Mining & Minerals Sector Services
Our team is multi-disciplinary and includes a number of leading legal experts across a broad range of areas of specialty. Our immersive and longstanding association with the resources sector means we have sound, practical knowledge and are capable of offering a full range of services in a comprehensive and commercial way.
Our lawyers are highly skilled and have extensive experience. We are a solution driven and dynamic team and are well placed to offer relevant advice at a strategic level as well as advising on day-to-day legal issues.
Our Services include:
- Transactional
- Commercial
- Black Economic Empowerment
- Regulatory
- Commercial Disputes
- Health and Safety
- Employment
- Environmental
- Business Rescue, Restructuring and Insolvency
- Property
- Tax
- Financing
- Construction
- Projects and Infrastructure
- Competition
- Corporate & White Collar Investigations
Transactional
- Mergers, acquisitions and disposals, including cross-border transactions
- Joint ventures and partnerships
- Private equity
- Foreign direct investment
- Listings, IPOs, capital raises
- Corporate structuring and restructuring
- Due diligence investigations and risk identification
- Share incentive schemes
Lawyers
Black Economic Empowerment
- Mining Charter
- BEE structuring and transactions
- Broad-based schemes and employee share ownership schemes
- BEE strategies
- Registration of empowerment trusts
- Community projects
Lawyers
Commercial
- Exploration and prospecting agreements
- Development agreements
- Royalty agreements
- Contractor agreements
- Off-take and supply agreements
- Services and management agreements
Lawyers
Commercial disputes
Regulatory
- Mining title opinions
- Regulatory applications
- Advice on all aspects of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and compliance therewith
- Human Rights and sustainable practises
- Section 11 applications for the transfer of mineral rights and/or shareholdings
- Section 102 applications for the amendment of mineral rights
- Notarial executions and registration of rights
Lawyers
Health & Safety
- Legal compliance reviews
- Reporting safety incidents
- Statutory appointments
- Mine health and safety investigations, inquiries, compliance audits and legal proceedings
- Reviews and appeals in respect of closures
- Staff training and employee education
Lawyers
Employment Law
- All employment aspects of restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, redundancies and business transfers
- Litigation and dispute resolution, including private conciliation and arbitration
- Employee relations and strategic planning
- Training and development
- Restraint of trade
Lawyers
Environmental Law
- All aspects of environmental compliance
- Planning issues and environmental impact assessments
- Programme development
- Environmental litigation, appeals and objections
- Land use and heritage law
- Advising on financial provisions for rehabilitation
Lawyers
Corporate Debt, Turnaround & Restructuring
- Care and maintenance
- Financial corporate overexposure and managing restructuring debt
- Business rescue
- Liquidation proceedings and sequestration
Lawyers
Property
- Lease and land use agreements
- Liaising with communities and Department of Rural Development and Land Reform regarding community land
Lawyers
Financing
- Acquisition finance
- Preference share funding
- Commodity and leveraged finance
- Listings, IPOs and capital raises
Lawyers
Projects & Infrastructure
- Public Private Partnerships
- Joint ventures, pool and share agreements and PPPs
- Section 53 applications for approval to use the surface of land for projects
- Renewable Energy Projects
Lawyers
Construction & Engineering
- Energy (renewable and fossil fuel)
- Transport
- Infrastructure
- Mining
- Process plants
- Civil construction
Lawyers
- Clive Rumsey
Competition Law
- Preparing merger notification documents
- Merger investigation proceedings and representation at merger hearings
- Advice on all aspects of competition law
Lawyers
Tax & Exchange Control
Corporate & White Collar Investigations
- Implementing best practice
- Preventative policies and training programmes to combat corporate crime
- Leading simple to widespread and complex internal investigations and forensic audits
- Protecting organisations from financial and non-financial damages caused by fraudulent and corrupt activities
- Assisting corporations understand and abide by the local and international laws and regulatory frameworks implemented by governments to identify and eliminate corporate crime
- Strategically reacting and responding to allegations of fraud, bribery, tax evasion, collusion and the like
- Negotiating and collaborating with regulatory authorities on behalf of clients
Mining & Minerals Sector Brochures
Services
Mining & Minerals Sector Services
Our team is multi-disciplinary and includes a number of leading legal experts across a broad range of areas of specialty. Our immersive and longstanding association with the resources sector means we have sound, practical knowledge and are capable of offering a full range of services in a comprehensive and commercial way.
Our lawyers are highly skilled and have extensive experience. We are a solution driven and dynamic team and are well placed to offer relevant advice at a strategic level as well as advising on day-to-day legal issues.
Our Services include:
- Transactional
- Commercial
- Black Economic Empowerment
- Regulatory
- Commercial Disputes
- Health and Safety
- Employment
- Environmental
- Business Rescue, Restructuring and Insolvency
- Property
- Tax
- Financing
- Construction
- Projects and Infrastructure
- Competition
- Corporate & White Collar Investigations
Transactional
- Mergers, acquisitions and disposals, including cross-border transactions
- Joint ventures and partnerships
- Private equity
- Foreign direct investment
- Listings, IPOs, capital raises
- Corporate structuring and restructuring
- Due diligence investigations and risk identification
- Share incentive schemes
Lawyers
Black Economic Empowerment
- Mining Charter
- BEE structuring and transactions
- Broad-based schemes and employee share ownership schemes
- BEE strategies
- Registration of empowerment trusts
- Community projects
Lawyers
Commercial
- Exploration and prospecting agreements
- Development agreements
- Royalty agreements
- Contractor agreements
- Off-take and supply agreements
- Services and management agreements
Lawyers
Commercial disputes
Regulatory
- Mining title opinions
- Regulatory applications
- Advice on all aspects of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and compliance therewith
- Human Rights and sustainable practises
- Section 11 applications for the transfer of mineral rights and/or shareholdings
- Section 102 applications for the amendment of mineral rights
- Notarial executions and registration of rights
Lawyers
Health & Safety
- Legal compliance reviews
- Reporting safety incidents
- Statutory appointments
- Mine health and safety investigations, inquiries, compliance audits and legal proceedings
- Reviews and appeals in respect of closures
- Staff training and employee education
Lawyers
Employment Law
- All employment aspects of restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, redundancies and business transfers
- Litigation and dispute resolution, including private conciliation and arbitration
- Employee relations and strategic planning
- Training and development
- Restraint of trade
Lawyers
Environmental Law
- All aspects of environmental compliance
- Planning issues and environmental impact assessments
- Programme development
- Environmental litigation, appeals and objections
- Land use and heritage law
- Advising on financial provisions for rehabilitation
Lawyers
Corporate Debt, Turnaround & Restructuring
- Care and maintenance
- Financial corporate overexposure and managing restructuring debt
- Business rescue
- Liquidation proceedings and sequestration
Lawyers
Property
- Lease and land use agreements
- Liaising with communities and Department of Rural Development and Land Reform regarding community land
Lawyers
Financing
- Acquisition finance
- Preference share funding
- Commodity and leveraged finance
- Listings, IPOs and capital raises
Lawyers
Projects & Infrastructure
- Public Private Partnerships
- Joint ventures, pool and share agreements and PPPs
- Section 53 applications for approval to use the surface of land for projects
- Renewable Energy Projects
Lawyers
Construction & Engineering
- Energy (renewable and fossil fuel)
- Transport
- Infrastructure
- Mining
- Process plants
- Civil construction
Lawyers
- Clive Rumsey
Competition Law
- Preparing merger notification documents
- Merger investigation proceedings and representation at merger hearings
- Advice on all aspects of competition law
Lawyers
Tax & Exchange Control
Corporate & White Collar Investigations
- Implementing best practice
- Preventative policies and training programmes to combat corporate crime
- Leading simple to widespread and complex internal investigations and forensic audits
- Protecting organisations from financial and non-financial damages caused by fraudulent and corrupt activities
- Assisting corporations understand and abide by the local and international laws and regulatory frameworks implemented by governments to identify and eliminate corporate crime
- Strategically reacting and responding to allegations of fraud, bribery, tax evasion, collusion and the like
- Negotiating and collaborating with regulatory authorities on behalf of clients
Brochures
Mining & Minerals Sector Brochures
Mining & Minerals Lawyers
Our Mining & Minerals team has been involved in many of the largest and most prominent and complex resource industry transactions and matters in South, East, and sub-Saharan Africa, including recent headline landmark black economic empowerment (BEE) transactions.
Our Mining & Minerals LawyersSECTOR HEAD
Mining & Minerals News
More newsSeized and suspended: Is your mining investment safe from political crises?
Earlier this year, Barrick Gold, a leading Canadian mining company, temporarily suspended operations at its Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali following the seizure of gold stocks by the Malian junta amid an ongoing revenue dispute and an interim attachment order. The seizure marked a significant escalation in the tensions between Barrick Gold and the Malian Government, which had been worsening over the past months due to a protracted financial disagreement.
Digging for alignment: Africa’s ESG crossroads
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have become central to the legal and commercial landscape of global mining, shaping investor risk appetite, regulatory compliance and community engagement. For Africa, home to vast reserves of critical minerals, the question is no longer whether to integrate ESG, but how, and under which legal framework.
Is your mining investment safe? What the Expropriation Act means for South Africa’s mining sector
The Expropriation Act enables the South African Government to acquire property either for public purposes – such as roads, schools or utility infrastructure – or in the public interest, particularly for land reform. What sets this Act apart from its predecessor is its explicit provision for expropriation without compensation in exceptional cases. Examples include abandoned land, property not being used in a socially productive manner, or where the state has historically invested significantly in developing the property. These cases are, by design, narrow. The Act does not give the state carte blanche to seize property arbitrarily – nor does it negate compensation as a rule. Instead, it introduces a broader definition of justice, which takes into account the past as well as the present.
Market recognition
Our Mining & Minerals team is externally praised for its depth of resources, capabilities and experience.
- Chambers Global 2017–2025 ranked our Mining & Minerals sector in Band 2 for energy & natural resources: mining.
- Chambers Global 2012–2016 ranked our Mining & Minerals sector in Band 3 for energy & natural resources: mining.
- The Legal 500 EMEA 2012–2025 recommended us in Tier 2 for mining.
- IFLR1000 2016–2024 ranked us in Tier 2 for project development: mining.
Market recognition
Our Mining & Minerals team is externally praised for its depth of resources, capabilities and experience.
- Chambers Global 2017–2025 ranked our Mining & Minerals sector in Band 2 for energy & natural resources: mining.
- Chambers Global 2012–2016 ranked our Mining & Minerals sector in Band 3 for energy & natural resources: mining.
- The Legal 500 EMEA 2012–2025 recommended us in Tier 2 for mining.
- IFLR1000 2016–2024 ranked us in Tier 2 for project development: mining.
Happy Clients
"The team is very commercially aware. It is in touch with current trends both locally and internationally and always strives to bring these perspectives in their work."
Chambers Global 2024
"Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr is a very good law firm and I am very happy with the service. Its is responsive and gets the work done."
Chambers Global 2024