A GUIDELINE FOR A PROSPECTING WORK PROGRAMME TO BE SUBMITTED FOR APPLICATIONS FOR A PROSPECTING RIGHT IN TERMS OF THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002, (ACT NO. 28 OF 2002)

The guideline details the specific information and documentation required to satisfy the granting criteria for a prospecting right in South Africa, focusing on technical ability, financial resources, and environmental protection. It outlines the necessary components of a prospecting work programme, including geological descriptions, action plans for determining mineral resources, detailed prospecting methods, phased schedules, and comprehensive cost estimates. Applicants must provide documentary proof of their financial capacity and technical expertise, ensuring that the proposed operations are optimally conducted and compatible with the budget and available skills.

• To be granted a prospecting right, an applicant must meet several criteria, including having the financial resources and technical ability to conduct operations optimally, ensuring estimated expenditure is compatible with the programme's duration, and guaranteeing that prospecting will not cause "unacceptable pollution, ecological degradation or damage to the environment".
• The prospecting work programme must be a consolidated document containing specific duplicates of application information, such as the applicant's full particulars, the registered description of the land (including farm name and subdivision), and the specific minerals being prospected for.
• Applicants must provide a detailed geological description and a map at a suitable scale to justify their chosen prospecting methods, including a list of known deposits of economic interest in the vicinity within the regional geology context.
• The determination of mineral resources and distribution requires an action plan with timeframes that specifies the production of borehole results, sampling analyses, geophysical and geochemical survey data, and feasibility or pre-feasibility reports.
• Prospecting methods must be described in detail, including the extent, depth, and locality of invasive work such as drilling, trenching, pitting, and excavations, as well as the specific drilling techniques used (e.g., diamond core or reverse circulation).
• Activities must be scheduled in phases with associated cost estimates. This budget must include realistic estimates for environmental management and rehabilitation costs and be verifiable against the technical descriptions provided in the programme.
• Technical ability must be proven through evidence of the applicant's own skills or access to them. This includes providing resumes of registered professionals with specific experience in the relevant minerals and a list of available equipment.
• Financial ability requires conclusive evidence that the total budget is funded, which can be demonstrated through loan agreements, company resolutions, or audited financial statements of the funding provider.
• Once a prospecting right is granted, the approved prospecting work programme becomes a legal obligation, and the applicant must provide a signed undertaking to adhere to the proposals.

APA

Centre for Environmental Rights (n.d.). A GUIDELINE FOR A PROSPECTING WORK PROGRAMME TO BE SUBMITTED FOR APPLICATIONS FOR A PROSPECTING RIGHT IN TERMS OF THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002, (ACT NO. 28 OF 2002). https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Prospecting-Work-Programme-Guideline.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Centre for Environmental Rights. A GUIDELINE FOR A PROSPECTING WORK PROGRAMME TO BE SUBMITTED FOR APPLICATIONS FOR A PROSPECTING RIGHT IN TERMS OF THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002, (ACT NO. 28 OF 2002). n.d. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Prospecting-Work-Programme-Guideline.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Centre for Environmental Rights |title=A GUIDELINE FOR A PROSPECTING WORK PROGRAMME TO BE SUBMITTED FOR APPLICATIONS FOR A PROSPECTING RIGHT IN TERMS OF THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002, (ACT NO. 28 OF 2002) |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Prospecting-Work-Programme-Guideline.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centreforenvironmentalrightsndguideline, author = {{Centre for Environmental Rights}}, title = {{A GUIDELINE FOR A PROSPECTING WORK PROGRAMME TO BE SUBMITTED FOR APPLICATIONS FOR A PROSPECTING RIGHT IN TERMS OF THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT, 2002, (ACT NO. 28 OF 2002)}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Prospecting-Work-Programme-Guideline.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }