smith Freehills.
“It is clear that it is becoming increasingly urgent for the government to provide the necessary regulatory certainty for the mining industry. It can begin to do so by resolving its protracted dispute with the Chamber of Mines over Mining Charter III and reconsidering the (mining) amendment bill,” he said.
The attractiveness index combined a policy perception index, in which SA ranked 84th out of 104 jurisdictions compared to 78th out of 109 the previous year, and a best-practices mineral potential index.
“There is a grave risk to ownership with the government’s track record on passing and then modifying laws to achieve policy goals. The environment in SA is not predictable,” the report quoted an unnamed consultant as saying in a response.