South Africa withdraws draft minerals law; to separate oil, mining

Bloomberg News | September 20, 2018 | 10:48 am Africa 

(Bloomberg) — South African withdrew its long-delayed draft legislation for the mining and petroleum industries and plans to come up with separate laws to govern the two sectors, Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane said.

Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe withdrew the bill and the cabinet supports him, Mokonyane said in a post-cabinet briefing in Pretoria Thursday.

The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill has been stuck in a legislative quagmire for years. It touched on several contentious issues such as requirements for local processing of minerals and free-carry provisions on oil discoveries. The current law governing the mining industry should remain in place and any changes to petroleum legislation can be dealt with separately, Mantashe said in August.

(By Paul Vecchiatto)

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