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SA govt may review mining laws Posted: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 [miningmx.com] -- THE South African government said it would be prepared to amend the country’s mining laws if it was proved they were impeding investment in the sector. “There are no sacred cows,” Sandile Nogxina, minerals and energy (DME) director-general told Miningmx in an interview. “If the regulatory environment constrains investment, then we will see what we can do to recommend possible amendments to parliament.” These comments follow a meeting between the DME and the mining industry on November 15 in which the two parties discussed findings of a Chamber of Mines survey. The survey, unveiled last week at the chamber’s annual general meeting, found that between R5bn to R10bn in investment in the mining sector was being deferred, partly owing to regulatory uncertainty. Nogxina said the chamber was wrong to lay a lack of investment in mining solely at the door of the regulatory authorities - logic Nogxina said was too “simplistic”. He also called for collective leadership to prosecute the reasons for falling mining investment at a time when commodity prices were high. As a result, government, the chamber and unions would combine their efforts at finding out why investment in the country was falling. This could result in changes to the law, Nogxina said. “The effectiveness of the law can only be established in its implementation. We saw from the beginning that the mining laws might be changed,” said Nogxina. Asked if substantive changes could be made, such as lowering the 51% empowerment condition on prospecting license applications, Nogxina said: “Yes, absolutely. A rigid approach is not a good one.”Free news alerts: click here to subscribe
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