IRR begins engagements with parliamentarians on how to fix mining industry

The Institute of Race Relations is following up the release of its draft mining legislation, the Growth and Employment in Mining (GEM) Bill, by engaging parliamentarians on what needs to be done to restore mining’s status as a key feature of the South African economy.

The GEM Bill is the Institute’s response to the worrying trajectory of the mining industry.

Mining's contribution to GDP has slid from 21% in 1980 to around 7% today. The sector shed an estimated 55,000 jobs between 2008 and 2025, while exploration spending collapsed from R6.3 billion in 2006 to roughly R738 million in 2025 – a clear signal, the IRR argues, that investors are taking their capital to jurisdictions where rights are more secure and outcomes more predictable.

The GEM Bill’s single overarching purpose is to remove the structural obstacles impeding the growth of the mining industry, as these barriers have contributed to the low investment levels and huge job losses the industry has endured over the past two decades.

Says IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Makone Maja: “This Bill has provided us with the opportunity to collaborate with MPs seeking legislative solutions and mechanisms that will revive this growth-driving industry. Unlocking mining’s potential is a sure way of delivering jobs for people across all skills levels, but especially in low-skilled groups.”

There are numerous problem areas constraining mining that the Bill targets. It enforces secure mining rights and clear property rights that last the length of the life of a mine, thus providing investors with certainty and bolstering their confidence. It limits the wide-ranging discretionary powers granted to the Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources regarding licensing, commercial arrangements and approvals, thus eliminating opportunities for rent-seeking and delays.

The Bill institutes a single, digitised, public mining cadastre that is transparent and kept current through continuous updates. It maintains environmental protections, which include rehabilitation obligations and standards that protect nature without stifling mining exploration.

Says Maja: “Transparent decision-making and information-sharing safeguards the industry from excessive political influence and prevents corruption by making it difficult for politicians to rig outcomes.”

The Bill ends the racialised mining-ownership requirements of the Mining Charter. Pursuant to real transformation, the Bill trades the benefiting of a few cadres through ownership deals in favour of more mines operating in the country and employing tens of thousands and equipping them with skills-development opportunities. 

“In this way, the GEM Bill replaces fake transformation with genuine transformation that affords investors the security they need to sink their capital into our economy and drive employment creation, skills development, innovation and the upliftment of mining communities,” Maja concludes.

Read the GEM Bill here.

Media contact: Makone Maja, IRR Strategic Engagements Manager Tel: 079 418 6676 Email: makone@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za