5 Indus try W as t e F orum T he Miner als C ouncil c ontinued t o be a k e y member of the Indus try W as t e F orum f ormed and hos t ed b y the DEA t o deal with cr os s sect or al w as t e management is sues and polic y de v elopments T his f orum w as particularly helpful f or the Miner als C ouncil in r esolving v arious challenges pertaining t o w as t e management policies and implementa tion is sues In particular in an a tt empt t o r esolv e mining indus try c onc erns ar ound the inclusion of mine r esidue deposit and s t ockpiles in the defnition of w as t e it w as r esolv ed tha t the amendments t o the W as t e A ct w er e nec es sary In addition t o writt en submis sions this pla tf orm is also being used b y the Miner als C ouncil t o engage on r egis t er and r einf or c e mining c onc erns about w as t e tyr e management with the aim of infuencing a bett er and c os t sensitiv e go v ernment model f or this type of w as t e 6 MultiS tak eholder C ommitt ee on Chemicals Management T hr ough the MultiS tak eholder C ommitt ee on Chemicals Management the Miner als C ouncil engaged with the DEA on its dr aft na tional polic y on chemicals management b y dialogue and writt en submis sion T he Multi S tak eholder C ommitt ee on Chemicals Management is a c ommitt ee f ormed and hos t ed e v ery quart er b y the department t o deal with cr os s sect or chemicals management is sues and polic y de v elopments T he de v elopment of the dr aft polic y has sinc e c eased as a r esult of e xt ensiv e legisla tiv e r ef orms taking plac e within the DEA with the unders tanding tha t the e xis ting legisla tion is sufcient f or the sound management of chemicals 7 Mer cury C on v ention South A frica is party t o the Minama ta C on v ention c ommonly r ef err ed t o as the Mer cury C on v ention T he prime objectiv e of the C on v ention is t o r educ e anthr opogenic mer cury emis sions and r eleases and t o manage the decr ease of the pr e v alenc e of mer cury ar ound the w orld T he Miner als C ouncil pla y ed a piv otal r ole in engagements with go v ernment on a bila t er al basis and in multi s tak eholder engagements T he go v ernment w as inf ormed tha t the South A frican gold mining indus try had s t opped the use of mer cury in their gold pr oduction and pr oc es sing f or man y y ears and henc e the pr e v alenc e of mer cury in this sect or is not of c onc ern 8 Implementa tion of the Na tional Clima t e Change R esponse P olic y T he Miner als C ouncil made signifcant pr ogr es s in pr omoting the de v elopment and implementa tion of v arious polic y ins truments pr o vided f or in the Na tional Clima t e Change R esponse P olic y de v eloped b y the DEA T his included the suit e of o v er all mitiga tion and adapta tion measur es such as carbon budgets pollution pr e v ention plans and GHG emis sions r eporting guidelines Other pla tf orms the Miner als C ouncil engages on t o adv oca t e f or sus tainable en vir onmental legisla tion f or the mining sect or include BUS A the Na tional C ommitt ee on Clima t e Change South A frican Bur eau of S tandar ds Mine W a t er C oor dina tion Body W a t er Ins titut e of Southern A frica Mine W a t er Division ICMM and the Land R ehabilita tion Society of Southern A frica Labour polic y engagement T he Miner als C ouncil has nomina t ed r epr esenta tiv es t o the BUS A Social P olic y and T r ansf orma tion C ommitt ee Nedlac s Labour Mark et P olic y and the Nedlac S tanding C ommitt ee on Section 77 Emplo yment of f or eign na tionals T he engagements on the Department of Emplo yment and Labour DEL c ertifca t e c ontinued f or the bett er part of 20 19 T he legisla tion r equir es emplo y ers who wish t o emplo y f or eign w ork ers t o submit a c ertifca t e fr om the DEL DEL c ertifca t e c ertifying tha t despit e diligent sear ch the y ar e unable t o fnd South A fricans who can do the w ork In the y ear under r e vie w the Miner als C ouncil made numer ous e xt ensiv e pr esenta tions t o the Department of Home A f airs In addition the Miner als C ouncil also t ook the Department of Home A f airs ofcials on a visit t o Mo zambique t o e xpose them t o the positiv e impact tha t South A frican mining indus try emplo yment has on the Mo zambican ec onom y As a r esult of these ef orts the Minis t er of Home A f airs gr ant ed the Miner als C ouncil members a w aiv er fr om the r equir ements t o pr oduc e a DEL c ertifca t e T he w aiv er is ef ectiv e fr om No v ember 20 19 and is f or an indefnit e period POLIC Y ENVIRONMENT C ONTINUED S tr a t egic Goal 2 V illage Main R eef K opanang P age 7 0