SA mining's political hot potato--To nationalise or not to nationalise? - South Africa's question for its mines

摘要

THINK of African countries whose mining sectors carry worrying political and security risks, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Guinea and Ivory Coast spring to mind. Alternatively, think of those African countries with less severe risks, and Botswana, Namibia and Tanzania fit the bill. But what of South Africa, the continent's traditional mining hub?The country cannot be placed alongside the likes of the Ivory Coast because it is not a pariah, but neither is it an exemplary mining environment any longer. Persistent uncertainty over the likelihood of South African mine nationalisation, and a ban on mineral exploration from September 2010 to February 2011 because of alleged corruption in the allocation of prospecting rights, account for the rising political and security risks in the country's mining sector.