NATIONALISING South Africa's mines would be the country's path to ruin, driving away billions of rand in investment, Anglo American's chief executive warned yesterday.
"Mining companies simply will not invest if they cannot be assured that the assets they create will be secure," Cynthia Carroll told an African mining conference in Cape Town.
"In ignoring this truth the false prophets who argue for nationalisation are advocating the road to ruin, a path we must not follow."
The firebrand leader of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, is pushing to nationalise mines in South Africa, which has 88percent of the world's platinum group metals and 30percent of its gold reserves.
The government has repeatedly said nationalisation is not its policy but the ruling ANC last year agreed to research the issue.
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe repeated that stance yesterday, saying the party was looking into the viability of nationalisation. He said the ANC would examine case studies in 13 different countries in Africa, Latin America and Europe.
Mantashe said the research findings would be taken to the party's 2012 policy conference and that a decision on the matter would likely be taken at its next national conference.
The mining industry has called on the government to put an end to uncertainty about nationalisation.
Nationalisation is 'a path to ruin'
NATIONALISING South Africa's mines would be the country's path to ruin, driving away billions of rand in investment, Anglo American's chief executive warned yesterday.
"Mining companies simply will not invest if they cannot be assured that the assets they create will be secure," Cynthia Carroll told an African mining conference in Cape Town.
"In ignoring this truth the false prophets who argue for nationalisation are advocating the road to ruin, a path we must not follow."
The firebrand leader of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, is pushing to nationalise mines in South Africa, which has 88percent of the world's platinum group metals and 30percent of its gold reserves.
The government has repeatedly said nationalisation is not its policy but the ruling ANC last year agreed to research the issue.
ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe repeated that stance yesterday, saying the party was looking into the viability of nationalisation. He said the ANC would examine case studies in 13 different countries in Africa, Latin America and Europe.
Mantashe said the research findings would be taken to the party's 2012 policy conference and that a decision on the matter would likely be taken at its next national conference.
The mining industry has called on the government to put an end to uncertainty about nationalisation.
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