Abstract:
The Mining industry has been the backbone of the African economies especially South Africa. South Africa is a haven for minerals both onshore as well as off shore, and the exploration of such minerals has added beneficially to the growing economies of the country through the years. South Africa is one of the youngest countries to break from the shackles of imperialism and minority based rule and discriminatory policies.
The South African mining industry is regulated by the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 and the transformation and empowerment policy comes under the purview of the Broad-Based Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining Industry, 2004. One of the core criteria presented in the Charter deal with the ownership of companies interested in the mining and minerals sector, which is the subject matter of the research.
The dissertation intends to analyse the policies that were in place prior to 1994 that hindered the economic development of the local populace and the steps that were taken by the newly elected government to rectify the same. The focus of this research is to determine the policies implemented for the inclusion of the HDSA population by way of ownership in the mining sector. The research also looks at the factors that have affected the fruitful implementation of affirmative action policies in the mining sector, and whether the policies have aided in the upliftment of the discriminated population at large. The research also analyses an alternative method of ensuring HDSA participation by way of equity listing on the stock market and the benefits this method has on the economy as well.
