TORONTO (miningweekly.com) As South African business, government and organised labour addressed the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto, the overriding message was clear: the country is open for business.
Chamber of Mines (CoM) president Xolani Mkhwanazi enthused that the relationship between the State, industry and unions has never been better, mostly thanks to Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu.
"There is a much stronger trust between us now," he said.
The tripartite alliance has much work to do, though, to convince investors to put their money into South Africa's soil.
Earlier this month, South Africa slipped to 67th place in Canada's Fraser Institute survey that ranks 79 jurisdictions to show how favourably mining executives view them for investment.
Shabangu said government was acutely aware of the challenges facing the country's mining sector, and was working hard to address these issues.
Firstly, she said the Mineral Resources Department would submit amendments to the Minerals and Petroleum Development Act in two weeks time. This will address regulatory uncertainty.
Shabangu has also put in place a moratorium on prospecting rights while the Mineral Resources Department gets its house in order, with the freeze to be lifted at the end of the month, except in Mpumalanga province.
At the same time, government will unveil a cadastre system for mining rights, which will be open to public viewing on the internet.
She also assured investors that the newly launched State-owned mining company will have to compete with private mining firms under the same rules. Shabangu said she's even repealing provisions made by the previous Minister that exempted the company from certain application provisions.
Perhaps surprisingly, the now perennial question of nationalisation didn't arise from the audience, though Mkhwanazi said: 'In South Africa, when the crunch comes, reason prevails'.
CoM chief economist Roger Baxter said that a 'high road is still very possible for the South African mining sector', which could see it growing at 3% to 4% yearly, creating 100 000 jobs. The sector last year employed less than 500 000 workers.
Gold Fields chairperson Mamphela Ramphele said 'I feel very bullish about the South African mining sector'.
Government, labour and industry formed the Mining, Industry Growth and Development Task Team in response to the economic crisis.
'We are alive to the issues,' Shabangu said in a later interview, when asked to comment on South Africa's poor showing in the Fraser survey.
'By the time they do the next survey, they will have realised that we have improved,' she pledged.
