Self-assessment
Mining Charter Self-Assessment
10 yes/no questions for holders of mining rights on the Mining Charter and related duties: ownership, procurement, employment equity, skills, community development and reporting. You get a score for each area and a list of gaps with what to do about each one.
1. Status of the Charter and ownership
The 2018 Mining Charter was challenged in court by the Minerals Council, and a 2026 report said the empowerment rules for mining would be revised again. Always check the current Charter, its guidelines and any court ruling. Answer Not applicable throughout if you hold no mining right.
1. Do you know which version of the Mining Charter applies to your right, and have you recorded your compliance position against it?
(Mining Charter 2018, MPRDA)
2. Do you know your required level of black ownership (including how existing rights are treated on transfer or renewal), and can you show how you meet it?
Sources say the final 2018 Charter dropped the draft's 30% requirement for existing rights but reassesses ownership on transfer or renewal. A 2026 report mentions 26% on renewal, which I could not confirm. (Mining Charter 2018)
3. Do you keep records of the shareholders, trusts, employee schemes and communities that hold shares, and the benefits they receive?
(Mining Charter 2018)
2. Procurement and employment equity
1. Do you procure goods and services in line with the Charter's targets for black-owned and black women-owned suppliers and mining goods, and track the spend?
(Mining Charter 2018 (procurement))
2. Do you meet the employment equity targets for each level of management, and report on them?
(Mining Charter 2018 (employment equity), Employment Equity Act)
3. Do you invest in the skills of your people through training, bursaries and portable skills, and record the spend?
(Mining Charter 2018 (human resource development), Skills Development Act)
3. Communities, plans and reporting
1. Do you have a Social and Labour Plan that has been approved, and do you carry out its projects for host communities and labour-sending areas?
(MPRDA, Social and Labour Plan guidelines)
2. Do you consult host communities, and record their needs and your response, as part of mine community development?
(Mining Charter 2018 (mine community development))
3. Do you provide housing and living conditions for employees as the Charter and your plan require?
(Mining Charter 2018 (housing and living conditions))
4. Do you submit your annual Charter compliance report to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources by its due date, with evidence?
(Mining Charter 2018 (reporting))
Sources
- Publication of Mining Charter III (Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer)
- Mining Charter 2018: key elements in the implementation guidelines (Werksmans)
- Minerals Council seeks judicial review of the Mining Charter (CNBC Africa)
- Mining Charter, Government Gazette 41934 (PMG)
- South Africa's new BEE regulation: mining rights renewal requires 26% black ownership (SMM)
Turn these gaps into tracked tasks
Assign owners and due dates, keep the evidence, and show your progress to clients and auditors.