Empowerment Credits The Chamber of Mines, which represents more than 90% of producers, and the Department of Mineral Resources have been in dispute over the extent to which companies can claim so-called empowerment credits for past deals, where the beneficiaries have since sold their stakes. At first, the parties asked a court to make a ruling on the matter. While Minister of Mineral Resources Mosebenzi Zwane said on February 5 that the legal process has been ditched for talks, the chamber said it is pursuing both processes to obtain clarity on the matter, CEO Roger Baxter said.