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South Africa's minister of mineral resources said Tuesday that she wants to calm growing nervousness from mining companies and investors following a series of recent spats with the government, and said the ministry will review current legislation in an effort to clarify discrepancies.

The ministry also reiterated that mine nationalization is not government policy but recognized there are groups within the ruling African National Congress party that promote it.

"There is no doubt that clouds have been gathering over our country's mining reputation and I want to reassure all our stakeholders that South Africa is indeed a mining jurisdiction worthy of future investment," said minister Susan Shabangu.

Earlier this month platinum miner Lonmin PLC (LMI.LN) settled a dispute with the government after it received a letter from the mining ministry that it had to stop selling minerals other than platinum.

Kumba Iron Ore Ltd. (KIO.JO) is still contesting a license issue where a 21.4% stake in the Sishen iron ore mine, of which it's a majority owner, was given to Imperial Crown Trading over itself following the expiry of the stake previously held by ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd. (ACL.JO).

Executives at Kumba, ArcelorMittal and Lonmin declined to comment.

"Recent developments on the South Africa mining licensing front have certainly added to industry and investor confusion and uncertainty, so any clarification would be most welcome," said Gavin Mackay, business development and communications executive at Aquarius Platinum Ltd (AQP.LN).

Shabangu said changes will be made to try and reverse "growing negative sentiment" towards the country's regulatory framework. Changes include a series of amendments to be submitted to parliament, a six-month halt to accepting new prospecting applications, and a new public license tracking system.

"Investors globally are getting more worried," said Evolution Securities analyst Charles Kernot.

New mining legislation was put in place in 2004 which required many companies to convert their licenses to the new system. The expiry period for that conversion came for many in the last few years and errors or misunderstandings in the process are now coming to light.

"We believe that the plans to remove regulatory uncertainties will also assist the mining industry to attract foreign direct investment which is critical to the country and industry's competitiveness," said Zoli Diliza, the chief executive of South Africa's Chamber of Mines said.

-By Devon Maylie; Dow Jones Newswires; (4420) 7842 9483; devon.maylie@dowjones.com

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