Mining Right Applications.
Mining rights and mining permits under the MPRDA: the work programme, the social and labour plan, the environmental authorisation, financial provision and the consultation record — run as one workstream from lodgement through grant to registration. Fixed fees, agreed in writing, departmental fees included.
You apply through SAMRAD under the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002. A mining permit under section 27 suits areas of 5 hectares or less mineable within two years. Everything larger or longer needs a full mining right under section 22, which requires a mining work programme, environmental authorisation, a social and labour plan and proof of financial and technical capability.
Governing legislation: Sections 22, 23 and 27 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002, read with section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-17
This is the first step of your mining right application. No payment is needed to begin, and the eligibility check is step one inside the application.
Expiring prospecting right, a funder condition or a compliance notice? Call or WhatsApp us — these files are triaged the same day.
Four workstreams, one file.
A mining right is not one application. It is a mining work programme, a social and labour plan, an environmental authorisation and a consultation record that all have to arrive together and agree with each other. We run them in parallel from day one instead of discovering the gap at month nine.
Mining rights & permits
Full mining right applications, and mining permits for operations on 5 hectares or less, lodged on the departmental portal.
Work programme & mine plan
The mining work programme and production plan prepared with your technical team so it matches what you will actually build.
Social & labour plans
SLPs drafted to the regulations and aligned with the host municipality's IDP — realistic commitments you can report against for years.
Environmental & financial provision
Environmental authorisation, EMPr, closure planning and quantified financial provision for rehabilitation.
Consultation & mining charter
Landowner, occupier and community consultation recorded to survive appeal, and the ownership and charter position evidenced.
Amendments & compliance
Section 102 amendments, renewals, annual SLP and charter reporting, audits and remedying breaches before enforcement.
Free assessment
Six questions. We tell you whether this is a permit or a right, and what is missing.
Fixed mandate letter
A written mandate letter confirms the fixed fee, deliverables, exclusions and timeline before work starts.
We prepare & lodge
Work programme, SLP, environmental filing and consultation prepared and lodged together.
Through to registration
We answer the department's queries, then execute and register the granted right.
Three ways to engage us.
Every mandate is quoted upfront in writing, all-in — departmental application and registration fees included. You'll know the number before you commit.
A mining permit for a small operation on an area of 5 hectares or less, prepared and lodged through to grant.
- Mining permit application drafted and lodged on the departmental portal
- Mining work programme prepared with your technical team
- Landowner and community consultation run and recorded
- Environmental authorisation and EMPr coordinated in the same programme
- Financial provision for rehabilitation quantified and lodged
- All departmental application fees included
A full mining right application under the MPRDA, run from lodgement through grant to notarial execution and registration.
- Application drafted and lodged on the departmental portal
- Mining work programme and mine plan prepared with your technical team
- Social and labour plan drafted to the regulations, with municipal IDP alignment
- Mining charter and B-BBEE ownership position structured and evidenced
- Landowner, occupier and community consultation run and properly recorded
- Environmental authorisation, EMPr and financial provision coordinated
- Notarial execution and registration at the Mineral and Petroleum Titles Registration Office
- All departmental application and registration fees included
Ongoing regulatory support for an operating mine with several rights, permits and reporting deadlines.
- Multiple rights, permits and renewals managed on one compliance calendar
- Annual SLP, mining charter and workplace skills reporting
- Section 102 amendments to the right, area or work programme
- Licence-condition audits and remedying breaches before enforcement
- Mine health and safety compliance support and inspectorate dealings
- A named lead advisor and project manager
All-in fixed fees, with no hidden fees. Our professional work, the drafted application, work programme and social and labour plan, the consultation process, the departmental application and registration fees, notarial execution and all dealings with the department until a decision are included. Mine engineering design, geological and specialist environmental fieldwork, the financial provision itself and SLP project implementation costs fall outside the fee.
How long it actually takes.
We separate our preparation time, which we control, from the authority's decision time, which we do not. Ranges are based on comparable files.
Mining permit (5 hectares or less)
Mining right application
Notarial execution & registration
Section 102 amendment
Renewal
We cannot guarantee a government decision date. What we do guarantee is a complete file, lodged on time, with every query answered until a decision is issued.
Mining regulatory team
Led by a named advisor on every file
Dynamic Legal Services (Pty) Ltd
Offices in Pretoria (Faerie Glen) and Sandton (Sandown) — serving all nine provinces
087 153 6207 · support@dlegal.co.za
Why clients hand us the file.
- The social and labour plan is where most mining rights stall, and where over-promising creates a decade of reporting problems. We keep the commitments deliverable.
- Environmental authorisation and the mining right have to move together — running them sequentially adds a year.
- Consultation records are the most successful ground of appeal against a granted right. We build the record to be defended.
- A granted right that is not notarially executed and registered is not secure. We take the file to registration.
- For operating mines we run one compliance calendar across rights, renewals, SLP reporting and charter obligations.
Your application starts here.
One application. Answer a few questions, see exactly which route applies to you and what it costs, then send it through. Documents can follow later, and nothing is payable to open the file.
Start your mining right application.
Six quick questions. We tell you whether you need a mining permit or a full mining right, what is still missing, and what the route to grant looks like. Nothing to pay to start.
Step 1 of your application
What do you need?
Guides
Understand the process before you commit.
Prospecting rights
The open-ground check, the work programme and the consultation record that precede a mining right.
Read the guideSection 11 transfers
Selling, ceding or changing control of a mining right, and the ministerial consent that makes it valid.
Read the guideEnvironmental authorisation
The NEMA side of a mining file: which listed activities you trigger and how the assessment route works.
Read the guideQuestions
Straight answers before you apply.
What does a mining right application require?
A mining right application under the MPRDA needs a mining work programme and mine plan, a social and labour plan compliant with the regulations, an environmental authorisation and environmental management programme, quantified financial provision for rehabilitation, evidence of technical and financial capability, a mining charter and B-BBEE position, and a properly recorded consultation with landowners, occupiers and affected communities.
How long does a mining right take?
We take 8 to 16 weeks to prepare and lodge once the technical and environmental inputs are in. Departmental acceptance and the decision typically run 12 to 24 months, with notarial execution and registration adding a further 2 to 4 months after grant. Files stall most often on the social and labour plan and the environmental authorisation, so we run those in parallel from the start.
What does it cost?
R225,000 all-in for a small-scale mining permit, R475,000 all-in for a full mining right application through to registration, and R600,000 scoped for an ongoing operational mandate. Each is fixed in writing before any work starts and includes the departmental application and registration fees.
Where do you work?
From our offices in Pretoria (Faerie Glen) and Sandton (Sandown) we act for mining and exploration clients across all provinces, most frequently in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the North West and the Northern Cape.
Need a mining right lodged this quarter?
Book a confidential consultation. We respond within one business day.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-17
Written and reviewed by Dynamic Legal Services (Pty) Ltd, registration 2016/074955/07. Registered with the Department of Water and Sanitation, EAPASA applicant. Offices in Faerie Glen, Pretoria and Sandown, Sandton. Telephone 087 153 6207, support@dlegal.co.za. General information on South African regulatory practice, not advice on a specific matter — the first consultation is free.