The Mining Charter period provides a unique opportunity for Mvelaphanda Resources and other empowerment groups to become active participants in the South African mining industry. While the Charter encompasses a ten-year period (with less than nine years remaining) to May 2014, the bulk of asset transfer to empowerment entities is likely to have been completed fairly early on, or many companies will have already aligned themselves with empowerment groups for the second phase of transfer to take empowerment ownership up to 26%. This does not mean that opportunities for growth in the South African mining sector are limited, just that the environment and hence the opportunities available are likely to be different.