Revised South African charter poses threat to miners, says Moody’s
Mining.comreports that ratings agency Moody’s warned on Wednesday that new regulations seeking to accelerate black ownership in South Africa’s mining industry would deter investment, raise costs and diminish cash flow.Anglo American, AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, Petra Diamonds, Sibanye Gold and South32 would be the most negatively affected miners if the revised mining charter is implemented, Moody’s said.
The government published its revised mining charter on June 15, raising the minimum threshold for black ownership of mining companies to 30 percent from 26 percent.”The higher Black Economic Empowerment equity holding requirement is credit negative because it will likely require miners to use cash or raise debt to facilitate the equity transfer,” Moody’s said in a statement.