Online Reporter
Farirai Machivenyika
Senior Reporter
THE Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill will require holders of mining claims to actively develop them and submit a detailed workplan; otherwise, they will lose out even if they are paying fees.
The new provisions are contained in Part XI of the Bill on Preservation of Mining Rights and are part of efforts to discourage holding mining rights for speculative purposes.
The Bill establishes a system of inspection certificates that protect mining rights for 12-month periods, contingent on compliance with development, environmental, and social obligations.
“No later than 30 days (or any other extension of that period not exceeding a further 30 days as the Provincial Mining Director may allow on good cause shown by the holder concerned) after the final registration of a mining block, mining lease or special grant, the holder thereof shall submit to the PMD the following (the failure to submit any of which shall be construed as abandonment of the block, lease or grant)-(a), a plan of work to be done in the next 12 months in connection with the block, mining lease or special grant concerned,” reads part of the Bill.
The work plan should include development work, production statistics, any other work, expenditure or development in connection with a mining location or a mining lease or a special grant that may be prescribed for this definition.
It also must include capital expenditure, which excludes expenditure incurred in the exercise of rights under an exclusive exploration licence.
The claim holder should also submit a copy of the statutory environmental impact assessment report, which must contain information on any work to be done to protect and restore the environment upon cessation of mining operations in the block, lease or mining location concerned.
A social responsibility certificate shall be issued to the holder of a mining lease or special grant if they are up to date with payment of development levies to the local authority in question, the depth of engagement with communities near the mining operations, implementation of fair labour practices and sensitivity to the cultural heritage of communities, among other considerations.
It also provides mechanisms for complaints by Rural District Councils and EMA and empowers the Minister of Mines and Mining Development to intervene in environmental emergencies and to direct holders of unutilised dumps to work them or attribute them to others.
