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Cape Town - The new minerals dispensation established in 2005 is threatening to inflict enormous damage on the mining industry because of the administrative inability of the department of minerals and energy (DME) to handle the conversion, miners say.
About 18 000 applications for prospecting, exploration and mining rights have been received by the DME for final conversion to the new minerals dispensation, which should be in place by the end of April this year.
But there is great concern in the mining industry regarding the department's administrative ability to process the thousands of applications for conversion of mineral rights.
The deadline for applications is end-April. On Tuesday at the Mining Indaba Buyelwa Sonjica, the Minister of Minerals and Energy, warned that no extensions would be granted.
Failing to apply would certainly have consequences, she said.
She undertook to ensure that all applications for prospecting and exploration rights would be processed within six months. Applications for mining licences would be processed within a year, she promised.
Some of the larger players in the mining industry who were hesitant to be identified said on Tuesday that these promises were wishful thinking because the department simply did not have the administrative capacity.
"We have applications for mining rights that were handed in in 2005 and have still not been finalised.
"This legislation has made the government the owner and patron of the country's mineral rights, but government will do the country and enormous disservice if it does not quickly ensure that it has the administrative capacity to perform this task," one commented.
The applications are complex because they have to provide for labour and social plans. The plans must include social development objectives, but these often lead to endless correspondence between applicants and the department because of the vagueness of the legislative prescriptions in this regard.
Manus Booysen, a senior partner at legal firm Webber Wentzel and a specialist in mineral rights, says there are several applicants' files in his office that will not be ready for submission to the department by the end of April.
"We will however have to hand them in, which means that they would be rushed. This will make it even more difficult [for officials in the Department] to finalise the applications," he declared.
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