An unfavourable regulatory environment is likely to result in South Africa’s iron-ore production stalling at 58-million tonnes a year for the next four years, research firm BMI said on Monday. In an outlook over the sub-Saharan Africa region’s iron-ore sector, BMI noted that the country would be “the largest and most important source of uncertainty”, as the recent passing of the new Mining Charter would likely lead to higher compliance costs for miners. BMI warned that further divestments may be on the cards, as the charter imposed stricter rules over black ownership levels and hiked royalty rates, applying further downside pressure to the weak iron-ore production forecast in the country.
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