REGULATORY OVERSIGHT
Judgments highlight challenges mines face
The range of judgments lay bare the lack of substance behind statements from the Department of Mineral Resources
A run of court judgments against the Department of Mineral Resources highlights the additional difficulties many mining companies face in dealing with poorly enacted regulatory oversight as they contend with volatile commodity prices, soaring costs and a demanding labour environment. The range of judgments highlight the broad scope of challenges that mining companies face in their dealings with the department and lay bare the lack of substance behind statements from the ministry that it wants to create an investor-friendly environment and attract inflows into new projects. Based on three far-reaching judgments, the common thread seems to be the indifference by the department’s officials to respond timeously or sensibly to mine management frustrated by overzealous interpretations of the regulations, ineptitude or the complete lack of urgency within the department to deal with matters that are costing companies dearly. The Aquila judgment in November last year exposed years of prevari...
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