REQUEST TO THE MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES TO EXERCISE HER DISCRETION UNDER S.49 OF THE MINERALS AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY

The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), representing 13 NGOs and CSOs, wrote to the Chief Executive of the Chamber of Mines to defend a request made to the Minister of Mineral Resources. The CER argues that existing statutory tools are insufficient to protect areas of critical biodiversity and hydrological value from mining, and therefore urges the Minister to use her discretion under Section 49 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) to declare certain 'no-go areas'.

• The Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) contends that current legislative frameworks are inadequate for protecting environmentally sensitive areas from commercial mining. Specifically, they argue that the Protected Areas Act has failed to prevent the illegal granting of rights in protected areas, and that the Biodiversity Act only triggers an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for threatened ecosystems without providing further legal protection.
• The CER argues that a declaration under Section 49 of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) is necessary to avoid the wasted costs of consultations and EIAs for applications in areas where mining should never be permitted due to critical environmental sensitivity.
• The Minister of Mineral Resources has indicated support for the use of Section 49 of the MPRDA by announcing plans to prohibit mining in the Chrissiesmeer Biodiversity Site.
• The CER rejects the Chamber of Mines' claim that the proposal for 'no-go areas' was unprocedural, noting that Section 49(1) of the MPRDA explicitly requires the Minister to invite representations from stakeholders before making a declaration.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2011). REQUEST TO THE MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES TO EXERCISE HER DISCRETION UNDER S.49 OF THE MINERALS AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/CER-Letter-to-Chamber-of-Mines-28-March-2011.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. REQUEST TO THE MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES TO EXERCISE HER DISCRETION UNDER S.49 OF THE MINERALS AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY. 2011. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/CER-Letter-to-Chamber-of-Mines-28-March-2011.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=REQUEST TO THE MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES TO EXERCISE HER DISCRETION UNDER S.49 OF THE MINERALS AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY |date=28 March 2011 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/CER-Letter-to-Chamber-of-Mines-28-March-2011.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2011request, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{REQUEST TO THE MINISTER OF MINERAL RESOURCES TO EXERCISE HER DISCRETION UNDER S.49 OF THE MINERALS AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2011}, month = mar, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/CER-Letter-to-Chamber-of-Mines-28-March-2011.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }