PERTH (miningweekly.com) – South Africa will release the results of its Mining Charter review, which started last year, in the next ten days, Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said on Wednesday.

The review was completed in November, and has been referred to all the relevant stakeholders for comment.

The purpose of the charter was to set the framework, targets and timetables for the implementation of government's transformation policies through its power to 
regulate and grant prospecting 
and mining rights.

The 2004 charter required companies to sell 15% of their South African assets to black investors by the end of 2009, and 26% by 2014.

Shabangu also said on the sidelines of the Africa Downunder conference in Perth, that a full review of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) would be completed by the end of the first quarter of next year.

South Africa is reviewing the MPRDA in order to clarify ambiguous legislation in the Act, as well as to fill gaps.

The majority of the MPRDA review would only start at the beginning of next year, but some aspects would start immediately, including clarifying ambiguity around mineral prospecting licences.

This comes after two companies - Imperial Crown Trading (ICT) and Keysha Investments 220 - were recently awarded prospecting rights over parts of existing operations.

Kumba Iron Ore (KIO) has opposed the awarding of a prospecting right over 21,4% of the Sishen mine, in Northern Cape province, to ICT, which was awarded the right after steelmaker ArcelorMittal South Africa failed to convert its mining right over that same stake.

In mid-August, Shabangu announced that she would uphold the awarding of the prospecting rights to ICT, leading to KIO turning to the courts to challenge the award.

Shabangu told delegates at the conference that she had found no irregularities in the awarding of a prospecting licence to ICT.

"There was no maladministration," she insisted, adding that the prospecting rights had reverted to the State before being awarded to ICT.

However, Shabangu noted that the Department of Mineral Resources did not take into account existing operations in the area, as these were not covered by the Act.

"I think that is part of the challenge and where there is ambiguity in the law. There is no clarity to say that if there is an existing operation, this is what you do."

Shabangu added that the prospecting licence awarded to ICT could also not be withdrawn, as the company complied with the licence requirements, according to the current Act.

"If any company follows that law, and it is 100% compliant, then I am obligated by law to issue a licence. And in this particular case, ICT applied for a prospecting licence, and in terms of the law, that application was 100% compliant."

South Africa has imposed a six-month moratorium on the awarding of any new prospecting licences in an effort to complete a "comprehensive auditing" of the licences granted since the Act was promulgated.

This moratorium would not affect applications already received and would not affect any conversion to new-order mining rights.

Shabangu said that should the auditing be completed before the six-month deadline, the moratorium could be lifted earlier than the anticipated six months.