scholarly journals Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town 2012 (4) SA 181 (CC)

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 537
Author(s):  
Nic Olivier ◽  
Clara Williams ◽  
Pieter Badenhorst
Keyword(s):  
Cape Town ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Functional Domains ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Functional Domain ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
Investor Confidence ◽  
Land Owners ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Resources Development

The Constitutional Court in Maccsand (Pty) Ltd v City of Cape Town (CCT 103/11) 2012 ZACC 7 decided that the granting of mining rights or mining permits by the Minister of Mineral Resources in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 does not obviate the obligation on an applicant to obtain authorisations in terms of other legislation that deals with functional domains other than minerals, mining and prospecting. This applies to all other legislation, irrespective of whether the responsible administrator of such other legislation is in the national, provincial or local sphere of government. The effect of the decision is that planning and other authorities which derive their statutory mandate and powers from other legislation retain all their powers as regards planning and rezoning, for instance. In addition, the Minister of Mineral Resources cannot make a decision on behalf of, or for, such functionaries. The judgement also clarified the question of whether or not a national Act can supersede provincial legislation dealing with a distinctly different functional domain. In principle, the decision also indicates that the fact that a range of authorisations are required in terms of separate statutory instruments (each with its own functional domain and administered by its own functionary) does not necessarily amount to conflicts between these instruments. An owner of land may now insist that his land may not be used for mining purposes if it is not zoned for such purposes. It is submitted that, in order to provide certainty to land owners, developers and government functionaries, and to promote investor confidence (especially in the mining sector), an intergovernmental system for the consideration of applications by the functionaries responsible for the separate statutory instruments needs to be developed as a high priority.

The nature and features of ‘unused old order rights’ under the MPRDA revisited: The story of Gouws’ farm

2021 ◽  
Vol 138 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-616
Author(s):  
Pieter Badenhorst
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Resources ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Old Order ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Constituent Elements ◽  
Resources Development

This article examines the nature and features of ‘unused old order rights’ (‘UOORs’) under item 8 of Schedule II of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 in light of the recent decision by the Constitutional Court in Magnificent Mile Trading 30 (Pty) Ltd v Celliers 2020 (4) SA 375 (CC). At issue was: (a) whether an UOOR was transmissible to heirs upon the death of its holder; and (b) the applicability of the Oudekraal principle to the award of an unlawful prospecting right to an applicant, contrary to the rights enjoyed by the holder of an UOOR. The article analyses the constituent elements of an UOOR, rights ancillary to the UOOR’s and the nature and features of UOORs and ancillary rights. The article also considers the possible loss of an UOOR by application of the Oudekraal principle due to the unlawful grant of a prospecting right by the state, as custodian of mineral resources. The article illustrates that the CC ensured in Magnificent Mile that the Oudekraal principle does not undermine the security of tenure and statutory priority afforded to holders of UOORs by ultra vires grants of inconsistent rights to opportunistic applicants. Concern is also expressed about the poor administration of mineral resources by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.

South Africa's minerals bill could prompt legal battle

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Political Uncertainty ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Investor Confidence ◽  
Lower House ◽  
Mining Legislation ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Legal Battle

Subject The government's persistence in revising the Mining Charter, despite claims by industry that the process of developing the amendments was not inclusive. Significance In November, an amended version of South Africa’s primary mining legislation -- the Minerals & Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) Amendment Bill -- was passed by the lower house of the country’s parliament, nearly two years after it was referred back by the president based on constitutionality concerns. The MPRDA must now be debated in the upper house of parliament before being returned to the presidency. Impacts The current ‘investment strike’ by major mining houses is likely to continue in the medium term. Mining sector employment will not increase at the same rate as it has previously. Political uncertainty within the ruling ANC will continue to weigh down investor confidence. Pressure on the minister of mineral resources to resign will increase -- both from industry and civil society groups.

South African mining sector faces further uncertainty

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Court ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Black Economic Empowerment ◽  
Appeal Process ◽  
Construction Union ◽  
A Company

Subject Mining sector improvement? Significance The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) is appealing a landmark ruling by the High Court on April 4 that black economic empowerment (BEE) rules do not require companies to maintain 26% black ownership forever. Immediately following the ruling, new Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe indicated that the DMR would not appeal, seemingly ending a long-running dispute between the Chamber of Mines and the DMR over whether a company could maintain its empowerment status after the initial beneficiaries had sold their shares or exited the partnership. However, Mantashe's recent reversal has dampened initial industry optimism surrounding his recent appointment. Impacts A lengthy appeal process and lack of clarity over the 'once empowered, always empowered' principle could hinder progress on a new Charter. The finalisation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment (MRPDA) Bill may be impacted by delays over the new Charter. Mistrust between Mantashe and the leader of the non-COSATU affiliate Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) may linger.

scholarly journals Baleni v Minister of Mineral Resources 2019 2 SA 453 (GP): Paving the Way for Formal Protection of Informal Land Rights

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Yolandi Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Land Tenure ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Land Owners ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Customary Land ◽  
Mining Right

In Baleni v Minister of Mineral Resources 2019 2 SA 453 (GP) the court, duly following the judicial guidance provided in Maledu v Itereleng Bakgatla Mineral Resources 2019 2 SA 1 (CC), made an important pronouncement on the rights of people who hold informal land tenure. The question in the Baleni judgment concerned the level of consent required to obtain a mining right over property held by a community with informal or customary land tenure. The court specifically considered provisions of the Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act 31 of 1996 (IPILRA) and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA), and concluded that the provisions of these Acts should be read together when determining the level of consent required. The court found that a community's consent, as required by IPILRA, and not merely consultation with a community, as required by the MPRDA, is necessary before a mining right can be obtained over a community's property. The Baleni and the Maledu judgments set an important judicial precedent protecting informal land owners against the potentially harmful effects of mining activities, and establish a higher standard for obtaining a mining right over such property. However, despite the success of the judgment, many questions remain regarding the longevity of IPILRA, in particular, and a long-term solution to informal land tenure and land security in general. This case note argues that final legislation should be enacted to provide protection for people who hold informal land rights, and consequently to formalise indigenous communities' land rights to ensure that these judgments act as the precursor for fundamental change in the current debate regarding informal land rights.

scholarly journals The Evaluation of Mineral Resources Development Efficiency Based on Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Approach and Modified TODIM

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pu Li ◽  
Xudong Chen ◽  
Xinyi Qu ◽  
Qi Xu
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Multicriteria Decision Making ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Multicriteria Decision ◽  
Actual Evaluation ◽  
Panxi Area ◽  
Linguistic Approach ◽  
Fuzzy Linguistic ◽  
Resources Development

The evaluation of mineral resources development efficiency is a typical multicriteria decision-making issue. Meanwhile, due to the limited existing technology, there might be subjectivity, ambiguity, and inaccuracy of the measurement of the evaluation index of mineral resources development efficiency. In this paper, we, considering the incomplete information, use the hesitant fuzzy linguistic approach to describe the psychological hesitation and ambiguity of the decision-maker in the actual evaluation process and then construct the general model of the development efficiency evaluation of the mineral resources by using the hesitant fuzzy linguistic terms sets and modified TODIM. Finally, this paper takes the Panxi area as an example to study the development efficiency of vanadium-titanium magnetite. The results show that the hesitant fuzzy linguistic multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) approach can be implemented to mineral resources evaluation and resources management.

scholarly journals PAYING THE PIPER (IN PRAESENTIA) Xstrata South Africa (Pty) v SFF Association 2012 (5) SA 60 (SCA)

Obiter ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
PJ Badenhorst
Keyword(s):  
Mining Industry ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
The State ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Old Order ◽  
Petroleum Resources ◽  
Mineral Rights ◽  
The Right ◽  
Mining Right

This decision is an appeal from the decision of the South Gauteng High Court in SFF Association v Xstrata (2011 JDR 0407 (GSJ)). The court a quo decided incorrectly that the holder of an old-order mining right, which was converted into a (new) mining right in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (the “Act”), remains liable upon conversion for the payment of (contractual) royalties in terms of a mineral lease, which was concluded prior to enactment of the Act. The appeal was upheld by the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) (2012 (5) SA 60 (SCA) par 27). The decision was rendered by Wallis JA with the other judges concurring with his judgment. Prior to the Act mineral-right holders could grant a mining right to a miner against payment of royalties or other forms of consideration. At issue on appeal was whether the obligation to pay royalties in terms of a mineral lease “survives the introduction of the new regime in respect of mining rights brought about by the Act”. As indicated by the SCA, the Act fundamentally changed the legal basis upon which rights to minerals are acquired and exercised. Previously mineral rights were vested in the owner of land or the holder of mineral rights, which rights could be exercised upon acquisition of a statutory authorization to exploit the minerals. In terms of the new regime, common-law mineral rights were destroyed and “all mineral resources vested in the state as the custodian of such resources on behalf of all South Africans”, whereupon the state could confer the right to exploit such resources to applicants. Upon granting a mining right in terms of the Act (statutory) royalties have become payable to the state since 1 March 2010 of the Act and the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty Act 28 of 2008. In order to prevent disruption of the mining industry, provision was made in the Act for the continuation of old-order rights for different transitional periods ranging from one to five years and conversion of such rights during the periods of transition. The transitional arrangements in Schedule II of the Act (“transitional arrangements”) inter alia ensured security of tenure of prospecting rights and mining rights and enabled holders thereof to comply with the Act. In particular, an old-order mining right remained valid for five years “subject to the terms and conditions under which it was granted” (item 7(1) of the transitional arrangements) and could be converted into a new mining right (item 7(2) of the transitional arrangements) if certain requirements were met. The applicant had to have: (a) met the requirements for lodgement of application for conversion; (b) conducted mining operations in respect of the mining right; (c) indicated that he would continue to conduct such mining operations upon conversion of the mining right; (d) had an approved environmental management programme; and (e) paid the prescribed conversion fee (item 7(3) of the transitional arrangements). To recap, the Xstrata decision dealt with an old-order mining right that had been converted into a (new) mining right and the effect of these statutory changes on rights to royalties which accrued to a former holder of mineral rights by virtue of a mineral lease. 

scholarly journals Characterization of the bauxite mining of the Poços de Caldas alkaline massif and its socio-environmental impacts

2012 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalmo Arantes de Barros ◽  
João Carlos Costa Guimarães ◽  
José Aldo Alves Pereira ◽  
Luis Antônio Coimbra Borges ◽  
Rossi Allan Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Mineral Resources ◽  
Mining Sector ◽  
Bauxite Mining ◽  
Intensive Use ◽  
Poços De Caldas ◽  
Alkaline Massif ◽  
Social And Environmental Impacts ◽  
Satisfactory Manner

The intensive use of mineral resources brings along significant changes to the environment. The mining sector is essential for world economics, as long as it is operated on a basis that is technically coherent, socially fair and environmentally correct. This study aimed to characterize the bauxite mining of the Poços de Caldas plateau, MG, investigating its respective socio-environmental impacts. Through the overview presented, one can conclude that in most situations, the bauxite miningat the Poços de Caldas plateau mitigates its negative social and environmental impacts in a satisfactory manner in addition to generating positive social impacts; and the restoration methods of the mining-disturbed ecosystems have been continually improved and should be replicated by small-and-medium-sized companies.

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