Service provider finally appointed to design new mining licensing system
The department of mineral resources & energy (DMRE) has announced the eagerly anticipated appointment of a service provider to design, implement and maintain a new mining licensing system.
The department said on Wednesday that it has selected PMG Consortium to develop the online system.
The mining sector has been lobbying the government for years to replace the “dysfunctional and outdated” SA Mineral Resources Administration System (Samrad), which is operated by the department, with a new, transparent and reliable cadastre.
A mining cadastre is an official record of valid mining rights, their expiry date, location and the minerals in question. The inefficiencies of Samrad have resulted in a backlog of thousands of unprocessed mining and prospecting licences.
In July 2023 the department finally agreed to do as the industry had been suggesting for several years: to select a technology provider and purchase an offthe-shelf cadastral system.
Included in the PMG Consortium is Canada-based Pacific GeoTech Systems, which has provided digital land resource management and permitting systems for Canadian provincial governments for more than two decades.
Another member is MITS Institute, an SA information and communications technology company, and Gemini GIS, which is a wholly womenowned empowerment geological services company led by MD Andiswa Silinga.
Silinga worked for De Beers and Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum before starting Gemini in 2008.
Paul Miller, director of business development consultancy AmaranthCX welcomed the news but said it will probably take a year or more before the public will start to see any results.
It will still be up to the DMRE to have all the requisite hardware, such as computers, servers and a working network, in place on which the software will run.
In addition, all data on the Samrad system will have to be migrated to the new system, he said.
“The previous migration to Samrad was a disaster; this must be avoided this time,” Miller said.
The DMRE will also have to find a way to resolve disputes, such as competing mining rights, which may arise in the process. “I expect it will be at least a year before the public will have view of the data,” Miller said.
Minerals Council SA also welcomed the announcement, adding it said it was looking forward to engaging with the DMRE about the new cadastral system, how it will be implemented, the timeline needed to populate the new system using data from paper records and those still on the Samrad database to efficiently process mineral right applications.
“The new cadastre will expedite the processing of prospecting and mineral rights applications, shortening the adjudication of applications. We can anticipate a near-term positive turnaround in the prospects of the industry through increased investment and future growth of mining and stimulus to the economy,” said CEO Mzila Mthenjane.
The DMRE has been struggling for years to clear a backlog of applications for mining rights, prospecting rights, and mining permit applications and renewals.
The Minerals Council has estimated the backlog at more than 3,000 prospecting and mining rights with a potential investment value of more than R30bn.