Centre for Environmental Rights – Advancing Environmental Rights in South Africa

On 5 May 2021 the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy published the Draft Artisanal and Small -Scale Mining Policy.

The public is invited to submit comments on the policy before 17 June 2021.

The objective of the policy is to foster the creation of a formalised artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) industry that can operate optimally in a sustainable manner while contributing to the economy in the form of taxes and royalties and through job creation, and for the elimination of illegal ASM operations.

The policy is divided into the following sections:

I. Definition of terms and objectives;
II. Differentiation of concepts;
III. Licensing regime and administration;
IV. Institutional and support mechanisms;
V. Taxation and royalty regime;
VI. Environmental, health, safety, and water use considerations;
VII. Government policy stance on illegal mining;
VIII. Reporting and accountability;
IX. Policy implementation, enforcement, monitoring and evaluation; and
X. Policy Review