The minister said it could become too costly for mining companies to completely shut down operations during the national lockdown.
The organisation has released a report aimed at addressing the growing zama zama sector.
Numsa has criticised ANC-led government of implementing laws that make it harder for the working class to exercise their constitutional right to strike.
The committee says the minerals sector is a key contributor to the South African economy because of the half a million workers it employs directly.
Minister Mantashe says mining companies should find ways they could optimise production and not run to cutting jobs.
Saftu says the gold industry has already lost over 60,000 jobs over the last 13 years, which puts communities and families in misery.
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa is demanding a total shut down of the Fortune Steel Mine in Ekurhuleni after seven mine workers were injured in an explosion.
Mantashe made the remarks in a speech at a platinum mining conference in Johannesburg.
Uncertainty around the Mining Charter and ownership levels have deterred investment in a sector that accounts for 8 percent of the country’s economic output.
The order allows mining firms ownership transactions to be recognised even where the black partner has sold or transferred part, or all, of its equity.
Mantashe says the two teams that have been set up to discuss possible amendments to the mining charter have three weeks to report back.
Minister Gwede Mantashe met with the Chamber of Mines and unions at the weekend where the charter was discussed and some changes proposed.
Ramaphosa has reached an agreement with the chamber of mines the National Union of Mineworkers and Solidarity to suspend the court application to review the charter.
There is an urgent need for a fresh start on mining, with an eye to securing a new deal for the sector. What we need is a political solution, not an adversarial legal one.
Anglo American's deputy chairman Norman Mbazima says the effects of poor and inconsistent regulation in the mining sector cannot be overestimated.
The union says over 70 people have died underground every year since 2012 as a result of mining accidents.
Lonmin, the world’s third biggest platinum producer, has faced the combined pressures of low platinum prices and challenges of operating in South Africa.
The chamber and the ministry are locked in a number of legal disputes over the mining charter, which aims to increase black ownership and participation in the industry.
