South African mining firms must apply for new mineral rights by the second quarter of next year after the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, announced the deadline at the Indaba African mining conference.

"Under this law, South Africa's Government has taken over as custodian of mineral rights, and all companies must reapply for mining and prospecting licences," she said.

Ms Sonjica urged mining firms not to wait until the April 30th 2009 deadline to submit their allocations.

Since the introduction of South Africa's mining charter in 2004, all mining rights are transferred to the Government and they are only returned when the mining companies meet a list of conditions, Reuters reports.

A law formalising the processing of minerals could be completed by the end of 2008 as the Government want more processing to be carried out in South Africa to bring jobs and revenue.

Ms Sonjica also advised firms to be energy efficient and innovative during the electricity crisis that has rocked the industry.

About 90 per cent of power has been restored to mines since the power cuts began and load shifting has been reduced.

Sources:

S.Africa pushes ahead with mining rights deadline, 05/02/08
http://africa.reuters.com/business/news/usnBAN527556.html

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