Chamber of Mines statement on state owned mining company
The Minister of Minerals and Energy has issued a notice in the Government Gazette that the state owned mining company, the African Exploration Mining Finance Corporation, would be exempt from certain provisions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002. These provisions concern applications for prospecting rights, mining rights and mining permits. Applicants are required to submit environmental management plans or programmes and to notify and consult with interested and affected parties.
Dr Frans Barker, acting chief executive of the Chamber of Mines, said: ‘It would be putting it mildly to say that we were surprised by this notice. The Chamber believes that the state should be subject to the same requirements as private sector mining companies. If the intention is to exempt the state from the requirements of environmental management programmes and to consult with interested and affected parties, it sets an unfortunate precedent concerning the extensive range of other obligations that mining companies need to comply with.’
Dr Barker added: ‘Unless there is some unannounced reason for this notice, the state should lead by example by ensuring that organs of state are subject to the full spectrum of the laws that apply to mining companies. This type of notice seems to negate the principle of equality before the law. The impact that mining has on the environment or on communities is the same, irrespective of whether it is a state-owned or private sector company. The same requirements should therefore apply. If the state is of the view that the requirements are too onerous, the provisions should be reconsidered, rather than exempting state-owned companies. In addition, the government would have to find a way to resolve the conflict of it being both regulator and operator on the health and safety side.’
For any enquiries related to this media statement please contact:
Jabu Maphalala
Deputy Communications Adviser
Chamber of Mines of South Africa |
