One week the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) signs a written undertaking not to apply the controversial Mining Charter Three and the next week it pulls the carpet from under that signed agreement and imposes a moratorium on the corporate and transactional activity that underpins the growth of the minerals business. Lawyer after lawyer described the DMR’s action as illegal, irrational and unreasonable, and experienced Deputy Mineral Resources Minister Godfrey Oliphant expressed discomfort on public radio at not being consulted. With the moratorium’s potential damage to employment, it is little wonder that the National Union of Mineworkers is demanding its immediate repeal.