MINING. Debate drags on.

Byline: Thebe Mabanga

MINING Debate drags on Parliament's hearings into the establishment of a state-owned mining company have degenerated, once again, into a debate about the nationalisation of mines and whether the state should provide aid for struggling entrants into the mining industry. Last week the portfolio committee on mining continued its stop-start public hearings into the matter. This time, the establishment of the company played second fiddle to the department's update on the fallout over the issuing of mining rights (see Cover Story) to politically connected individuals. But, as at all the hearings, the discussion strayed off the agenda to the nationalisation of …