International

South Africa’s Government sought to reassure investors as a major mining conference kicked off Monday that it has no plans to nationalise its mines despite the radical rhetoric of some in the ruling ANC.

“As we speak, nationalisation is not a policy of the government or ANC,” Godfrey Oliphant, deputy minister for mineral resources, told a round-table ahead of the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, the largest mining industry gathering in the world.

“I can’t put my head on the block about nationalisation but we are definitely going ahead with the beneficiation policy. We want a model where everyone works together, the private sector, state-owned enterprises and government, that benefits all South Africans,” he said.