Cutifani bares teeth amid MPRDA ‘bitching’

[miningmx.com] – MARK Cutifani turned from ‘conversation’ – his favoured approach to conflict resolution – to barely concealed anger today saying those critical of negotiations around proposed mine law amendments in South Africa were “cowards”.

As a former president of the Chamber of Mines of South Africa, and current CEO of Anglo American, Cutifani has been integral in representing industry interests in respect of South Africa’s proposed Minerals & Petroleum Resources Amendment Act.

The amendments have suggested handing significant discretion to the South African mines minister, among other ideas deemed hostile to future investment prospects, but Cutifani said significant compromises have been agreed with the government.

“We took 10 items that concerned us (regarding the MPRDA) and happily resolved nine of those,” he said. “And we’re in good conversation on the last thing. We’ve all moved and worked together and we’re pretty happy with the conversation,” he said.

“For the cowards who sit in the shadows and criticise, that denigrates South Africa, and misrepresents South Africa on the ground. I get quite fired up when I see one or two people bitching on the sidelines,” Cutifani said.

He added that Anglo American did not expect “draconian” conditions to be attached to an application by its 69.7% owned listed subsidiary, Kumba Iron Ore, for a mining permit for its Sishen mine.

On December 12, South Africa’s Constitutional Court judged Kumba’s business unit, Sishen Iron Ore Company, was the only entity that could apply for a residual 21.5% share in the mining rights to Sishen.

The shares had been owned by ArcelorMittal SA which said it didn’t convert its old order mining rights because that duty belonged to Kumba. In the interim, Imperial Crown Trading (ICT) successfully applied for the prospecting rights triggering an acrimonious four-year legal struggle until the Constitutional Court ended it.

Kumba said it had subsequently applied for the residual mining right, but it’s understood the DMR may apply conditions since it saw in ICT an opportunity to secure iron ore at competitive rates.

Cutifani said he was unsure if the DMR would apply any conditions; he wasn’t expecting the worst. “I have no colour on what conditions there will be,” he said in response to a question at Anglo’s year-end presentation today.

“We don’t expect anything draconian, but they (DMR) do have the right to apply conditions. The team has done very well in conversations with DMR,” he said of a recent award of surface rights to Kumba of a portion of land at Sishen that had been previously owned by Transnet. “The fact the settled railway issue so quickly was important advance in relationship with DMR,” said Cutifani.