South Africa releases less onerous mining charter after industry challenge

After months of consultations with all mining industry stakeholders, the South African ministry of mineral resources released the much-awaited new Mining Charter on 27 September. The ministry has set a target of two months for the development of the implementation guidelines in conjunction with the mining industry. The new 2018 Mining Charter came after last year's draft was challenged by industry stakeholders and addressed some key industry concerns including the "once empowered, always empowered" clause and the black economic empowerment (BEE) share for existing leases.