UNLOCKING MINERAL-TENURE SECURITY: THE APPLICATION PROCEDURES UNDER THE MINERAL AND PETROLEUM RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT 28 OF 2002
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/obiter.v36i2.11624Keywords:
mineral-tenure security, mining industry, evaluation, holding phase, application phase, exclusivity, firstcome, first-servedAbstract
It is essential that a country’s regulatory regime provides mineral-tenure security to investors to attract investment to its mining industry. This article argues that security of tenure in the mining industry requires evaluation in two phases, namely the holding phase and the application phase. This article focuses only on the application phase that concerns procedures for application and granting of rights to minerals. Four markers are identified in order to evaluate whether the application and granting procedures in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 28 of 2002 provide security of tenure to applicants for and holders of rights to minerals. The article provides a detailed analysis of two of these markers, namely exclusivity and the first-come, first-served principles.
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