Charting a way for South African mining to benefit communities

The document examines the failure of mining community trusts in South Africa to deliver broad-based empowerment, highlighting the risks of the 2016 Mining Charter III's new state-managed agency and contrasting the success of the Bafokeng with the maladministration seen in the Bapo Ba Mogale and Bakwena Ba Mogopa communities.

• The 2016 Mining Charter III (Reviewed Broad Based Black-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining and Minerals Industry) mandates a minimum 30% black ownership per mining right. This includes a specific requirement that at least 8% of total issued shares be issued to mine communities via community trusts.
• Mining Charter III introduces a new Mining Transformation and Development Agency to create and manage the 8% community shareholding. The document notes a lack of detail regarding the agency's governance and structure, and mentions that some commentators view the proposed funding channels as illegal.
• Historically, the use of community trusts for mining royalties has been problematic due to South Africa's complex land tenure history. Approximately 17 million South Africans live on land held in tribal trusts, where land is allocated at the discretion of chiefs, some of whom are accused of colluding with the apartheid regime.
• The Bafokeng community is cited as a relatively successful example of a community trust, having transitioned from a royalty model to direct business investments through Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH), which became a major shareholder in Impala Platinum.
• Other community trusts have suffered from severe maladministration and conflict. In the case of the Bapo Ba Mogale, an investigation by the Public Protector found that funds in a 'D account' (development account) dropped from ZAR 617 million to R495,000 over 20 years, with ZAR 115 million spent on a royal palace.
• The document argues that distrust between community members, chiefs, municipal authorities, and mining companies is the primary obstacle to utilizing mineral resources for development.

APA

Harvey, R. (2017). Charting a way for South African mining to benefit communities. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Policy-Insights-50.pdf

Chicago

Harvey, Ross. Charting a way for South African mining to benefit communities. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2017. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Policy-Insights-50.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Harvey |first1=Ross |title=Charting a way for South African mining to benefit communities |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=July 2017 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Policy-Insights-50.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harvey2017charting, author = {Harvey, Ross}, title = {{Charting a way for South African mining to benefit communities}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2017}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Policy-Insights-50.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }