[miningmx.com] – SOUTH Africa’s improved ranking as a mining
destination is due to the efforts of Mines Minister Susan Shabangu and her
department, the Chamber of Mines of South Africa said on Tuesday.
“We are… pleased by South Africa’s improvement as a mining destination from last
year’s 67th ranking out of 79 jurisdictions to 54th out of this year’s 93 jurisdictions,”
said chamber CEO Bheki Sibiya in a statement.
Canada’s influential Fraser Institute conducts an annual survey of mining companies,
focusing on the attractiveness of mining destinations based on countries’ policies.
“We see this as a reflection of the sterling work done by the Minister of Mineral
Resources, the Honourable Susan Shabangu, and the officials of the department of
mineral resources,” Sibiya said.
The improvement could encourage greater investment in South Africa. However, much
work still needed to be done to address issues such as community problems, the
administration and interpretation of existing regulations, and the duplication of
statutes regulating the mining industry.
“The fact that these were outlined in the survey meant they were considered as
constraints by the investment community.”
