PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002: SUBMISSIONS BY 13 NON-­‐GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING

A submission by 13 non-governmental organisations, coordinated by the Centre for Environmental Rights, addressed to the Minister of Mineral Resources regarding proposed amendments to the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (MPRDA). The document argues that the current environmental regulatory regime for mining is inferior to that of other industrial sectors and calls for the integration of mining regulation under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) to ensure better environmental protection, public participation, and enforcement.

• The authors express concern over a lack of consultation with civil society and environmental NGOs regarding the review of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (MPRDA), noting that the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) has accepted inputs from the Mining Growth, Development and Employment task team (MIGDETT) but not from civil society.
• The document argues that the mining industry operates under a regulatory regime that is significantly weaker than the one applied to other industrial sectors under the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA). Specific weaknesses include constrained timeframes for environmental impact assessments (EIAs), inadequate public notification methods, and the absence of a requirement for independent environmental assessment practitioners (EAPs).
• The submission advocates for bringing prospecting, reconnaissance, exploration, and mining under the NEMA regulatory regime. This shift would allow for a single comprehensive EIA and an integrated licensing system, reducing the need for separate authorisations for ancillary activities like road construction.
• The authors highlight a severe disparity in penalties for environmental offences between the MPRDA and NEMA. For example, mining without an approved right or EMP carries a maximum MPRDA penalty of R100,000 or two years' imprisonment, whereas a similar unauthorised activity under NEMA can attract a maximum penalty of R5 million or 10 years' imprisonment.
• The document requests that any amendment to the MPRDA include obligations for the automatic public disclosure of full rights applications, all granted authorisations (including EMPs and EMPRs), and all delegations of power by the Minister of Mineral Resources.
• The submission calls for additional safeguards in environmentally sensitive areas, including prohibitions on commercial mining in critical biodiversity areas and stricter procedural requirements such as publishing notices in two national and one local newspaper, and holding public meetings in the closest town and a major capital city.
• The authors state that inadequate EIAs and financial provisions lead to long-term environmental degradation and significant costs for the state, citing acid mine drainage on the Witwatersrand as a primary example of the failure of current systems.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (2011). PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002: SUBMISSIONS BY 13 NON-­‐GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/CER-Letter-to-Minister-of-MR-re-MPRDA-6-April-2011.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002: SUBMISSIONS BY 13 NON-­‐GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING. 2011. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/CER-Letter-to-Minister-of-MR-re-MPRDA-6-April-2011.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002: SUBMISSIONS BY 13 NON-­‐GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING |date=6 April 2011 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/CER-Letter-to-Minister-of-MR-re-MPRDA-6-April-2011.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centreforenvironmentalrights2011proposed, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002: SUBMISSIONS BY 13 NON-­‐GOVERNMENT ORGANISATIONS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2011}, month = apr, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/CER-Letter-to-Minister-of-MR-re-MPRDA-6-April-2011.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }