What was a mining licence

Once your application has been accepted, the regional manager will request that you submit an environmental management plan and consult with the landowner and legal occupier of the land as well as any other affected party.

Submit a written outcome of the consultation to the regional manager within 30 days. The Minister of Mineral Resources will issue a mining permit if all the requirements have been met.

How long does it take The South African Mineral Resources Administration System will inform you immediately if your application has been accepted this means you have met all the requirements. How much does it cost Contact the Department of Mineral Resources about the costs.

Alternatively, the licensee may choose to provide the full documentation of the relevant studies in-confidence to the department for the department to undertake an analysis. The purpose of a mining licence is to undertake mining and activities leading to or ancillary to mining. While exploration can be undertaken on a mining licence, "exploration only" will only be permitted in very limited circumstances.

These circumstances include a temporary mine closure, during which further exploration is undertaken to identify mineral resources required to recommence mining. Where there is a genuine commitment to mine within a reasonable time period, then it is expected that in most cases the proponent would be allowed to remain on the licence. Work on the licence may include any or all of the items listed previously in relation to the program of work see "Application for a mining licence".

Expectations about the scale and nature of work and level of expenditure will be based on the size of the mineral resource and the likely capital expenditure on the project, as outlined in the licence application, considered against accepted industry standards the summary of a pre-feasibility study provided with the application would be relevant to this assessment. Licence holders should refer to the Mining Licence Work Plan Guidelines for guidance on work plan requirements. The holder of a mining licence is required to comply with the Act, Regulations and any conditions placed on the licence, including those relating to the program of work, and to carry out the work in accordance with the approved work plan.

Failure to comply with these requirements may result in licence cancellation or non-renewal. Prior to the introduction of the retention licence, some mining licence holders have held land solely for the purpose of evaluation. Under the new licensing regime, work on a mining licence must be directed at establishing and operating a mine.

The Act also specifically provides that a mining licence may be cancelled if mining on the licence has stopped for a continuous period of two years note, this is a discretionary power for the Minister — it would be exercised on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the relevant circumstances.

A mining licence can be granted for up to 20 years, or longer with the Minister's agreement. There are no limits to the number of renewals of a mining licence. However, renewal should not be considered as automatic or as a right. A renewal application will be considered on the basis of the licensee's record of compliance and various other matters, including whether or not mining will be feasible in the foreseeable future.

Matters that may be considered include:. As noted previously, the renewal of mining licences, other than infrastructure mining licences, that are current when the amendments come into operation will require that a mineral resource is identified either to JORC indicated standard or relevant alternative as outlined in ministerial guidelines Appendix 1. Reporting requirements are provided by the Regulations.

Licensees will be required to provide an annual activity and expenditure report and a technical report in relation to exploration, mining and other activities undertaken under the licence.

Among other reporting requirements, licence holders are required to report on see Regulations 56 1 , 3 and 4 of the Regulations :. Ministerial Guidelines for Description of a Mineral Resource. For more information or assistance, please contact us. Contact us. Manage your licence Fossicking Location of resource licences Mineral licences Extractives industry work authority. A mining lease must be obtained before production or sale of minerals can commence. A mining lease gives the holder the exclusive right to conduct mining operations and sell the minerals specified in the conditions attached to the lease.

Mining operations must be conducted in accordance with an approved program for environment protection and rehabilitation PEPR. The Mining Act the Mining Act also deals with other types of tenements related to mining leases. A mineral claim is a precursor tenement to a mining lease or a retention lease.

Only the holder of a registered mineral claim can apply for a mining lease or retention lease. A retention lease can be granted if, for economic or other reasons, it is not currently optimal for the holder to progress a project to a mining lease. A miscellaneous purposes licence is granted to allow the holder to conduct ancillary operations related to mining, for example a processing plant, access road or power infrastructure.

A mineral claim is a type of mining tenement under the Mining Act. A mineral claim allows you to prospect or explore for minerals in the area of the claim for 12 months. It also gives you the right to apply for a mining lease or retention lease over the area. A mineral claim is pegged by placing posts in the ground to identify the area of the claim. With prior approval from the Mining Registrar, you can identify the claim by using a plan prepared by a licensed surveyor. More information:.

Back to on this page listing. A retention lease is granted for a period of up to 5 years. Retention leases do not have an automatic right of renewal. Should renewal be sought, the holder must explain why an application for a mining lease has not been made during the 5 year term.

A miscellaneous purposes licence can be granted as an auxiliary tenement to mining operations for the purpose of:. Miscellaneous purposes licences are generally used for infrastructure corridors, roads, waste rock dumps, tailings storage facilities, or power access. When the Mining Act came into effect it provided a process whereby persons divested of the right to minerals could, under certain circumstances, make an application to retain the rights to the minerals.

If an application was successful, the Governor proclaimed the area to be a private mine. The ability to make an application for a private mine was only available for a limited time after the commencement of the Mining Act. Part 11B of the Mining Act deals with private mines. Tell me more about Fees and Charges. On 28 June , a graticular boundary or block system was introduced for Exploration Licences. Tell me more about the exploration licence graticular boundary system.

The minimum size of an Exploration Licence is one block, and the maximum size is 70 blocks, except in areas not designated as mineralised areas , where the maximum size is blocks. The holder of an exploration licence may in accordance with the licence conditions, extract or disturb up to tonnes of material from the ground which includes overburden. The Minister may approve extraction of larger tonnages. Prescribed minimum annual expenditure commitments and reporting requirements apply.

The maximum area for a Mining Lease applied for before 10 February is hectares.