A Vision 2030 for the mining industry and a strategy for the growth and competitiveness of the sector are topics under development, the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) said last week, when efforts to finalise and gazette the Mining Charter also intensified.

In announcing that Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe had led the second meeting of social partners, the DMR stated that the meeting was also focused a Vision 2030 for the mining industry, and a strategy for the growth and competitiveness of the sector, in addition to receiving a progress report on work currently under way on the Mining Charter, and the resuscitation of social dialogue.

At the initial meeting of social partners on March 17 and 18, two task teams were established on transformation and on competitiveness and inclusive growth.

The DMR stated that efforts to develop a Vision 2030 for the mining industry, along with a strategy for growth and competitiveness and finalising and gazetting the Mining Charter, would entrench regulatory certainty.

What came out of the community consultations and engagements would also be taken into account in drafting the final charter.

While current engagements with social partners were being kept confidential, the DMR commended the spirit of cooperation and constructive engagement exhibited by all social partners in discussions, and expressed confidence that the final charter would be in the interests of the industry, the people of South Africa and the economy as a whole.

Solidarity general secretary Gideon du Plessis confirmed that good progress was being made and said robust-at-times negotiations were taking place in a spirit of mutual respect.

He expressed the view that the next version of the charter would likely be radically different from Mining Charter III, which contained unimplementable and unrealistic clauses, fraught with flaws and contradictions.

Although much negotiation still needed to take place, the process had spawned social dialogue, with the participation of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union signalling a positive turn of events and a strengthening of the position of organised labour in the negotiations.