South Africa is ready for investment and despite increased power cuts and dropping commodity prices the government is set to expand its mining industry. This is according to mineral resources minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi who told some 7000 delegates during the official opening of the annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town recently that no stone was being left unturned to provide a stable environment for investment. He said a forum where the government, industry and labour were continuously discussing issues had been set up and was part of the drive to grow the mining sector. South Africa’s mining sector has been particularly challenged in the past 12 months with continuous load shedding and a nearcrippling strike that brought the industry to its knees. Ramatlhodi said the fivemonth- long strike was not the norm and he did not expect a repetition. He said despite the current commodity crunch there were opportunities in South Africa’s mining sector. “The weak commodity prices bring with it opportunities to do business.” According to Ramatlhodi, the government is working hard to address its infrastructure challenges. Admitting that power generation in particular was a problem he said it was a collective issue that had to be solved through collaboration. “Between mining houses and communities and between mining houses and government is where we must collaborate. This will be the actualisation of a win-win situation born of shared values among role-players.” Ramatlhodi said he was determined to finalise changes to the Mineral and Petroleum Resource Development bill that was sent back to Parliament last month after the president refused to sign it. He said it was key to unlocking the investment the government was striving for in the mining sector. “We are also looking to separate the oil and gas industry from this bill and will draft separate legislation for this sector.” He said the government wished to emphasise regulatory certainty to investors. “We also wish to close the debate around the development price, as indicated earlier. I want to open the boil now so that there is no come-back on policy issues in the foreseeable future. In the current draft the development price is set at the main gate price and this is being contested vigorously. I want us to bring finality to this issue one way or the other, guided by the policies of government, interaction with the industry and legality.” The issue, which affects the manner in which the government wants to price strategic minerals, has seen Ramatlhodi seek legal council. INSERT & CAPTION The government wishes to emphasise regulatory certainty to investors. – Ngoako Ramatlhodi
