Chamber of Mines (CoM) CEO Roger Baxter said last week that the chamber’s members had experienced progressively weakening commodity prices, rapidly rising costs, falling productivity and some regulatory issues that challenged their ability to sustain operations and maintain employment levels.

“With an average of half the companies in lossmaking territory, the focus for many has been on restructuring for survival. And while we are gratified at the industry’s improving safety trends, with 2015 being the best year on record, the early months of 2016 reminded us that we have no cause for complacency in our quest for zero harm,” he said during the CoM’s annual general meeting (AGM).

He highlighted several key events and issues that arose during the year, including labour instability, the rising cost of electricity, the proposed carbon tax, industry restructuring, the Mining Phakisa, the release of the Farlam report and social instability in mine-hosting communities.

Baxter stressed that the issue of regulatory certainty was a major concern for the CoM’s members.

He said the CoM was disappointed that the extensive consultation by government with industry and other stakeholders in 2002 and 2010 respectively was not the approach adopted in the development of the revised Mining Charter, gazetted in April.

“We have been encouraged nonetheless by Minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s commitment to consultation with stakeholders going forward.

It was with regulatory certainty in mind that we have proceeded with a court case to seek clarity on the assessment of the ownership element of the Mining Charter, particularly in respect of the continuous consequences of previous black economic empowerment deals,” Baxter stated.

He said that the chamber was continuing with the process, while, at the same time, remaining open to a negotiated settlement. Baxter said the CoM believed that resolving this issue would accelerate investment in mining and quicker transformation in the mining sector.

Zwane, who attended the AGM, informed the media in a press briefing following the event that negotiations between the CoM and the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) regarding the draft Mining Charter were ongoing and were developing positively.

“The DMR has had three or four formal discussions with the chamber and both parties are happy about what has emerged from these meetings to date. We are largely on the same page; we just have to sort out the nitty-gritty issues,” he stated.