South Africa: Mining

South Africa's diesel refund scheme has long provided fiscal relief to mining operations, but its legislative framework struggles to accommodate modern contractual arrangements like wet contracts and joint ventures. Recent Supreme Court of Appeal judgments and 2022 amendments are reshaping how mining companies can access these vital refunds, though significant gaps remain between commercial reality and legal requirements.

Africa's mining sector is undergoing significant transformation as governments implement new regulatory frameworks and policies aimed at capturing greater value from critical minerals.

South Africa's artisanal and small-scale mining sector is undergoing significant transformation through progressive policy and legislative reforms aimed at formalisation and legitimisation. How do recent developments, including the 2022 ASM Policy and the 2025 Draft Mineral Resources Development Bill, seek to balance broader participation in mining with environmental safeguards while distinguishing lawful small-scale operations from illegal mining activities?

Across decades of advising multinational mining houses, manufacturers and institutional investors in multiple jurisdictions, our practice has worked on the basis that global minerals markets...

The principle of permanent sovereignty of nations over natural resources has anchored the international economic order since the United Nations adopted it in 1962.

On Friday, 28 March 2025, Notice 6052 was published in Government Gazette No. 52388, in terms of which the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources...

In the complex landscape of African mining, particularly in South Africa, the concept of sustainable development has long been a point of contention.

​The 2025 Mining Indaba theme, "Futureproofing African mining, today," compels us to reflect on the legacies mining companies create and the responsibilities they shoulder in shaping the lives of communities long after mining activities have ceased.

The stakes are high, and the benefits could be transformative. A strategic and sustainable approach to developing these resources could attract billions of dollars in foreign direct investment (FDI), catalysing infrastructure development, creating thousands of jobs (primary, secondary and tertiary), and fostering lasting socio-economic upliftment.