A difficulty in finding appropriate investors has been cited as a reason behind a number of South Africa's largest mining groups delaying the renewal of their new order mining licences.

Under the Minerals and Petroleum resources Development Act, businesses operating within the industry are required to renew their licences in accordance with the Mining Charter, with the deadline for submission the end of April 2009.

However, with the 2004 legislation requiring 15 per cent black ownership by next year and 26 per cent by 2014, the country's Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has been informed that, far from 'dragging their feet', many companies are struggling to find investors who are not already active in the mining industry or who have sufficient funding.

Among the companies yet to secure new licences for all of their South African operations are De Beers, Impala Platinum, Exxaro and Meteorex.

However, all have confirmed that they are on track to be compliant with the Mining Charter by April, with a De Beers spokesman stating: "De Beers looks forward to the successful completion of the conversion process of all the licences applied for."

As well as addressing black ownership, the licensing process also involves submitting environmental reports and a scorecard on issues such as employment equity and local procurement.



Source:

Miners deny dragging feet on change (13/06/08)
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A784359