Mineral Resources Development Bill awaits Cabinet after legal certification

South Africa's long-promised overhaul of its principal mining law has yet to reach Parliament. Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe told the National Assembly during his budget vote on 19 May 2026 that the Mineral Resources Development Bill was being certified by the Office of the Chief State Law Advisor, after which it would go back to Cabinet for approval before being introduced to Parliament.

What the Bill proposes

Cabinet approved the draft for public comment in May 2025, alongside the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy, and the department published it later that month with a comment deadline of 13 August 2025. The Bill would amend the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2002, which will cover only minerals now that petroleum has moved to the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act of 2024.

Its stated aims include faster licensing, new permits for artisanal and small-scale mining, revised definitions of community and meaningful consultation, and stronger promotion of local beneficiation. It would also give the Mining Charter a firmer legal footing, which the industry fears could reopen the 'once empowered, always empowered' dispute it won in court in 2021.

Early corrections

In early June 2025 Mantashe issued an erratum that removed two contentious provisions: an empowerment requirement for prospecting rights and a clause requiring ministerial consent for changes in control of listed companies. Lawyers at Bowmans said the corrections helped but that the revised treatment of 'an interest' in unlisted companies could still require ministerial approval for routine transactions such as share buybacks and employee share schemes.

Industry position

The Minerals Council South Africa submitted a detailed response and has said the Bill in its current form does not support the growth and investment the sector needs. It has chosen engagement with the department over litigation for now.

What next

Once Cabinet signs off, the Bill will be tabled and referred to the Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources, which must run its own public participation process. With exploration spending in South Africa having shrunk to less than 1% of the global total, investors are watching whether the final text reduces or adds to regulatory risk.

Sources

• SAnews: Mantashe tables department's budget, 19 May 2026
• Minerals Council South Africa: Mineral Resources Development Bill, 18 Aug 2025
• Miningmx: Tinkering with reform puts SA mining in limbo again, 17 Dec 2025
• Daily Maverick: Mantashe withdraws BEE proposals for draft Bill on mining exploration, 11 Jun 2025
• Natural Justice: Factsheet: Mineral Resources Development Amendment Bill (MRDB), 12 Aug 2025

Photo: Gwede Mantashe, South Africa's Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. US Embassy South Africa, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.