JOHANNESBURG, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The South African Chamber of Mines applied to the High Court on Monday for an urgent interdict to prevent the government from the implementation of the Mining Charter.
The Department of Mineral Resources last Thursday announced the Mining Charter which seeks to have more previously disadvantaged blacks owning mines. The Chamber of Mines wants the Mining Charter to be reviewed, saying they are committed to transforming the sector but do not think the Mining Charter is doing that.
The Senior Communications Consultant at the Chamber of Mines Memory Johnstone said, "The vast and systemic damage which the publication and threatened enforcement of the 2017 Charter has and continues to inflict upon the financial and reputational interests of not only the Chamber's members, their employees and investors but also the country as a whole, require, it is submitted, urgent redress. Such redress, in the short term, can only be had by way of an urgent interdict."
The Charter is harmful not only because of its content only but because of the vague and contradictory language employed to convey that content. The Charter is a clear threat to the separation of powers which that act presents, said Johnstone.
"The Charter, if implemented in its current form, will destroy the very industry whose survival is necessary to give effect to the objects of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA). But in the interim, and in order to avoid further harm and hopefully restore a degree of confidence not only in the mining industry as an investment opportunity but also in this country's institutions, urgent relief is necessary," she added.
The Chamber of Mines wants the Department of Mineral Resources to be stopped from implementing the Mining Charter pending the final determination of an application for judiciary review. They also want the government to pay for their legal fees.
The Mining Charter will increase black ownership in the sector from 26 percent to 30 percent. Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said the charter will accelerate black ownership in a win win situation. He accused the Chamber of Mines of trying to derail transformation. Enditem
