PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa plans to retain the previous mining charter's target of transferring 26 percent of mine ownership to black people by 2014 in its efforts to reverse imbalances caused by discrimination during apartheid.
The government said in April it would endorse a new mining charter -- which oversees the mining industry -- in May, but Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu said the charter had not been adopted to allow more engagement with industry.
"The 26 percent target is confirmed for 2014," Shabangu said on Wednesday.
"The process of the review (for the charter) has happened, so we will be releasing the results in August. The results will determine whether we amend or not," she said.
"It's the process of engagement," she said, when asked what had caused the delay to adopt the mining charter.
Shabangu and South African mining executives signed a document -- the mining industry strategy for sustainable growth and meaningful transformation -- which sets out a strategy to enhance transformation or ownership of mines by black people.