South Africa’s Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Thursday that no decision had been taken to implement a moratorium suspending the issuance of new mining and prospecting rights that was announced last month.

“No decision has been taken by the Minister of Mineral Resources to implement the moratorium,” he said in a statement.

On July 20, Zwane said he intended to suspend the granting of applications for prospecting and mining rights pending a court case to review a new charter that increased the required level of ownership of mining firms by black people.

South Africa’s Chamber of Mines has lodged separate court applications to prevent the new charter and the moratorium.