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What we do

  • Illegal mining

    Illegal mining is on the rise in South Africa and presents challenges that need to be addressed from a range of perspectives. It takes place at abandoned mines and at operating mines with illegal miners often operating under dangerous conditions.

    The growth in illegal mining, could be attributed to the combination of a difficult socio-economic climate and limited resources at the disposal of law enforcement agencies such as police, immigration, border controls and prosecuting authorities. Many thousands of people are currently estimated to be involved in illegal mining, both directly and indirectly. Miners enter mostly abandoned shafts, travelling as far as 4km underground where they may live for several days at a time, risking their lives and the lives of others.

    CRITICAL TEAMS AND MEMBERS

    • Ursula Brown Head: Legal

    CONTEXT

    The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) specifically prohibits mining without the required statutory authorisation (Section 5(4)). In South Africa, it is illegal to be in possession of unwrought precious metal ore, platinum group metals (PGMs), gold-bearing material and rough diamonds without the required statutory authorisation.

    Illegal mining and organised crime are inter-related. Very often, illegal mining is spearheaded by globally connected criminal syndicates. Zama zamas, as illegal miners are known in South Africa, are often heavily armed, have explosives and, when trespassing on operating mines, set ambushes and booby traps for employees, security personnel and rival groups of illegal miners. Following the severe drought in 2016, the excessive use of water by zama zamas to process the gold-bearing material became apparent, which directly impacts on local communities.

    Illegal mining has a range of negative social and financial impacts on the state, employees, companies, the mining sector and the country because of loss of revenue, taxes, employment opportunities, capital expenditure, exports, foreign exchange earnings and procurement, among others. It also presents a serious risk to the sustainability of the industry and its ability to contribute to a meaningful future for all South Africans.

    NEGATIVE SOCIAL AND FINANCIAL IMPACTS

    • Illegal miners present a major risk to themselves, and to the health and safety of the employees of legal mining operations, often threatening them and their families to assist in the crime. Many illegal miners have lost their lives in accidents, often fatally injured in falls of ground or killed in factional rivalry.
    • Illegal miners may also illegally acquire explosives, diesel, copper cables and other equipment from mines, and make illegal electricity connections from the mine’s electrical infrastructure. Any interruption of the mine’s electricity supply could create significant risks to the mine’s ventilation system underground and to the ability to hoist persons out from underground, particularly in cases of emergency.
    • Illegal miners tend to use extremely environmentally unfriendly refining methods and materials, which also put their health at grave risk.
    • Illegal mining destroys the social fabric of mining communities through, among others, bribery of workers to gain access to mines, and to secure food and other supplies; and threats of violence against workers and management. It often gives rise to prostitution, child labour and substance abuse. This has created a lucrative secondary informal syndicate market supplying commodities, including food, liquor and prostitutes, among others.
    • Mining companies have to spend a significant amount of additional time and money on security.
    • Illegal mining activities threaten the viability of the mining companies’ mine closure efforts. On the East Rand for example, a mining company has had to seal numerous shaft entrances as much as up to four or five times at huge expense as the zama zamas would just reopen the cement slab.
    • Companies carry a significant cost for repair and ongoing maintenance, and there is risk to local communities (especially children) and livestock, where perimeter fences are broken by illegal miners to gain access to old mine shafts and tailings dumps.
    • There is a cost to the state and mining companies to commission Mines Rescue Services (MRS) for emergencies and sealing of voids created by illegal miners. The rescue efforts pose a moral dilemma for MRS, as they are a purely voluntary service and their volunteers have to risk their lives to save people who are undertaking illegal activities. The MRS teams are a small group of people who are highly skilled and there is not a large pool of them available in the country.

    KEY ACTIVITIES

    No single stakeholder can address the challenge of illegal mining and collaboration is key. The industry, individually and through the Minerals Council, remains committed to working with other stakeholders in addressing this serious challenge.

    The Minerals Council has recognised that the only way to deal with the problem is to focus on both the supply and demand side of illegal mining.

    Various forums have been established to address the different challenges, and these should be used and strengthened where needed rather than duplicating efforts. State involvement is not always optimal because of the shortage of human and financial resources, overlapping jurisdictions, and slow decision and implementation processes.

    SECOND-HAND PRECIOUS METALS

    An announcement was made by former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan that second-hand goods made from precious metals are to be excluded from notional input tax under value-added tax (VAT) legislation as a measure to avoid fraudulent claims in this regard.

    A notional input tax is allowed when a VAT vendor acquires second-hand goods from a non-VAT vendor, allowing for the unlocking of part of the VAT on goods previously paid by final consumers as those goods re-enter the formal supply chain. Sales of certain gold coins are zero-rated for VAT. While the resale of gold jewellery by non-VAT vendors to VAT vendors should allow for the deduction of notional input VAT, in practice such jewellery is smelted along with gold coins and illegally acquired raw gold. This has created an enabling environment for fraudulent input tax deductions.

    THE NATIONAL CO-ORDINATING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT TEAM AND THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON SECURITY

    The Minerals Council has a long-established Standing Committee on Security (SCOS) through which its members deal with all issues relating to security at mines. The SCOS provides a platform to facilitate high-level strategic discussion around key security issues identified by the Committee as critical for security on mines. This is critical to ensuring the sustainability of operations and to address issues of common interest, including the identification of criminal activities. These activities should be prioritised based on their adverse impact on the sustainability of mining operations and to combat crimes against mining and/or the mining industry such as the sabotaging of mining equipment, illegal mining, product theft and armed attacks. The SCOS led to the establishment of the multi-stakeholder National Precious Metals Forum (NPMF) over a decade ago. The NPMF consisted of representatives of mining companies, the Minerals Council, the South African Police Service (SAPS) (various branches and its forensic science laboratory), the South African Diamond and Precious Metals Regulator, Rand Refinery and the National Prosecuting Authority. In 2014, the NPMF was replaced by the National Co-ordinating Strategic Management Team (NCSMT), which is chaired by the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee (NICOC).

    Provincial multi-agency forums exist in five of the nine provinces and these feed into a national multidisciplinary co-ordinating body, which deals with illegal mining. The illegal mining market is a well managed 5-tier syndicate system.

    1ST TIER:

    The underground workers, mostly illegal immigrants, do the physical mining. Many have worked in the mines previously. They use chemical substances to primitively refine the product.

    2ND TIER:

    The buyers on the surface around the mines also organise the first tier illegal miners and support them with food, protection and equipment.

    3RD TIER:

    The regional bulk buyers, who are usually entities with, in most cases, permits issued in terms of the Precious Metals Act of 2005 to trade in precious metals.

    4TH TIER:

    Distributors, nationally and sometimes internationally, work through front companies or legitimate exporters.

    5TH TIER:

    The top international receivers and distributors usually work through international refineries and intermediary companies.

    These forums implement provincially based disruptive operations and measures to identify and apprehend illegal miners. Some of these measures include, but are not limited to:

  • Sensitising prosecutors on the nature, extent and effect of the problem so that appropriate charges are brought and sentences imposed
  • Often the illegal miners were merely charged with trespassing and a fine of R200 was imposed. Lately, various charges are brought under the Criminal Procedure Act of 1997, MPRDA, Explosives Regulations and Hazardous Substances Act of 1973, among others, and more severe penalties have been imposed in many cases.
  • Providing awareness and training to SAPS and other authorities in identifying the different forms of precious metals, especially PGMs
  • There has also been regional and international engagement to create global awareness.

    • SCOS has replaced the NPMF, which became defunct in 2014 and was replaced by the NCSMT, which is chaired by NICOC, and initiatives include:

  • Establishing a precious metals fingerprinting database at the SAPS forensic laboratories
  • Formal agreements between the Minerals Council, mining companies and the SAPS
  • Determining where gold and platinum originates
  • Creating a special investigative task force
  • Investigating syndicate activity at national and international level

    • OTHER NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES

    Illegal mining was identified as a national threat and a special multi-agency team (NCSMT) was convened in order to co-ordinate government’s efforts against illegal mining in South Africa and beyond its borders.

    South Africa and the Russian Federation have since engaged in talks with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to develop a global strategy to assist in dealing with the phenomenon. This initiative will bring together all the different national, regional and international public and private actors, and design a common strategy to disrupt the value chain of these criminals on all tiers.

    In April 2013, South Africa tabled a resolution dealing with the combating of transnational organised crime and possible links to the illegal mining of precious metals. In July 2013, at the 22nd session of the UNODC Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna – which was co-sponsored by Russia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana, Belarus and Colombia – the resolution was adopted by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is concerned with the growing involvement of organised criminal groups, as well as the substantial increase in the volume/rate of transnational occurrences and range of offences related to the illegal mining of precious metals in some parts of the world. The resolution further stressed the need to develop comprehensive, multi-faceted and coherent strategies and measures, including reactive and proactive measures, to counter illegal mining.

    UNICRI will be assisting the South African government in a global initiative to deal with the findings of the ECOSOC resolution.

    RELATED PUBLICATIONS

  • Stakeholder and communications

  • Health and safety

    The South African mining industry is committed to the principle of zero harm with the goal that every mineworker should return home unharmed every day. The Minerals Council, in conjunction with mining companies, aims to achieve world-class safety performance by working in close collaboration with tripartite partners in government and organised labour.

    To track progress against industry health and safety milestones, the Minerals Council collates data from members, and tracks, evaluates and reports on performance. Through the tripartite Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC), the Minerals Council is an active participant in the implementation of the Tripartite Action Plan on Health and Safety (2008).

    Critical team members

    • Nikisi Lesufi: Senior Executive: Health and Environment
    • Sietse Van Der Woude: Senior Executive: Modernisation and Safety
    • Dr Thuthula Balfour: Head: Health
    • Stanford Mamoshito Malatji: Head: Learning Hub
    • Dr Sizwe Phakathi: Head: Safety and Sustainable Development

  • Environment

    The Minerals Council’s Environment department is charged with ensuring environmental issues are addressed in a manner that enhances members’ contributions to sustainable development, and ensures that risks to the viability of the mining industry are identified and managed. The department exists to provide advisory services, influence key policy positions, provide strategic direction in the development and review of the legislative and policy framework, identify research needs and any programme on all aspects of mine general environmental management, mine closure and sustainable development in the mining sector of South Africa. The Minerals Council therefore plays an important role in representing members’ interests in this critical area at national and international level, and in engaging with government on the development and implementation of related legislation and policy.

    VIEW ALL ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES

    Critical team members

    • Shamin Harrington: Senior Executive: Environment, Health, Legacies and Employee Relations
    • Stephinah Mudau: Head: Environment

    Context

    It is evident that unregulated and unmanaged exploration and mining for minerals can result in environmental impacts. Consequently, it is within the best interests of the Minerals Council to ensure that mining takes place in an environmentally sound manner in order to effectively manage these impacts. However, the mining industry competes for various resources, such as land and water, with other sectors. In South Africa, the situation is exacerbated by a legacy of more than 100 years of mining, which has led to various environmental challenges, for example acid mine drainage, uranium contamination and dust from dumps, among others. At the time, there was no applicable legislation, technology and knowledge to effectively predict and address these challenges. A typical example is the Witwatersrand Basin where few mining companies remain from the genesis of mining all those decades ago and, in fact, many of these older mine sites have been abandoned. To date South Africa has adopted a much more progressive environmental legislation and policy framework in the mining industry, which has come a long way in ensuring that mining companies mine in an environmentally sound manner. In many instances, companies have even gone beyond the legal and policy requirement in terms of adopting environmental best practice which has enabled significant reduction in the mining environmental footprint.

    Consequently, the Minerals Council has been at the forefront in fostering partnerships between government, labour representatives and mining companies to constantly seek new ways to avoid, minimise or mitigate the negative impacts of mining on the environment, and address legacy issues.

    KEY ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMMES

    • Serving as the primary representative of the mining sector in environmental policy initiatives on regulatory and voluntary bodies.
    • The Minerals Council engages stakeholders both locally and internationally regarding environmental matters, legacy issues and environmental sustainability matters to ensure that the mining industry adopts the environmental best practice.
    • Leading discussions and developing position papers with mining companies and other stakeholders to assist policy formulation and implementation of mine environmental management, water-related issues, waste management, air quality and sustainable development.
    • Providing guidance and strategic leadership on mine environmental management policy issues, mine environmental management, mine closure, carbon management and sustainable development.
    • The Minerals Council provides advisory and technical support to members on policy and technical issues pertaining to environmental management in the mining industry.
    • Undertaking policy related research in environmental management and sustainable development in the mining industry.
    • Monitoring the development and review of any legislative and policy framework on all aspects of mine environmental management, mine closure and general environmental management sphere of sustainable development.
    • Working with government and industry in formulating measures and guidance to strengthen the implementation of the legislative and policy framework. This includes the Minerals Council developing a methodology for calculation of carbon tax liability for member companies in terms of the Carbon Tax Act, development of the self- assessment tool for water conservation and water demand management that will assist members to comply with the requirement of the Department of Water and Sanitation.
    • Co-ordination of training and capacity building in mine environmental management, mine closure and environmental sphere of sustainable development through facilitating courses at institutions of higher learning and any other research institution.
    • Identifying research needs and effective programmes on mine environmental management, mine closure and sustainable development.
    • Engagement with government departments – particularly the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Department of Environmental Affairs Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) – and Minerals Council South Africa liaison forums to achieve effective engagement on strategic issues.
    • Assisting government and the industry in formulating measures to strengthen the implementation of the various legislative and policy frameworks related to mine general environmental management, mine closure and the environmental management sphere of sustainable development.
    • Representing the mining industry of South Africa at local and international meetings pertaining to environmental management obligations, especially with regard to mine environmental management, mine closure and sustainable development – including climate change meetings, the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, the International Council on Mining and Metals and others.
    • Co-ordinating the mining industry’s inputs to government programmes aimed at the management of mine environmental legacies in the development of the National Programme of Action for the Management of Acid Mine Drainage.
    • Execution of tasks assigned by Parliament, ministers and/or other authorities with regard to specific projects/programmes as well as the management of tasks within the respective strategy frameworks and responsibilities.
    • Engaging the DWS, DEFF and DMRE on issues pertaining to effective regulation of environmental matters in the mining sector.
    • Partnering and collaborating with government departments on various issues
      • such as the DWS in the implementation of the latest National Water Resource Strategy and development of water efficiency target setting project for the mining sector, and
      • the DEFF and National Treasury in the development of the Carbon Tax Policy and the implementation of the National Policy on Climate Change.
    • Developing a guideline for water conservation and demand management in the mining sector.
    • Liaison with research and technology institutions on mine environmental management initiatives on behalf of the industry for effective engagement and better co-ordination.

  • Employment relations

    Employment Relations provides service excellence to our members in the field of employee relations, with respect to labour legislation and regulation.

    Critical team members

    • Motsamai Motlhamme: Head: Employment Relations
    • Erissa Martin: Senior Policy Analyst: Employment Relations

    Key activities

    • Providing specialist expertise and advisory input on employment relations and labour market issues.
    • Formulating and mandating industry policies and position papers on issues that will impact on the mining industry in particular and employers generally.
    • Facilitating interaction between Human Resources and Employment Relations representatives of member companies, principally through a standing committee known as the Labour Policy Committee.
    • Representing members and mining interests in various key forums, such as Nedlac.
    • Playing an active and leading role within the structures of Business Unity South Africa (Busa) to ensure that mining interests are fully taken into account by that body.
    • Ongoing interaction with the leadership of the unions in the mining sector.

    External bodies

    The Employment Relations team serves on a number of bodies to ensure that the interests of the mining industry are well represented in key policy formulating and advocacy forums, including:

    • Business Unity South Africa (Busa)
    • National Economic Development & Labour Council (Nedlac)

    Gold wage agreements reached in 2015

    Gold wage agreements reached in 2018

    Coal wage agreement reached in 2015

    Coal wage agreement reached in 2017

  • Environmental policy

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    Curabitur lobortis quis metus vitae luctus. Aliquam sit amet tellus consectetur, placerat metus nec, eleifend eros. Nullam id mauris justo. Nullam molestie tristique fringilla. Aenean in ligula commodo, iaculis metus ac, feugiat felis. Nullam eleifend nisl ac dignissim efficitur. Nullam vitae posuere leo, sed pellentesque tellus. Maecenas dolor elit, venenatis vel congue id, convallis vel purus. Nulla pulvinar tellus sit amet lacus rhoncus, id accumsan nibh bibendum. Phasellus eu interdum diam.

    Aliquam erat volutpat. Morbi eget massa tristique lacus venenatis suscipit. Sed id faucibus lectus. Vestibulum luctus enim velit, ut auctor nibh condimentum eget. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Suspendisse laoreet malesuada cursus. Quisque maximus metus enim, eu finibus nibh commodo vitae. Aliquam arcu tellus, efficitur in rutrum eu, vehicula viverra mauris. Sed elementum nunc lorem, in lacinia diam malesuada eget. Duis molestie nibh magna. Suspendisse turpis felis, finibus at tincidunt vel, eleifend vitae arcu. Sed eget augue ac nibh pellentesque pretium. Mauris imperdiet, lorem sit amet eleifend tincidunt, quam odio consectetur neque, in lobortis ipsum lectus quis arcu. Aenean et lobortis ante. Nam ac viverra tellus.

    Ut a ex non lectus aliquet imperdiet et et dui. Quisque pellentesque, urna commodo pharetra tempus, sem dolor suscipit sapien, vulputate dictum magna lectus suscipit enim. Nam ullamcorper euismod ipsum, vitae placerat risus interdum ut. Pellentesque dictum, diam et convallis rutrum, massa erat aliquet lorem, sit amet porttitor neque risus nec odio. Aliquam at libero nulla. Fusce fermentum pharetra dapibus. Aliquam laoreet ullamcorper turpis, ac posuere augue auctor eget. Nam rutrum tincidunt nisl eget dignissim. Etiam a tortor eleifend, pulvinar odio ut, viverra mi. Aenean semper eu sapien at rutrum.

    Nunc pharetra nibh in mi dictum accumsan. Nullam lobortis lectus in urna fermentum consectetur. Quisque suscipit, lorem vitae faucibus blandit, lorem ex porttitor ligula, vitae fermentum purus elit nec sapien. Duis imperdiet dui eu semper dapibus. Duis et finibus eros. Donec mollis metus orci, vel ultrices urna porttitor a. Donec ut est tristique, pellentesque erat sed, eleifend mauris. Nulla molestie magna id nunc ullamcorper, et sagittis dolor pretium. Fusce suscipit mi lorem, vitae dignissim erat interdum tempus. Vestibulum mattis orci eget sapien aliquet, vitae molestie velit placerat. Proin interdum et diam malesuada congue. Curabitur in posuere sem. Nulla ut ligula eu lorem egestas aliquet vitae ac felis. Duis quis elit in orci tincidunt tristique.

  • Health services

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce tempor consequat pulvinar. Cras sed lacinia mi, ac ultricies eros. Nunc gravida mi quis justo ultrices, non laoreet nulla varius. Curabitur laoreet non risus sed ullamcorper. Aliquam sit amet pellentesque velit. Sed ultrices viverra posuere. Praesent lacinia dui id felis posuere, at dictum tortor mollis. Nulla facilisi. Morbi molestie fringilla risus quis pulvinar. Vivamus quis ullamcorper felis. Sed dui quam, euismod vitae enim ac, eleifend fringilla magna. Nullam a diam elit. Mauris malesuada enim massa, vitae congue massa scelerisque nec. Nam nec finibus libero. Vivamus maximus dui non molestie malesuada. Phasellus facilisis tempus felis, ultricies pulvinar elit ultrices id.

    Curabitur lobortis quis metus vitae luctus. Aliquam sit amet tellus consectetur, placerat metus nec, eleifend eros. Nullam id mauris justo. Nullam molestie tristique fringilla. Aenean in ligula commodo, iaculis metus ac, feugiat felis. Nullam eleifend nisl ac dignissim efficitur. Nullam vitae posuere leo, sed pellentesque tellus. Maecenas dolor elit, venenatis vel congue id, convallis vel purus. Nulla pulvinar tellus sit amet lacus rhoncus, id accumsan nibh bibendum. Phasellus eu interdum diam.

    Aliquam erat volutpat. Morbi eget massa tristique lacus venenatis suscipit. Sed id faucibus lectus. Vestibulum luctus enim velit, ut auctor nibh condimentum eget. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Suspendisse laoreet malesuada cursus. Quisque maximus metus enim, eu finibus nibh commodo vitae. Aliquam arcu tellus, efficitur in rutrum eu, vehicula viverra mauris. Sed elementum nunc lorem, in lacinia diam malesuada eget. Duis molestie nibh magna. Suspendisse turpis felis, finibus at tincidunt vel, eleifend vitae arcu. Sed eget augue ac nibh pellentesque pretium. Mauris imperdiet, lorem sit amet eleifend tincidunt, quam odio consectetur neque, in lobortis ipsum lectus quis arcu. Aenean et lobortis ante. Nam ac viverra tellus.

    Ut a ex non lectus aliquet imperdiet et et dui. Quisque pellentesque, urna commodo pharetra tempus, sem dolor suscipit sapien, vulputate dictum magna lectus suscipit enim. Nam ullamcorper euismod ipsum, vitae placerat risus interdum ut. Pellentesque dictum, diam et convallis rutrum, massa erat aliquet lorem, sit amet porttitor neque risus nec odio. Aliquam at libero nulla. Fusce fermentum pharetra dapibus. Aliquam laoreet ullamcorper turpis, ac posuere augue auctor eget. Nam rutrum tincidunt nisl eget dignissim. Etiam a tortor eleifend, pulvinar odio ut, viverra mi. Aenean semper eu sapien at rutrum.

    Nunc pharetra nibh in mi dictum accumsan. Nullam lobortis lectus in urna fermentum consectetur. Quisque suscipit, lorem vitae faucibus blandit, lorem ex porttitor ligula, vitae fermentum purus elit nec sapien. Duis imperdiet dui eu semper dapibus. Duis et finibus eros. Donec mollis metus orci, vel ultrices urna porttitor a. Donec ut est tristique, pellentesque erat sed, eleifend mauris. Nulla molestie magna id nunc ullamcorper, et sagittis dolor pretium. Fusce suscipit mi lorem, vitae dignissim erat interdum tempus. Vestibulum mattis orci eget sapien aliquet, vitae molestie velit placerat. Proin interdum et diam malesuada congue. Curabitur in posuere sem. Nulla ut ligula eu lorem egestas aliquet vitae ac felis. Duis quis elit in orci tincidunt tristique.

  • Stakeholder relations

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce tempor consequat pulvinar. Cras sed lacinia mi, ac ultricies eros. Nunc gravida mi quis justo ultrices, non laoreet nulla varius. Curabitur laoreet non risus sed ullamcorper. Aliquam sit amet pellentesque velit. Sed ultrices viverra posuere. Praesent lacinia dui id felis posuere, at dictum tortor mollis. Nulla facilisi. Morbi molestie fringilla risus quis pulvinar. Vivamus quis ullamcorper felis. Sed dui quam, euismod vitae enim ac, eleifend fringilla magna. Nullam a diam elit. Mauris malesuada enim massa, vitae congue massa scelerisque nec. Nam nec finibus libero. Vivamus maximus dui non molestie malesuada. Phasellus facilisis tempus felis, ultricies pulvinar elit ultrices id.

    Curabitur lobortis quis metus vitae luctus. Aliquam sit amet tellus consectetur, placerat metus nec, eleifend eros. Nullam id mauris justo. Nullam molestie tristique fringilla. Aenean in ligula commodo, iaculis metus ac, feugiat felis. Nullam eleifend nisl ac dignissim efficitur. Nullam vitae posuere leo, sed pellentesque tellus. Maecenas dolor elit, venenatis vel congue id, convallis vel purus. Nulla pulvinar tellus sit amet lacus rhoncus, id accumsan nibh bibendum. Phasellus eu interdum diam.

    Aliquam erat volutpat. Morbi eget massa tristique lacus venenatis suscipit. Sed id faucibus lectus. Vestibulum luctus enim velit, ut auctor nibh condimentum eget. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Suspendisse laoreet malesuada cursus. Quisque maximus metus enim, eu finibus nibh commodo vitae. Aliquam arcu tellus, efficitur in rutrum eu, vehicula viverra mauris. Sed elementum nunc lorem, in lacinia diam malesuada eget. Duis molestie nibh magna. Suspendisse turpis felis, finibus at tincidunt vel, eleifend vitae arcu. Sed eget augue ac nibh pellentesque pretium. Mauris imperdiet, lorem sit amet eleifend tincidunt, quam odio consectetur neque, in lobortis ipsum lectus quis arcu. Aenean et lobortis ante. Nam ac viverra tellus.

    Ut a ex non lectus aliquet imperdiet et et dui. Quisque pellentesque, urna commodo pharetra tempus, sem dolor suscipit sapien, vulputate dictum magna lectus suscipit enim. Nam ullamcorper euismod ipsum, vitae placerat risus interdum ut. Pellentesque dictum, diam et convallis rutrum, massa erat aliquet lorem, sit amet porttitor neque risus nec odio. Aliquam at libero nulla. Fusce fermentum pharetra dapibus. Aliquam laoreet ullamcorper turpis, ac posuere augue auctor eget. Nam rutrum tincidunt nisl eget dignissim. Etiam a tortor eleifend, pulvinar odio ut, viverra mi. Aenean semper eu sapien at rutrum.

    Nunc pharetra nibh in mi dictum accumsan. Nullam lobortis lectus in urna fermentum consectetur. Quisque suscipit, lorem vitae faucibus blandit, lorem ex porttitor ligula, vitae fermentum purus elit nec sapien. Duis imperdiet dui eu semper dapibus. Duis et finibus eros. Donec mollis metus orci, vel ultrices urna porttitor a. Donec ut est tristique, pellentesque erat sed, eleifend mauris. Nulla molestie magna id nunc ullamcorper, et sagittis dolor pretium. Fusce suscipit mi lorem, vitae dignissim erat interdum tempus. Vestibulum mattis orci eget sapien aliquet, vitae molestie velit placerat. Proin interdum et diam malesuada congue. Curabitur in posuere sem. Nulla ut ligula eu lorem egestas aliquet vitae ac felis. Duis quis elit in orci tincidunt tristique.

  • Transformation

    The Minerals Council plays a critical role in engaging with government, communities and other stakeholders, and in lobbying government on behalf of its members on all matters relating to transformation. The Minerals Council is committed to supporting the aims of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) and its associated Mining Charter.

    Critical team members

    • Tebello Chabana, Senior Executive: Public Affairs and Transformation
    • Fundiswa Ndaba, Senior Policy Analyst: Public Affairs and Transformation
    • Alex Khumalo, Head: Social Performance
    • Allan Seccombe, Head: Communications

    Key activities

    Most of the negotiations and discussions about transformation in general, and the Mining Charter in particular, are held under the auspices of the tripartite Mining Industry Growth Development and Employment Task Team (MIGDETT) in which the Minerals Council represents the mandated positions of its members. The Minerals Council also leads the delegation of members when the industry is required to present to Parliament on the progress made by the mining industry in respect of the Mining Charter.

    An important function of the Minerals Council is to ensure that the “rules of the game” are maintained. So, when the DMRE undertakes a review of progress in the achievement of Mining Charter targets, for example, the Minerals Council plays a key role in ensuring that the instrument being used in conducting the assessment does not deviate from what was agreed initially, and the assessors do not introduce new criteria not agreed upon.

    The year 2018 saw a number of developments on key legislative and regulatory matters affecting the mining industry, with the Mining Charter at the forefront of this. On his appointment in February 2018, Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe set about implementing key changes designed to crack down on corruption. He also resolved to make inroads on the issue of other regulatory concerns, including progress on the finalisation of a new Mining Charter.

    The Minerals Council was actively involved in consultations which involved the tabling of a draft new charter in June 2018, and the gazetting of a new charter in September 2018. The Minerals Council has taken the view that the new charter is an advance on previous drafts.

    However, one serious concern remains – the failure of the new charter to fully recognise the continuing consequences of previous transactions. The charter stipulates that there is no such recognition in respect of the renewal or transfer of mining rights. The Minerals Council has been in dialogue with the Minister on this matter but given that the issues were not timeously resolved within the 180-timeline constraint for instituting a judicial review application, the Minerals Council had no other option but to pursue the legal route to reserve its rights. The judicial review application was accordingly issued in March 2019 and we are now awaiting the response from the Minister and the DMRE. Notwithstanding the legal action, it is hoped that the issues can still be resolved through engagement with the Minister.

    The Minerals Council’s members are listed entities and their boards have fiduciary responsibilities to seek and secure regulatory certainty in respect of continuing consequences on which basis mineral rights have been granted. The companies have made disclosures to their shareholders for years on these matters, which have now been called into question. Rather than wait for a potentially adversarial legal process in which each company applies to confirm its status, the Minerals Council is seeking to do this pre-emptively. That said, the DMRE has been kept fully apprised of the Minerals Council’s approach and has indicated, as has the Minerals Council, that a negotiated resolution to the impasse would be preferable.

    External processes/bodies

    The Minerals Council is a key member of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), and participates in the BUSA committees that deal with the BEE Act.

    RELATED PUBLICATIONS

  • Safety and health

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce tempor consequat pulvinar. Cras sed lacinia mi, ac ultricies eros. Nunc gravida mi quis justo ultrices, non laoreet nulla varius. Curabitur laoreet non risus sed ullamcorper. Aliquam sit amet pellentesque velit. Sed ultrices viverra posuere. Praesent lacinia dui id felis posuere, at dictum tortor mollis. Nulla facilisi. Morbi molestie fringilla risus quis pulvinar. Vivamus quis ullamcorper felis. Sed dui quam, euismod vitae enim ac, eleifend fringilla magna. Nullam a diam elit. Mauris malesuada enim massa, vitae congue massa scelerisque nec. Nam nec finibus libero. Vivamus maximus dui non molestie malesuada. Phasellus facilisis tempus felis, ultricies pulvinar elit ultrices id.

    Curabitur lobortis quis metus vitae luctus. Aliquam sit amet tellus consectetur, placerat metus nec, eleifend eros. Nullam id mauris justo. Nullam molestie tristique fringilla. Aenean in ligula commodo, iaculis metus ac, feugiat felis. Nullam eleifend nisl ac dignissim efficitur. Nullam vitae posuere leo, sed pellentesque tellus. Maecenas dolor elit, venenatis vel congue id, convallis vel purus. Nulla pulvinar tellus sit amet lacus rhoncus, id accumsan nibh bibendum. Phasellus eu interdum diam.

    Aliquam erat volutpat. Morbi eget massa tristique lacus venenatis suscipit. Sed id faucibus lectus. Vestibulum luctus enim velit, ut auctor nibh condimentum eget. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Suspendisse laoreet malesuada cursus. Quisque maximus metus enim, eu finibus nibh commodo vitae. Aliquam arcu tellus, efficitur in rutrum eu, vehicula viverra mauris. Sed elementum nunc lorem, in lacinia diam malesuada eget. Duis molestie nibh magna. Suspendisse turpis felis, finibus at tincidunt vel, eleifend vitae arcu. Sed eget augue ac nibh pellentesque pretium. Mauris imperdiet, lorem sit amet eleifend tincidunt, quam odio consectetur neque, in lobortis ipsum lectus quis arcu. Aenean et lobortis ante. Nam ac viverra tellus.

    Ut a ex non lectus aliquet imperdiet et et dui. Quisque pellentesque, urna commodo pharetra tempus, sem dolor suscipit sapien, vulputate dictum magna lectus suscipit enim. Nam ullamcorper euismod ipsum, vitae placerat risus interdum ut. Pellentesque dictum, diam et convallis rutrum, massa erat aliquet lorem, sit amet porttitor neque risus nec odio. Aliquam at libero nulla. Fusce fermentum pharetra dapibus. Aliquam laoreet ullamcorper turpis, ac posuere augue auctor eget. Nam rutrum tincidunt nisl eget dignissim. Etiam a tortor eleifend, pulvinar odio ut, viverra mi. Aenean semper eu sapien at rutrum.

    Nunc pharetra nibh in mi dictum accumsan. Nullam lobortis lectus in urna fermentum consectetur. Quisque suscipit, lorem vitae faucibus blandit, lorem ex porttitor ligula, vitae fermentum purus elit nec sapien. Duis imperdiet dui eu semper dapibus. Duis et finibus eros. Donec mollis metus orci, vel ultrices urna porttitor a. Donec ut est tristique, pellentesque erat sed, eleifend mauris. Nulla molestie magna id nunc ullamcorper, et sagittis dolor pretium. Fusce suscipit mi lorem, vitae dignissim erat interdum tempus. Vestibulum mattis orci eget sapien aliquet, vitae molestie velit placerat. Proin interdum et diam malesuada congue. Curabitur in posuere sem. Nulla ut ligula eu lorem egestas aliquet vitae ac felis. Duis quis elit in orci tincidunt tristique.

  • Legal services

    The primary purpose of the Minerals Council’s legal team is to facilitate and/or co-ordinate legal inputs necessary to act on behalf of our members in promoting, opposing or influencing legislative and other measures affecting members’ interests and/or mitigate legal risk which has a direct adverse impact on the interest of the Minerals Council and/or that of its members. The focus is on constructive policies that are consistent with national interest.

    Critical team members

    • Ursula Brown: Head: Legal

    Context

    South Africa’s legislative and regulatory landscape has changed dramatically since 2004, and nowhere has this impact been greater than in the mining industry. Not only is the industry required to act in compliance with the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002 (MPRDA), but there is a multitude of other existing, new and emerging legislation with which the industry is bound to comply, or where the regulations that follow legislation are not entirely clear or even in place.

    See the section on transformation

    Key activities

    The Minerals Council team is involved in the preparation and making of submissions, both written and oral, on behalf of its members. In some cases, legal content takes up the major part of the submission; in others it is a necessary but not predominant part. This simply recognises that, in order for our lobbying and advocacy activities to be successful, they cannot be confined within the circle of a single discipline. Both politically and intellectually, our lobbying and advocacy is necessarily polycentric.

    Some of the legal team’s key activities include:

    • Policy and legislative impact analysis and formulation of mining industry responses in the areas of mineral policy, land reform, taxation, health and safety,  mine security and stability, social security, retirement reform and compensation for occupational diseases.
    • Co-ordinating submission of members' collective views on matters of concern to them on the laws governing prospecting, mining rights, land reform, taxation, retirement fund, mine security and stability issues.
    • Lobbying of and advocacy to Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, Parliament, the South African Revenue Service, National Treasury and other government departments.
    • Representing the Minerals Council and its members on statutory and other structures, including the Mining Regulation Advisory Committee (MRAC), Business Unity South Africa (Busa), National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), the  National Coordinating and Strategic Management Team and the National Joint Operating Committee.

  • MOSH

    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce tempor consequat pulvinar. Cras sed lacinia mi, ac ultricies eros. Nunc gravida mi quis justo ultrices, non laoreet nulla varius. Curabitur laoreet non risus sed ullamcorper. Aliquam sit amet pellentesque velit. Sed ultrices viverra posuere. Praesent lacinia dui id felis posuere, at dictum tortor mollis. Nulla facilisi. Morbi molestie fringilla risus quis pulvinar. Vivamus quis ullamcorper felis. Sed dui quam, euismod vitae enim ac, eleifend fringilla magna. Nullam a diam elit. Mauris malesuada enim massa, vitae congue massa scelerisque nec. Nam nec finibus libero. Vivamus maximus dui non molestie malesuada. Phasellus facilisis tempus felis, ultricies pulvinar elit ultrices id.

    Curabitur lobortis quis metus vitae luctus. Aliquam sit amet tellus consectetur, placerat metus nec, eleifend eros. Nullam id mauris justo. Nullam molestie tristique fringilla. Aenean in ligula commodo, iaculis metus ac, feugiat felis. Nullam eleifend nisl ac dignissim efficitur. Nullam vitae posuere leo, sed pellentesque tellus. Maecenas dolor elit, venenatis vel congue id, convallis vel purus. Nulla pulvinar tellus sit amet lacus rhoncus, id accumsan nibh bibendum. Phasellus eu interdum diam.

    Aliquam erat volutpat. Morbi eget massa tristique lacus venenatis suscipit. Sed id faucibus lectus. Vestibulum luctus enim velit, ut auctor nibh condimentum eget. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Suspendisse laoreet malesuada cursus. Quisque maximus metus enim, eu finibus nibh commodo vitae. Aliquam arcu tellus, efficitur in rutrum eu, vehicula viverra mauris. Sed elementum nunc lorem, in lacinia diam malesuada eget. Duis molestie nibh magna. Suspendisse turpis felis, finibus at tincidunt vel, eleifend vitae arcu. Sed eget augue ac nibh pellentesque pretium. Mauris imperdiet, lorem sit amet eleifend tincidunt, quam odio consectetur neque, in lobortis ipsum lectus quis arcu. Aenean et lobortis ante. Nam ac viverra tellus.

    Ut a ex non lectus aliquet imperdiet et et dui. Quisque pellentesque, urna commodo pharetra tempus, sem dolor suscipit sapien, vulputate dictum magna lectus suscipit enim. Nam ullamcorper euismod ipsum, vitae placerat risus interdum ut. Pellentesque dictum, diam et convallis rutrum, massa erat aliquet lorem, sit amet porttitor neque risus nec odio. Aliquam at libero nulla. Fusce fermentum pharetra dapibus. Aliquam laoreet ullamcorper turpis, ac posuere augue auctor eget. Nam rutrum tincidunt nisl eget dignissim. Etiam a tortor eleifend, pulvinar odio ut, viverra mi. Aenean semper eu sapien at rutrum.

    Nunc pharetra nibh in mi dictum accumsan. Nullam lobortis lectus in urna fermentum consectetur. Quisque suscipit, lorem vitae faucibus blandit, lorem ex porttitor ligula, vitae fermentum purus elit nec sapien. Duis imperdiet dui eu semper dapibus. Duis et finibus eros. Donec mollis metus orci, vel ultrices urna porttitor a. Donec ut est tristique, pellentesque erat sed, eleifend mauris. Nulla molestie magna id nunc ullamcorper, et sagittis dolor pretium. Fusce suscipit mi lorem, vitae dignissim erat interdum tempus. Vestibulum mattis orci eget sapien aliquet, vitae molestie velit placerat. Proin interdum et diam malesuada congue. Curabitur in posuere sem. Nulla ut ligula eu lorem egestas aliquet vitae ac felis. Duis quis elit in orci tincidunt tristique.

  • Skills development

    The Minerals Council’s skills development team plays an important role in representing members’ interests in this critical area, and in engaging with government on the development and implementation of related legislation and policy. The Minerals Council plays a vital role in advocating and lobbying for the creation of an environment that enables the mining industry to develop skilled employees for advancement and deployment.

    Critical team members

    • Mustak Ally: Head: Skills Development

    Context

    There are many challenges associated with developing the skills needed for mining. Among others, a legacy of poor educational opportunities, a complex tertiary education and training landscape, and a poor basic education system have resulted in many employees having little or low levels of skills development. The national shortage of skills in all economic sectors accentuates the challenges associated with the retention of staff, and increases the demands for training and development in the mining sector. The skills development environment is also riddled with policy, regulatory and legislative requirements. Navigating these requirements and challenges can be resource-intensive and exhaustive to individual organisations.

    The skills development team at the Minerals Council specialises in soliciting and consolidating stakeholder views, and lobbying, advocating and influencing these views to realise a skills development solution that is in the interests of all stakeholders. The Minerals Council is involved in all levels of skills development from adult education and training to operators, miners, artisans, technicians, professionals and managers. This encompasses theory training in technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, universities of technology and other universities, skills training in accredited training centres and workplace-based experience.

    Key activities

    • Engaging with the Mining Qualifications Authority (MQA) to translate mining sector skills demands into effective sectoral skills plans, to design and register qualifications, to maintain the quality of training, to give effect to the requirements of the Skills Development Act of 1998 and to maximise return on skills development levy investment.
    • Participating in and influencing a tertiary education and training system that consistently delivers a sufficient number of graduates and highly skilled individuals to the mining industry.
    • Influencing the policy and strategy of the development and quality assurance of occupational qualifications.
    • Supporting the maintenance and improvement of a further education and training delivery system that is responsive, cost-effective and of high quality.
    • Contributing to the development of policy that will result in the implementation of adult education and training, and foundational learning competence programmes, raising the skills base in the mining industry.

    The skills development team actively participates in key skills development and education platforms that will have a meaningful and sustainable impact on the mining industry. To ensure additional weight in the debate, this effort is conducted in association with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) or other business sectors. In order to influence and contribute to education and skills development legislative frameworks the skills development team at the Minerals Council also participate in the:

    • MQA
    • National Skills Authority (NSA)
    • South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
    • Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) – in the area of occupational qualification regulations
    • Human Resource Development Council (HRDC)
    • Umalusi

    The Minerals Council plays an active role in BUSA and leads business in developing mandates for skills development. The Minerals Council represents BUSA in the NSA, HRDC and QCTO. The Minerals Council is also represented on the National Artisan Development Advisory Body and is regularly part of skills development task teams established by the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC).

    The skills development team also oversees the administration of a variety of Minerals Council certificate examinations, which are regulated qualifications that are mandatory for employees working in certain designated areas. Candidates are trained in areas such as mine surveying, sampling, rock mechanics and safety, and are further required to complete a number of notional hours before they present themselves for the Minerals Council examinations.

    RELATED Website

  • Economics

    The Minerals Council’s Economics team provides input on matters affecting investment in the South African mining industry and issues facing the mining industry with an economic impact. Its function includes collating and analysing data and information on behalf of the industry, and advising industry on responses and positioning in respect of critical issues

    VIEW ALL ECONOMIC REPORTS

    Critical team members

    • Hugo Pienaar: Chief Economist
    • Bongani Motsa: Senior Economist
    • Christian Teffo: Deputy Head: Techno-economics
    • André Lourens: Economist

    Context

    Although mining provides the single greatest part of South Africa’s export revenues and employs directly and indirectly, more people than any other comparable sector, it faces significant regulatory uncertainty compared to international peers. So, though the Minerals Council’s Economics team would wish to reposition mining as the country’s leading economic sector with a doubling of its real investment by 2030, these many hindrances act against attaining this goal.

    Key Activities

    • Positioning the Minerals Council as a principal advocate to government on major policy positions that affect or are affected by mining and endorsed by members.
    • Providing strategic support and advisory input to members, facilitating interaction among mine employers, examining policy issues and other matters of mutual concern to define desirable industry-level stances. Consultation and co-operation occur on a voluntary basis and do not encroach on the managerial controls or prerogatives of our individual member mines and mining groups.
    • Representation on formalised policy positions that our membership holds to various organs of South Africa's national and provincial governments and to other relevant policy-making and opinion forming entities inside the country, and internationally.
    • Assimilating mining industry positions into the broader South African business positions, through interactions with other non-mining relevant chambers.
    • Improving awareness and promotion of South African mining with local and international investors/organisations.

    External initiatives

    • Ensure mining company representation on government forums pertaining to health and safety, security and infrastructure.
    • Establish and ensure ongoing effectiveness of regional mining chambers to unlock cross-border synergies.
    • Infrastructure forums across the mining industry with multiple stakeholders to ensure optimal allocation of capital and growth of South African mineral resources.

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