A 108-page draft Mineral & Petroleum Resources Development Bill gazetted on Tuesday by minerals & petroleum resources minister Gwede Mantashe proposes to fundamentally overhaul the regulation of the industry, which has long complained about the bureaucratic hurdles that have to be overcome to operate.
The much-anticipated draft bill was approved by the cabinet last week together with the critical minerals and metals strategy, both of which Mantashe said at the media briefing marked a milestone.
The Minerals Council SA in a statement welcomed the launch of both documents which it said came at “a pivotal time to realise the potential for SA’s mining industry. It is critical for the growth and sustainability of the mining industry that the bill and strategy encourage investment in exploration, the development of new mines and the long-term sustainability and expansion of mining operations.”
The minister said the draft bill published for public comment before August 13 addresses the issues raised over the years with his department and would ensure policy and regulatory certainty and enhance investor confidence. The mining industry has flagged issues that created uncertainty and stifled investment in the sector as well as complaining about the long delays in getting permits.
Mantashe said the bill “seeks to align mining legislation with evolving policies, economic conditions and global shifts while ensuring that it reflects industry needs and government priorities.
“The bill proposes streamlining administrative processes to ensure proper alignment with National Environmental Management Act and the National Water Act and thereby reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies and improve turnaround times for mining rights, permits and regulatory approvals.”
It also proposes measures to promote the local beneficiation of minerals and provides for consultation as well as enhanced sanctions.
The draft bill provides that after consultation with the Council for Geoscience the minister may designate certain areas for black people for small-scale and artisanal mining to promote equitable access to SA’s mineral resources.
Mantashe said the proposed licensing regime for artisanal and small-scale mining operations would ensure compliance with environmental, safety and labour regulations as well as reduce the risk of illegal mining activities.
The bill also provides for the establishment of a regional mining development and environmental committee.
Mantashe also gave details of the critical minerals and metals strategy which emerged out of the African critical minerals summit in 2023. The summit resolved a clear road map should be developed on how to maximise the exploitation and monetisation of critical minerals.
Journalists were told SA was leading the Group of 20’s work on critical minerals and that an interdepartmental technical team would drive the implementation of the strategy.
Indicators were used to identify critical minerals, namely export potential, employment indicator, supply risk, export sales, domestic sales and substitutability indicators.
“This focus ensured that minerals with the highest potential to drive economic and industrial growth are prioritised which then provided guidance in determining the criticality of specific mineral commodities,” Mantashe said.
The focus was on minerals with the highest potential to drive economic and industrial growth.
“At least 21 commodity studies were undertaken in parallel with the work of determining the criticality of minerals. These commodity studies sufficiently provided a clear picture of the state of the mining industry in SA, as well as the contribution of each commodity to the country’s drive for inclusive economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation,” Mantashe said.
The minerals identified as high-critical minerals are platinum, manganese, iron ore, coal and chrome ore. The strategy further identified mineral commodities such as gold, vanadium, palladium, rhodium and rare earth elements as minerals with moderate to high criticality and copper, cobalt, lithium, graphite, nickel, titanium, phosphate, fluorspar, zirconium, uranium and aluminium as minerals with moderate criticality.
The strategy treats the minerals as part of a larger ecosystem that drives essential technologies such as electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cells, wind turbines, battery storage systems, microelectronics and advanced manufacturing.
Mantashe said the strategy identified the pillars with targeted interventions: geoscience mapping and exploration; value addition and localisation; research & development and building a diverse skilled workforce; investment in infrastructure and energy security for sustainable mining and downstream value addition; financial instruments to support beneficiation and harmonisation of policy and regulatory instruments.
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