Mineral royalties : a preview of the development of Mineral Royalty legislation in South Africa

Abstract

A dynamic shift in the ownership, management and development of the country’s mineral heritage took place after the inauguration of the new political dispensation in South Africa in 1994. This resulted in the enactment of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (28/2002) (MPRDA) in 2002. In accordance with the MPRDA the country’s mineral and petroleum resources are the common heritage of the people of South Africa and the State acts as the custodian of these resources for the benefit of all people. In this capacity, the State may determine and levy a fee or consideration payable in respect of these resources. The Minerals and Petroleum Resources Royalty Act (28/2008) (MPRRA) was enacted on 24 November 2008 to impose a mineral royalty on the extraction of South Africa’s mineral resources to compensate the nation for the depletion of its mineral wealth. This legislation is likely to have a significant impact on the South African mining industry. The aim of this study was to review the development of this legislation to gain an understanding of the issues considered when it was developed and to identify certain aspects of the MPRRA that may require further research in order to be improved in future. The analysis consists of a qualitative comparison of the draft versions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Royalty Bill (MPRRB) and related commentary. The study recommends that legislators reconsider the level of royalties to be levied as well as the mechanism contained in the MPRRA to promote downstream beneficiation to ensure optimal benefits from extracting the nation’s mineral resources. Further research of these aspects could improve the South African mineral royalty regime in future. Copyright