SOUTH Africa’s mining industry was combing through the details of amendments to the Minerals & Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) gazetted by Goverment on Tuesday for public comment.
The amendments to the 2002 Act were aimed at catalysing the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR’s) updated critical minerals strategy which, controversially, includes coal. In addition to coal, the DMPR places the highest priority on platinum, manganese, iron ore, and chrome ore.
Minerals fitting the conventional definition of “critical” – those supplying the electric mobility and renewable energy industries such as lithium, copper and graphite – are described as having “moderate criticality” in the South African context.
This is not the first time Government has sought to breathe fresh life into South Africa’s exploration sector. The DMPR launched a five-year exploration strategy in 2022, aiming to attract 5% of global mineral exploration spend, estimated at $900m at that time.
An implementation plan was also published. This, however, ended up in market dismay as two versions were made public simultaneously, both differing in certain respects to the strategy document.
Spending on exploration in South Africa has shrunk drasticallly from R6.1bn in 2006 to around R1.2bn in 2023. But in junior mining, there have been some green shoots. Junior mining revenues increased to just under R100bn in 2023 compared to R55bn in 2018.
However, the focus of today’s gazette was the amendments which are intended to improve regulatory processes and encourage investment, according to the department. They also seek to give more structure to artisanal and small scale mining, reduce the prevalence of illegal mining, and ensure compliance with environmental, safety and labour regulations.
Commenting on the amendments, the Minerals Council said that while it assisted the DMPR and Mintek “in the process of defining what constitutes a critical mineral” it had no role in developing the strategy. “The Minerals Council is in the process of reviewing the bill and the strategy,” it said.
Industry executives and lawyers were also consumed with the task of understanding the amendments. One executive complained that the draft bill, running to more than 100 pages, has no context so it was difficult to understand the proposed changes. The DMPR is yet to respond to Miningmx questions.
The council expressed concerns in February that the amendments could threaten a High Court ruling that enshrined the “once empowered, always empowered” principle for mining companies who had complied with ownership targets.
