ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING: THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002 (MPRDA), DECLARATIONS UNDER S.49 OF THE MPRDA TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY, AND SAMRAD

The Centre for Environmental Rights advocates for the alignment of mining environmental regulations with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), the use of Section 49 of the MPRDA to prohibit mining in critical biodiversity and hydrological areas, and the integration of GIS environmental data into the SAMRAD online application system to prevent mining rights from being granted in ecologically sensitive areas.

• The separate environmental regulation system for mining under the MPRDA is described as inferior to the system provided by the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), claiming it contravenes the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, 2000 and fails to meet Constitutional environmental rights.
• The current regulatory framework is said to cause inter-departmental conflict because the Departments of Environmental Affairs and Water Affairs often receive mining rights as a "done deal", hindering their ability to fulfill legislative mandates.
• The Centre for Environmental Rights requests that the Minister use Section 49 of the MPRDA to declare specific geographical areas of critical biodiversity and hydrological value as prohibited or restricted for prospecting and mining, advocating for a holistic rather than piecemeal approach.
• There is a request for confirmation that the South African Mineral Resources Administration (SAMRAD) system has incorporated BGIS maps and data from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) to allow officials to identify environment-sensitivity status before processing applications.

APA

Fourie, M. (2011). ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING: THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002 (MPRDA), DECLARATIONS UNDER S.49 OF THE MPRDA TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY, AND SAMRAD. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Shabangu-re-MPRDA-and-s49-21-Sept-2011.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Fourie, Melissa. ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING: THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002 (MPRDA), DECLARATIONS UNDER S.49 OF THE MPRDA TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY, AND SAMRAD. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2011. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Shabangu-re-MPRDA-and-s49-21-Sept-2011.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fourie |first1=Melissa |title=ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING: THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002 (MPRDA), DECLARATIONS UNDER S.49 OF THE MPRDA TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY, AND SAMRAD |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=21 September 2011 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Shabangu-re-MPRDA-and-s49-21-Sept-2011.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fourie2011environmental, author = {Fourie, Melissa}, title = {{ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION OF PROSPECTING, RECONNAISSANCE, EXPLORATION AND MINING: THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002 (MPRDA), DECLARATIONS UNDER S.49 OF THE MPRDA TO PROHIBIT AND RESTRICT PROSPECTING AND MINING IN AREAS OF CRITICAL BIODIVERSITY AND HYDROLOGICAL VALUE AND SENSITIVITY, AND SAMRAD}}, publisher = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2011}, month = sep, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/CER-Letter-to-Minister-Shabangu-re-MPRDA-and-s49-21-Sept-2011.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }