Mining law experts at the University of Dundee will join specialists from around the globe in a video link tomorrow (Wednesday 25/4) for the first meeting of an international commission to mould future mining law in South Africa.
The move follows a report commissioned by the South African government from the University's Centre for Energy Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) to review the country's mining laws which were introduced a decade ago under the apartheid regime.
Proposals for change have already met with opposition from the established mining industry comprising some of the largest mining companies in the world so the new commission enters a field of some controversy.
An international authority on energy law, Professor Peter Cameron of the University of Dundee's CEPMLP, authored the report and is one of the international team now appointed to assist South Africa in taking its findings to the next stage. The coutnry has a major stake in the mining of gold, platinum and oil.
On Wednesday at just before noon he will make his way to the bowels of Caird House on the Perth Road, Dundee where the University has its video conferencing centre, to join a dozen colleagues linking up from South Africa, the World Bank, Canada, Australia and the School of Mining in Colorado, among others to discuss how the legislation can be changed.
He said: "This is a significant watershed in South African mining history and one which will take skill, courage, sensitivity and determination to take forward effectively. To strike a balance between making reforms and maintaining a high level of investment in a key industry is a serious challenge. More than six million citizens of South Africa are dependent upon mining for their employment and the industry has great importance for the country's economy but the laws were made at a time when most of the country's population were effectively excluded from rights and the decision making process."
Professor Cameron will participate in the first face-to-face meeting of the international commission when they meet for a workshop in South Africa at the end of May.
Dundee will be the venue for a major meeting of developing country governments and mining companies in early June to discuss mining policy. The discussion will be led by a delegation from South Africa./ends
Contact Professor Peter Cameron 01382 344300