The Great Minerals Amendment

New legislation is a ‘priority’, says the government, but no one knows what changes have been made to it during its three years in limbo.

- David McKay

The hullabaloo over the Mining Charter in the last month has distracted attention from the equally important issue of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment (MPRDA) Bill, the last known location of which was in the halls of Parliament’s upper house, the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

This is the legislation that says minerals are the patrimony of South African citizens, so mining companies have to rent mining properties from the state – once the operations have met the conditions of transformation, environmental protection, and labour and social plans.

The Bill will be the bedrock on which the Mining Charter rests and will help align the interests of international and national mining firms. So it’s pretty big news that attorneys who specialise in mining law have mixed views on the kinds of amendments that will be made to the Act. The government has said the promulgation of the Amendment Bill – which was sent back to Parliament by former president Jacob Zuma in January 2015 – would be made a priority.

Speaking at a press conference in March, mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe said: “The MPRD Amendment Bill is currently before Parliament. We are considering appropriate ways of ensuring urgent progress at that level.” So the Bill looks as if it will proceed – but what, exactly, will it amend of the existing Act?