Extractive Industries Law in Africa Unit - EILA

Maverick Citizen: Photo Essay: Zama-zamas: Pictures from the underground

dailymaverick.co.za Toiling deep underground, SA’s zama-zamas risk death and injury on a daily basis, and are constantly raided by the police. These artisanal miners, known as zama-zamas, will be on the agenda at the Alternative Mining Indaba and the Mining Indaba Conference taking place in Cape Town this week. Lucas...

14 scholarships and bursaries you can apply for right now

are offered by various institutions and companies to make it affordable for people to at a , and who would otherwise not be able to do so. A useful list is included in the following article, available at: https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/365412/14-scholarships-and-bursaries-you-can-apply-for-right-now/

businesstech.co.za South Africa’s universities will soon open their doors to the class of 2019, with thousands of new students expected to fill lecture halls and classrooms on their way to getting various qualifications on offer.

BUSINESS MAVERICK: Petroleum draft bill lays uncertain foundation for SA oil and gas production

dailymaverick.co.za The draft Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill was published in the Government Gazette on Christmas’s Eve for public comment. The state will get a 20% free stake in all projects, which must also have a minimum of 10% black ownership. It remains to be seen if this will attract the investme...

BUSINESS MAVERICK: The mining industry wants to produce its own power

The industry joins the which wrote to the Minister of asking that it and other municipalities be permitted to buy directly from , saying that doing so would avoid a pending court case.

dailymaverick.co.za Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe now has a real poser on his hands. SA’s mining industry has asked him to urgently allow mines to build their own power plants, saying they could generate 869MW of solar power and up to another 800MW of conventional power themselves. Some mining companie...

Maverick Citizen: Limpopo: ‘This chrome is our only hope’

"(A) spokesperson for the Babina Tlou baga Teka Traditional Authority, blames the situation on government’s failure to empower the youth in mineral-rich areas such as Mogolaneng by not providing them with skills training and to enable them to operate legally as miners".

dailymaverick.co.za Limpopo’s unlicensed artisanal miners brave police raids and falling rocks to beat poverty as the government remains indecisive about the issuing of permits.

BUSINESS MAVERICK: Junior oil and gas explorers dive in at the deep end

"Speaking at the Africa Oil and Power Conference held in Cape Town in early November, ( ) Minister of and , Gwede Mantashe confirmed that a draft Resources Bill will soon be tabled in Cabinet for approval." Available at: https://bit.ly/35DX9mu

dailymaverick.co.za A delay in the publication of enabling legislation is slowing exploration into SA’s hydrocarbon industry. Thus the recent issue of six onshore permits came as some surprise.

Health and safety bigger risks to artisanal miners that conflict minerals — report - MINING.COM

Risks related to occupational health and safety are more prevalent than abuses and conflict financing among global artisanal and small-scale ( ), a new study by German supply chain auditor RCS Global Group has found.

mining.com First-ever long-term artisanal and small-scale mine site monitoring data study reveals challenges in battery metals supply chains.

Blockchain in the Mining Industry: Implications for sustainable development in Africa | SAIIA

"While technology holds the potential to trace and track from point of extraction to the end consumer, the alone does not guarantee socially and environmentally responsible practices along the ." Report available at: https://bit.ly/2J9tM2X

saiia.org.za Distributed ledger technologies (DLT) enable the creation of digital databases stored across multiple locations.

License to operate continues to dominate the top risks list for miners

“Companies must show how they’re working towards and inclusive growth to redefine the sector’s image as a responsible source of the world’s . Demonstrating these values is also key to addressing growing workforce challenges.” - EY Canada & Metals.

Available at: https://www.ey.com/ca/en/newsroom/news-releases/2019-license-to-operate-continues-to-dominate-the-top-risks-list-for-miners

ey.com Nearly half (44%) of global mining and metals executives rank license to operate as the biggest risk to their business for the second year in a row, according to the 12th annual EY Top 10 business risks and opportunities 2020 report.

Anglo's Cutifani urges SA mining sector to heal Government divide as key to new order - Miningmx

“We have a revised , and while we may have misgivings on some of the unresolved issues in the Charter, it is clear that these can only be resolved if we … work with the Department of and Energy to find a solution”. - Mark Cutifani

miningmx.com ANGLO American CEO, Mark Cutifani, threw his weight behind the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to impose political stability, saying the country was “on course towards much-needed stability”. But he also warned the mining sector ought to work more closely with the Department...

Business Maverick: Interview: Environment minister Barbara Creecy surprised at her mining role

“What’s interesting is that I deal a lot with appeals from houses that have been refused rights by DMRE. Often they have been refused because DMRE has concerns regarding the . It’s quite interesting being the appeal authority, because when I came in my assumption was that all appeals were from people who did not want issued.” - Minister Barbara Creecy

dailymaverick.co.za Barbara Creecy was surprised to find out that many of the mining appeals she hears are from companies that have had their mining rights rejected by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy on environmental grounds. That at least suggests that oversight mechanisms are working.

Zambia scraps sales tax plan in concession to miners - MINING.COM

Zambia scraps sales tax in favour of companies.
has announced that it will not replace VAT with a non-refundable sales . This decision is a boon to mining companies who opposed the proposed sales tax.
http://bit.ly/2nPaIiA

mining.com Relations had soured over proposed tax changes and a dispute between government and Vedanta Resources over its Konkola Copper Mines unit.

A massive, rare blue diamond has just been found outside Pretoria

https://www.businessinsider.co.za/blue-diamond-2019-9

businessinsider.co.za The 20.08 carat blue diamond was found in Cullinan on Monday.

BUSINESS MAVERICK: South Africa’s Mining Industry sees taxing carbon conundrum

"That would be a significant burden on an industry that has struggled for years with volatile prices, surging power and labour costs, and social and labour unrest. It has also had to grapple with policy uncertainty – a major obstacle to investment – and the is about as clear as a cheap bottle of sherry". Mine

dailymaverick.co.za South Africa’s mining industry is ringing alarm bells over the incoming carbon tax. Like so much on the policy front here, concerns centre on uncertainty. And unlike other sectors, the mining industry cannot pass on the anticipated costs to its customers. It has to take them on the chin with a dir...

Bid to clean Africa’s most toxic town

mg.co.za A class action is planned to get mines to clear the dangerously high levels of lead in a Zambian town

South African coal miner plans new climate change strategy | African Mining Market

Exxaro said it’s planning “structural changes,” including initiatives, to ensure in the long term.

africanminingmarket.com South Africa’s Exxaro Resources Ltd. said it’s working on a new strategy for its business founded on coal mining amid investor and public concerns about the impact of climate change.

Acid mine water eyed for producing hydrogen at petrol cost

miningweekly.com Acid mine water, and also seawater and brackish water, are being eyed for hydrogen production by innovative South African company Hydrox Holdings, which has patented a water electrolysis that is attracting world attention. The new membrane-free technology that the company has developed was presented...

Mining billionaire Steinmetz faces trial in Geneva over alleged bribery in Guinea

mining.com Swiss prosecutors allege Steinmetz paid $10 million in 2005-2010 to obtain mining rights over the vast Simandou iron ore project.

De Jure

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De Jure Law Journal has moved to a continuous publication model as from January 2019. This means that as soon as an article is ready to be published, it will be released online immediately, rather than waiting for other articles in the issue to be completed, resulting in faster access to the final version of the article.
This is a practice endorsed by reputable Journals both locally and internationally. The aim of continuous publication is to ensure that authors’ work is published with efficiency and speed without compromising on quality. Social media activity can be at the article-level. Articles are published as and when they are ready, so tweets can occur as frequently as articles are published rather than waiting on the issue publication.

Authors are encouraged to submit their contributions online.

Zimbabwe to replace empowerment law — finance minister

set to change its empowerment laws to allow empower in the .
http://bit.ly/2ODCGus

mining.com Foreign investors can now take majority stakes in the platinum and diamond sectors.

Vedanta launches arbitration in dispute with Zambia

Vedanta has launched arbitration proceedings with in response to Zambia attempt to liquidate Konkola Copper Mine.
http://bit.ly/31cZF0Z

mining.com Vedanta denies that KCM has broken the terms of its licence and says it will defend its assets in Zambia.

New Database Reveals Prominence of Tax Incentives in Mining - Intergovernmental Forum

In its recent publication, the IGF Mining has collated a collection of files comparing the fiscal regimes of 104 projects across 21 countries. It is the first large-scale, systematic attempt to compile incentives used by governments to attract mining investment. More information available at: https://www.igfmining.org/new-database-reveals-prominence-of-tax-incentives-in-mining/

igfmining.org Tax incentives granted to mining companies are debated across the globe. Why? Because unrealized mining revenue often contrasts with the lack of vital public resources and infrastructure.

Mineral-rich Ecuadorean province requests popular referendum on mining

Ecuadorean Government requests referendum on future mining projects

The Government of in Province has requested a referendum on the development of new mines in the Azuay province. This comes as a result of the future mining projects could have on this resource rich region.
http://bit.ly/312IJdo

mining.com Azuay province is home to several potentially lucrative gold, silver and copper projects.

Chinese firms to build gold smelter, refineries in Tanzania

http://bit.ly/2MlZFYh
has granted licenses to Chinese companies to build gold refineries in Tanzania.

mining.com The government said it had set up 28 mineral trading centres since March to improve revenue collection from small-scale miners.

Court approves historic R5bn settlement in silicosis saga

An end to the Silicosis Saga
The Johannesburg High Court handed down a historic judgment today by approving a R5bn settlement.
http://bit.ly/2Gvh9Oc

fin24.com The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has approved the historic R5bn settlement agreement in the lengthy silicosis case.

earmarks $400 Million for greenhouse gas reduction in operations. A step in the right direction for the .BHP is taking the lead in the fight against !
http://bit.ly/2Gqzlsq

Gwede keeps options open despite anti-fracking ruling

mg.co.za The minister of mineral resources and energy, Gwede Mantashe, has announced that his department will not be extracting gas by way of fracking