A project report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. / This study addresses a principal issue associated with the small-scale mining industry in
South Africa, namely mineral rights. Firstly it defines a small-scale mine and its role in
the South African economy. It then examines the current mineral rights policy and the
conditions under which the current mineral rights policy could be reformed in order to
encourage the growth of the small-scale mining sector. Various models and proposals
have been examined in an attempt to suggest the most suitable policy in terms of
acquisition and distribution of mineral rights,
Acquisition of mineral rights remains one of the major obstacles facing small-scale
mining companies. The need to change the legal framework surrounding the acquisition
of mineral rights is clearly demonstrated in this project report. Simplification of the legal
framework would lead to easy access to mineral rights by both large-scale and small-scale,
South African and foreign mining companies and remove the traditional complexities
associated with the current South African mineral rights policy which tend to sterilise
mineral rights. These complexities include subdivision of mineral rights, potential lockup
of mineral rights by private companies and individuals and the State. Analysis of
methods to rationalise the mineral rights policy have demonstrated that nationalisation
and expropriation of mineral rights are counter productive and can not be used as vehicles
for access to mineral rights.
In order to strengthen the small-scale mining industry changes to the mineral rights have
been proposed. A model mineral rights policy framework has been designed to promote
small-scale mining. Introduction of a mineral fights tax, taking into consideration the
specifics of the South African mining industry, similar to that of Swaziland of 1958 is
proposed as one of the ways of discouraging the sterilisation of mineral rights. It
introduces a cost element in the locking up of mineral rights by private companies and
individuals. It is envisaged that when the cost of holding these mineral rights is greater
than the benefits of holding the mineral rights, mineral rights holders would relinquish
them thereby allowing access to these mineral rights to other interested parties. The
relinquished mineral rights should revert to the State, which in tum should allocate them
to qualified mining companies. Due considerations of the unique characteristics of the
South African mining industry need to be taken into account when designing any mineral
rights policy. Implementation of any such policy should therefore be done with the
consensus of the mining industry.
Access to State mineral rights is also considered vital. Whilst it is important to provide
the small-scale mining sector with access to mineral rights it is recognised that the
success of the sector depends many factors, mineral rights among others. A holistic
approach that take into all facets of small-scale mining are included in the proposed
policy framework for the development of the small-scale mining industry in South
Africa. / AC2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/22503 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Chitsike, Tichafa |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Chitsike, Tichafa (1998) A mineral rights policy framework for promoting the small-scale mining industry in South Africa, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/22503>, application/pdf |
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