African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Gwede Mantashe called for "concrete ideas" on how the debate on the nationalisation of mines can be taken forward, in a speech prepared for delivery on Thursday.

"We have invited comrades who want us to treat this debate as a ritual to come up with concrete ideas as to what more can be done to build on the progress made," he said in the speech at the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) congress in Bela Bela.

"That challenge stands and we are not going to go to the Pope and just pledge a hollow support for the nationalisation of the mines."

He said the ANC was the only surviving organisation that was in Kliptown in 1955, so nobody else could claim ownership of the Freedom Charter, which refers to mineral wealth belonging to all.

The promulgation of the Mineral and Petroleum Development Act reverted ownership of all mineral deposits to the state and therefore fulfilled the requirement of the Freedom Charter.

This was taken forward by promulgating royalties legislation, which imposes a levy on all who mine these deposits that belong to the State.

He said a dormant State-owned mining company had been activated and the party was "passionate" about the subject.

They found it strange that this debate was not extended to the banking sector and in monopoly industries.

"Call us anything, we will accept it, but a shotgun approach is not going to work. Leadership is elected to implement adopted policies and programmes, and not policy proposals that emerge in the middle of the term."

ANC Youth League president Julius Malema has spoken out recently on the nationalisation of mines, saying mining companies did not plough enough back in the communities they worked in.