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This document contains the heads of argument submitted by the Fourth Respondent (the Minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, Western Cape Province) to the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa. The legal dispute centers on whether mining permits or rights granted under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) exempt a holder from obtaining land-use authorisations under the Land Use Planning Ordinance (LUPO) and environmental authorisations under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). The Fourth Respondent argues that these regulatory regimes are concurrent and that a mining right does not override municipal zoning or national environmental requirements.

This document consists of a practice note and legal submissions filed by the National Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to the Constitutional Court of South Africa. The submissions argue that holders of mining rights or permits granted under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) are not exempt from obtaining separate environmental authorisations under the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) for listed activities.