SOUTH African mines minister, Gwede Mantashe, is tomorrow (May 31) scheduled to complete a country-wide community consultation programme regarding current negotiations for a new Mining Charter, said the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).
Mantashe is due to meet with community members from KwaZulu-Natal province. Once completed, the minister will have held 11 consultations.
Responding to questions from Miningmx last week, Mantashe said there was no reason why the DMR, in negotiation with the Minerals Council (formerly the Chamber of Mines), could not meet a self-imposed end-May deadline regarding negotiations. Critics have said the time allowed for the negotiations would be too brief.
There would be a summit in June in order to canvass a broader group of stakeholders regarding the Charter so that the negotiations with the Minerals Council had not been skewed, said Mantashe earlier this month.
