[miningmx.com] -THE Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) said amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resource Development Act (MPRDA) were investor friendly.
In a briefing to parliament on Tuesday, Mosa Mabuza, deputy director-general at the DMR added that there had been thorough consultation with stakeholders before the draft legislation was tabled in parliament.
This is despite criticism that the department hadn’t incorporated recommendations from industry players and that the proposed amendments would only work to heighten uncertainty among investors.
Mosa, who was briefing parliament on the contents of the MPRDA Amendment Bill, said various stakeholders – “be it the Chamber of Mines, non-government organisations, financial representatives, petroleum companies and community representatives” – were engaged.
“The DMR received altogether 80 submissions after the Bill had been gazetted in December last year,” Mabuza said. “We have taken these recommendations into account before we presented this bill to you today,” he said.
However, James Lorimer, DA MP and a member of the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources, the body that is deliberating on the Bill, challenged Mabuza about the extent to which the DMR consulted with stakeholders.
He asked Mabuza whether he thought the Bill to be conducive to investment. “As a whole, do you think this Bill will attract more investment in the industry?” Lorimer asked.
“The answer is an unequivocal yes,” Mabuza said. “South Africa remains the wealthiest mining jurisdiction in the world – by far.
“Minerals will continue to play a very important role in the development of society, in South Africa, Africa and the world over. As they say, if you can’t grow it; mine it.
“I am very confident that in years to come the MPRDA would be hailed as one of the pieces of legislation that has taken this country forward and benefited all its stakeholders, including business,” Mabuza added.
Andre Andreas, director of policy development told MPs to bear in mind that the MPRDA is ‘framework legislation’.
“We found that stakeholders have been reasonably comforted that the details relating to the Bill will be prescribed in regulations (that will be stipulated at a later stage),” Andreas said.
“Stakeholders were concerned that there haven’t been specifics as to how (Mines) Minister Susan Shabangu would decide on section 26 (the beneficiation of minerals) and section 11 (prospecting rights).
“But we explained to them the broader framework and then in the regulations we’ll prescribe the manner and procedure that will be followed before an administrative decision is taken.”
Lorimer wasn’t satisfied with the explanation, however, and put it to the DMR’s representatives that the draft legislation will increase uncertainty.
“In the current MPRDA, there are 26 instances of ministerial discretion where there’s room for regulation, rather than legislation,” he said.
“In the new amendments this (ministerial discretion) rises to more than 30 instances. Why are time-frames for granting licences, for example not stipulated in the legislation? This is definitely going to increase uncertainty and that was one of the big criticisms of the current MPRDA, but you’re not addressing this.”
According to Lorimer, the time periods for the granting of mining licences in Botswana were six months, while it takes more than two years in South Africa.
But Mabuza questioned the accuracy of Lorimer’s statement. “I have yet to see a jurisdiction anywhere in the world where they can do a proper environmental impact analysis and process the application (for a mining right) in six months.
“Botswana is definitely not one of them,” he said.
“We’re shifting towards ensuring it’s not just about the turnaround time, but there’s got to be an environmental responsibility and the onus is on the applicant to demonstrate how they’re going to marry the environmental aspects with their development.”
The Bill will soon be subjected to public hearings which will be attended by representatives from the DMR and the Departments of Environmental and Water Affairs.
