South African Miners Win Court Fight on Black Ownership Rule
- Court backs ‘once empowered, always empowered’ principle
- Ruling is positive for companies including Sibanye, Implats
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South African mining companies won court backing on a crucial black-ownership principle that’s likely to have implications for ongoing negotiations with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government.
Producers don’t need to top up black-shareholding levels in perpetuity if they previously met the minimum 26 percent requirement, the High Court in Pretoria said on Wednesday. The judgment boosts certainty for investors in the world’s top platinum producer and gives mining companies extra muscle in talks with Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe on changes to the Mining Charter, a set of rules aimed at distributing the wealth of the industry more widely.