South Africa's biggest mining union, the National Union of Mineworkers, said Monday it was going to court in an attempt to force the Department of Mineral Resources to implement the controversial new Mining Charter that calls for black ownership to be increased from 26% to 30% and maintained at all times.
Mining minister Mosebenzi Zwane said in a statement Friday that he was suspending the implementation of the charter pending a court case to be brought in September, by the mining companies calling for it to be reviewed and set aside. Mining stocks on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange rallied on the news.
The Chamber of Mines -- which represents 90% of South Africa's mining companies -- expects the Deputy Judge President of the High Court to give the date for the hearing in September, by the end of July.
"We are consulting our lawyers today in the interests of launching an action to force the DMR to implement this Mining Charter. We feel it would benefit the workers and communities and want it implemented now. The fact that the mining companies want it set aside shows that they are not serious about black empowerment," NUM spokesman Livhuwani Mammburu said Monday.
Sources in the CoM say they believe that the suspension of the Mining Charter could open the way for more consultation over the codes.
Most in the industry in South Africa feel the there was a lack of consultation on the way to what many in the industry regard as a poorly written document.
There are fears that the Mining Charter is too draconian, allows for too much ministerial discretion and could deter foreign investors.
"This suspension is a step forward, but we have a long way to go before we can regard this Mining Charter as a document we can support," CoM CEO Roger Baxter said.
Martin Madlala, the spokesman for the DMR, was unavailable for comment.
