Industry retaliates, dismisses Zwane's proposed moratorium as 'unlawful'

An outraged Chamber of Mines (CoM) has dismissed Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s proposed moratorium on new mining right applications as “unlawful”, owing to the damage that the proposal might inflict on the embattled mining sector and because, according to the chamber’s legal team, Zwane is acting ‘ultra vires’, or beyond his powers, under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA). Zwane on Wednesday gazetted a proposal to restrict the granting of any new applications for prospecting or mining rights and the processing of applications for the renewal of prospecting or mining rights until the High Court delivers its judgment on an urgent interdict, lodged by the CoM, to have the third iteration of the Mining Charter (Mining Charter 3) set aside.