Chamber of Mines lodges urgent application against Zwane's rights moratorium
The chamber wants to stop the proposed restriction on granting new mining and prospecting rights, calling it unlawful
SA’s Chamber of Mines lodged an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday to stop Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s proposed restriction on granting new mining and prospecting rights applied for after July 19, citing the gazetted proposal as unlawful and beyond the minister’s powers. Zwane shocked the mining industry on July 19 when the gazetted notice appeared inviting stakeholders to submit comments before August 4 on his proposal to restrict the granting of new mining and prospecting rights, as well as halt the transfer of mineral rights between companies, effectively bringing deal-making in the South African mining sector to a standstill for an indefinite period. Zwane said the moratorium was related to the interdict brought by the chamber to halt and review the third iteration of the Mining Charter he gazetted in June, but has subsequently told the chamber he will not implement it given the pending legal battle around the document. Zwane has not withdr...
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