ISD AcademyInstitute for Social Dialogue
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What this course is about

The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) is the law at the centre of every mine in South Africa. This course explains, in plain language, what the Act says about who owns minerals, how rights are granted, what communities are entitled to, and how decisions can be challenged, so that learners can take part in decisions with confidence.

Who it is for

Community members, ward and traditional structures, mine employees, union representatives, municipal officials and anyone who wants to understand the legal ground beneath a mine. Recommended directly after Course 1.

What you will be able to do

  1. Explain State custodianship of mineral resources and the purpose of the MPRDA.
  2. Distinguish prospecting rights, mining rights and mining permits, and identify which require a Social and Labour Plan.
  3. Describe what the 2020 amended MPRDA Regulations require for consultation with mine communities.
  4. Explain how a decision under the MPRDA can be challenged and what is changing in the law.

Preview: the first two minutes

Module 1 · Introduction · 2 min

An elderly woman shows her granddaughter an old envelope of family papers at a kitchen table.

Animated scene (fictional, Kopano, 2001 and 2004): a family who once held mineral rights under the old system watches the new Act arrive. A narrator asks: who decides what lies under the land now?

Modules

  1. Module 1 · 18 min

    Who owns the minerals: the State as custodian

    Explain State custodianship of mineral resources and the purpose of the MPRDA.

  2. Module 2 · 18 min

    Rights and permits, and what attaches to each

    Distinguish prospecting rights, mining rights and mining permits, and identify which require a Social and Labour Plan.

  3. Module 3 · 18 min

    Consultation and communities under the 2020 regulations

    Describe what the 2020 amended MPRDA Regulations require for consultation with mine communities.

  4. Module 4 · 18 min

    Challenging decisions and what is changing

    Explain how a decision under the MPRDA can be challenged and what is changing in the law.

Go deeper

Optional, outside the 72 minutes.

Sources

Understanding the MPRDA | ISD Academy