JOHANNESBURG – The Black Business Council (BBC) on Monday welcomed the draft reviewed Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African mining and minerals industry, saying it embodied the objectives of effective and practical radical transformation necessary to stimulate the black industrialisation objectives of the National Development Plan.

This follows the publishing of the draft charter for public comments by Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane ten days ago, giving interested and affected parties until May 31 to submit written inputs and comments.

The reviewed Mining Charter has drawn widespread criticism from mining companies, some trade unions and the Chamber of Mines since being gazetted.

The BBC’s chief executive, Mohale Ralebitso, said in a statement that the revised charter looked set to advance the beneficiation of SA’s mineral commodities and promote greater opportunities for black people to enter the mining and minerals industry.

“Reducing inequality, fostering local job creation, local procurement, ensuring that society and the mining industry reflects the racial and gender demographics of South African society is at the heart of the proposed draft amended Mining Charter,” Ralebitso said.

According to Ralebitso, the call for wider public participation on the draft document presented an opportunity for the mining industry and society as a whole to look at innovative ways to inclusively grow the mining sector.

“Under the proposed draft, employee and community stakeholders will have interests aligned to ensure transformative and inclusive growth of the mining industry.”

Ralebitso also said the BBC was urging stakeholders to take advantage of the opportunity to comment on the amended draft Mining Charter and ensure that the final document remained firm in its articulation of the imperatives for transformation and economic growth.