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Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002 (Act No. 28 of 2002)

Chapter 4 : Mineral and Environmental Regulation

50. Minister may Investigate occurrence, nature and extent of mineral resources

 

(1) The Minister may cause an investigation to be conducted on any land to establish if any mineral or geological formation occurs in, on or under such land and, if so, to establish the nature and extent thereof.

 

(2)
(a) The Minister must compensate the owner of the land in question if any loss or damage is caused during an investigation contemplated in subsection (1).
(b) The Minister and the owner of the land may agree upon the compensation to be paid.
(c) If no agreement is reached, the amount of compensation must be fixed by arbitration in terms of the Arbitration Act, 1965 (Act No. 42 of 1965), or by a competent court.

 

(3) No investigation may be conducted under subsection (1) unless—
(a) the Minister has published a notice in the Gazette—
(i) indicating an intention to conduct the investigation;
(ii) inviting written comments on the proposed investigation, specifying an address to which and the date before which comments must be submitted; and
(iii) calling on the owner, occupier or person in control of such land to furnish the Minister with his or her particulars, if such owner, occupier or person is not known to the Minister;
(b) the Minister has considered any comments received; and
(c) a period of 30 days has lapsed after the Minister published the notice.

 

(4)
(a) No person may for the purposes of an investigation contemplated in subsection (1) enter upon land unless the owner, occupier or person in control of such land has been notified in writing of the intention to enter and to conduct the investigation.
(b) If the owner, occupier or person in control of the land in question cannot be traced, a copy of the notice contemplated in paragraph (a) must be affixed at a prominent place on the land before the investigation may be conducted.

 

(5) Any investigation in terms of this section must be conducted in a manner which limits or prevents any detrimental effect to the land and the environment.