Chamber of Mines seeks interdict to halt charter

THE SA Chamber of Mines yesterday applied for an urgent interdict to prevent the implementation of the Reviewed Mining Charter.

“The Chamber of Mines today applied to the High Court of South Africa‚ Gauteng Division‚ for an urgent interdict to prevent the implementation of the Reviewed Mining Charter‚ as published by the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) on Thursday 15 June.

“An application to have the Reviewed Mining Charter reviewed in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act (PAJA) will follow in due course‚” the chamber said.

In the application the chamber says it is committed to the transformational objectives of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Act, but is opposed to the latest charter which was released by Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane.

“Members of the chamber are opposed to the DMR’s Mining Charter as it attempts to subvert those objectives by the unlawful publication of instruments which purport to give effect to such objectives but in fact undermine them‚” the chamber said.

“It further notes that should the DMR’s charter be implemented in its current form‚ it will destroy the very industry whose survival is necessary to give effect to the objects of the MPRDA‚” the chamber said.

In the revised charter‚ the black ownership target was upped from 26% to 30% – a requirement mining companies will need to comply with within 12 months.

The ANC expressed its unhappiness with the charter and Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba also remarked on the negative market reaction.

He urged Zwane to engage with the Chamber of Mines and unions to address concerns.