South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on startup of
a government-owned mining company: "Government
policy on minerals and mining…does not prevent the
state from participating actively in mining, competing
with other companies."
South Africa Launches State-owned Mining Company
The President of South Africa, Jacob
Zuma, in late March 2011 announced the
launch of a state-owned mining company.
The announcement was incorporated into a
speech at a sod-turning ceremony for the
company's first mining project, the Valkfontein coal project. Valkfontein will have
an initial capacity of about 840,000 mt/y.
The new company will be known as the
African Mining Exploration and Finance
Company (AEMFC) and will be a subsidiary
of the State's Central Energy Fund. The
ultimate goal will be to consolidate all state
mining interests into this one vehicle. The
AEMFC's current portfolio includes coal,
uranium and limestone properties.
"We are today proving that indeed, the
state is the custodian of the country's mineral resources on behalf of the people of
this country," Zuma said. "The role of the
state cannot merely be confined to that of
a regulator. The state must actively participate in the mining industry to ensure our
national interest is protected and advanced. As you would be aware, our policy
is to build a strong mixed economy, where
the state, private sector, cooperative, and
other forms of social ownership complement each other, to achieve shared and
inclusive economic growth.
"Government policy on minerals and
mining does not make provision for the
nationalization of mining assets, but it
does not prevent the state from participating actively in mining, competing with
other companies."
The AMEFC launch did not prompt specific response from mining companies active
in South Africa. Subsequent to the launch,
Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabango
offered assurances that the state company
will not have any regulatory advantages.
As featured in Womp 2011 Vol 03 - www.womp-int.com