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 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.
- Projects and Infrastructure.
- Competition.
- Insurance.
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
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
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
Commercial
- Exploration and prospecting agreements
- Development agreements
- Royalty agreements
- Contractor agreements
- Off-take and supply agreements
- Services and management agreements
Regulatory
- Mining title opinions
- Regulatory applications
- Advice on all aspects of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and compliance therewith
- 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
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
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
Financing
- Acquisition finance
- Preference share funding
- Commodity and leveraged finance
- Listings, IPOs and capital raises
Business Rescue, Restructuring & Insolvency
- Care and maintenance
- Financial corporate overexposure and managing restructuring debt
- Business rescue
- Liquidation proceedings and sequestration
Projects & Energy
- Public Private Partnerships
- Joint ventures, pool and share agreements and PPPs
- Section 53 applications for approval to use the surface of land for projects
Property
- Lease and land use agreements
- Liaising with communities and Department of Rural Development and Land Reform regarding community land
Competition Law
- Preparing merger notification documents
- Merger investigation proceedings and representation at merger hearings
- Advice on all aspects of competition law
Insurance
- Policy
- Risk management issues
Tax & Exchange Control
- Corporate and mining taxation
- Structuring
- Exchange control
- Customs and excise
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 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.
- Projects and Infrastructure.
- Competition.
- Insurance.
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
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
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
Commercial
- Exploration and prospecting agreements
- Development agreements
- Royalty agreements
- Contractor agreements
- Off-take and supply agreements
- Services and management agreements
Regulatory
- Mining title opinions
- Regulatory applications
- Advice on all aspects of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act and compliance therewith
- 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
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
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
Financing
- Acquisition finance
- Preference share funding
- Commodity and leveraged finance
- Listings, IPOs and capital raises
Business Rescue, Restructuring & Insolvency
- Care and maintenance
- Financial corporate overexposure and managing restructuring debt
- Business rescue
- Liquidation proceedings and sequestration
Projects & Energy
- Public Private Partnerships
- Joint ventures, pool and share agreements and PPPs
- Section 53 applications for approval to use the surface of land for projects
Property
- Lease and land use agreements
- Liaising with communities and Department of Rural Development and Land Reform regarding community land
Competition Law
- Preparing merger notification documents
- Merger investigation proceedings and representation at merger hearings
- Advice on all aspects of competition law
Insurance
- Policy
- Risk management issues
Tax & Exchange Control
- Corporate and mining taxation
- Structuring
- Exchange control
- Customs and excise
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 newsRevisiting an old gem in the circularity era: Reprocessing of tailings under the Ataqua judgment
According to PwC’s SA Mine 2024 report (Report), which was released on 1 October 2024, “ The South African mining sector has experienced a hive of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the past year. ” The Report notes a total deal value of $10 billion across 32 deals in the 12-month period ending 30 June2024.
Financing mining projects: Thinking out of the box to unlock Africa’s mining potential
The African mining sector, rich in resources but often constrained by financing challenges, is at a crossroads. Traditionally, mining companies have relied on conventional financing methods to fund exploration, development and expansion projects. These methods – primarily equity financing, bank loans and project financing – have long been the ‘go-to’ options for raising capital. However, in today’s volatile economic environment, especially in emerging markets like Africa, these traditional models come at a significantcost.
Mining on the same land for the same mineral: The overlapping rights conundrum
It has become the new norm for applications to be submitted for prospecting/mining rights over land where a right to mine has already been granted over the same land and for the samemineral.
Market recognition
Our Mining & Minerals team is externally praised for its depth of resources, capabilities and experience.
- Chambers Global 2017–2024 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 2012–2023 recommended us in Tier 2 for mining.
- IFLR1000 2016–2023 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 2017–2024 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 2012–2023 recommended us in Tier 2 for mining.
- IFLR1000 2016–2023 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