CHAMBER OF MINES MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE RELEASE OF THE FOURTH DRAFT MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES ROYALTY BILL

The Chamber of Mines welcomes the release of the fourth and final draft of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty Bill and its associated Royalty Administration Bill. The fourth draft represents the culmination of some five years of research and engagement. Given the specific characteristics of mining (e.g. the long lead times to develop projects) and the importance of the mining sector as a large employer (495 577 employees in 2007) and its significant export earnings (33% of merchandise exports directly in 2007), it was vital that the new royalty system capture the key issues of stability, predictability and competitiveness. The Chamber believes that the fourth draft goes some way towards reflecting these important issues.

The fourth draft Royalty Bill recognises the cyclical nature of the mining sector, whereby government and the mining companies share in the bear and bull markets through a formula based system, but at the same time provides a minimum rate for the extraction of a non-renewable resource.

The National Treasury has requested final input on the draft bill by 11 June and has stated that the final document will be submitted for consideration by Parliament on 24 June 2008. The Chamber will be preparing further input for Treasury on this important matter.

PG BUNKELL
ACTING CHIEF EXECUTIVE

For enquiries related to this media statement please contact Roger Baxter, chief economist, on 011-498 7663