It is a bit rich for the Chamber of Mines to cry about transparency - Business Day

When communities seek to raise grievances with mining companies regarding the implementation of their social obligations and their mines’ negative environmental effects, they are often sent from pillar to post.

One might hope that, in seeking to win broader support for its opposition to the Mining Charter, the Chamber of Mines might, albeit belatedly, embrace the principle of the inclusion of communities as a core role player whose views must be accorded equal consideration, both at the level of particular mining operations and at the level of developing frameworks for transformation of the industry, such as the Mining Charter.

The public rhetoric of the Chamber of Mines has, instead, singled itself out as a core stakeholder and failed to acknowledge the far more systemic and longstanding exclusion of communities.

Even worse, it has strongly opposed applications brought by community networks to intervene in its review of the Mining Charter.

Mining Affected Communities United in Action, Women Affected by Mining United in Action, and the Mining and Environmental Justice Community Network of SA (representing more than 150 activists and community-based organisations), wish to put forward the case that the exclusion of communities from the development of the current Mining Charter renders it invalid.

The community networks have further asked the court to declare they are core stakeholders in mining and must take part in negotiations for future versions of the Mining Charter.

The Chamber of Mines has filed notice to oppose this application when it goes to the High Court in Pretoria on November 14.

The hypocrisy of complaining about being excluded from consultation, while actively excluding the people who are meant to be the beneficiaries of the transformation of the industry, not only undermines the Chamber’s own argument, but may also suggest contempt for the people who suffer the social, economic and environmental costs of mining profits.

• Krause is a researcher in the Environmental Justice Programme at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, based at Wits University. He writes in his own capacity.