Nationalising South Africa's mines is "not the option", Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said in her strongest comments in a year against an idea that has unnerved investors in Africa's biggest economy.
Under pressure at a mining industry conference to counter radical elements in the African National Congress who want state ownership of the mines, Shabangu reiterated that nationalisation was "not currently policy".
But she then went on to say nationalisation would mean South Africa missing out on a global commodities boom, as it did for most of the last decade when prices soared and mining in countries such as China, Brazil and India posted huge growth, while investment in the industry stagnated in South Africa.
"Is nationalisation going to give us jobs? No. We have got to make sure that we become responsible and we attract more investments, because we need investment in South Africa," she told a news conference.
