This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you consent to our use of cookies. Close

Africa Legal

Africa Legal

  • NEWS
  • JOBS
  • COURSES
  • CLIENTS
    • Sign in
    • Sign up
  • NEWS
  • COURSES
  • JOBS
    • Sign In
    • Sign Up
  • News
  • Courses
  • Jobs
  • Events
  • Business A-Z
  • Post a job
  • Contact Us
  • Clients
CLIENT SIGN IN
Country
  • Uganda
  • South Africa
  • Kenya
  • Nigeria
  • Cameroon
  • United Kingdom
  • Cote d'Ivoire
  • Ghana
  • Tanzania
  • Zambia
  • Botswana
  • Morocco
  • Zimbabwe
  • Mauritius
  • Mozambique
  • Sudan
  • Rwanda
  • Ethiopia
  • Angola
  • Egypt
  • Togo
  • Mali
  • South Sudan
  • Swaziland
  • Senegal
  • Malawi
  • France
  • Guinea
  • Middle East
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • Gambia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Germany
Category
  • Profiles
  • Analysis & Opinion
  • Career advice
  • In-house
  • Latest news
  • Press releases
  • Africa Legal Blog
  • Women in Law
  • Innovation
  • Human Rights
Practice area
  • Agriculture
  • Arbitration
  • Aviation
  • Banking and Finance
  • Capital markets
  • Charties and pro bono
  • Company commercial
  • Competition and antitrust
  • Construction and engineering
  • Consumer products
  • Conveyancing
  • Corporate finance and M&A
  • Criminal
  • Education
  • Employment and benefits
  • Energy and natural resources
  • Environmental
  • Financial services
  • Fraud & white collar crime
  • Funds
  • Governance | risk and compliance
  • Government and public sector
  • Health and safety
  • Healthcare and pharmaceuticals
  • Insurance/Reinsurance
  • Intellectual Property
  • Litigation and dispute resolution
  • Logistics and transportation
  • Manufacturing and Industrial
  • Pensions
  • Personal Injury
  • Private client and family
  • Private equity
  • Professional indemnity
  • Professional support/knowledge management
  • Projects and infrastructure
  • Real estate
  • Regulatory
  • Restructuring | insolvency and debt recovery
  • Shipping and maritime
  • Taxation
  • Technology media and telecoms
  • Travel and tourism
close

Registration

Registered Successfully!!!. We have sent you a confirmation email to your email address.
close


View My Saved News


close You must login to save your news
  • LOGIN
  • NEW USER

Login to your account

Forgotten your password?
or

Create an Account

close


View My Saved News


« Back

Preventing Illegal Mining: A Holistic and Collaborative Approach

In this podcast, Stephen Nthite, a director at Beech Veltman Incorporated, chats to Africa Legal’s Thomas Pearson about illegal mining in South Africa and how it intersects with the sector’s response to environmental and social governance.

Jun 05, 2023
Share

South Africa is a mineral resource-rich country, with precious metals like gold, diamonds and copper among others, but mining these commodities without authorised legislation is illegal and there are many ramifications to doing so, says Stephen Nthite.

Nthite has over 27 years’ experience in the legal sector, with a specific interest in occupational health and safety, environmental law and community engagement initiatives.

While some large scale mining companies and artisanal miners have licences to extract mineral resources, he says that illegal mining has become predominant in certain parts of the country. For example, in the Northwest province there are many alluvial diamonds and people could just dig a little hole and pick one up.

“There’s a lot of illegal mining activity going on there. Diamonds, unlike gold, are quite easy to handle and process. They don’t take a lot of engineering work and all of the stuff that’s required to deal with them. The only difficulty with diamonds and the environment has to do with mercury that the illegal miners use. It’s uncontrolled and unsupervised and sometimes extremely dangerous – not only to the lives of people around the illegal mining area, but also to the illegal miners themselves. Quite a lot of them have died as a result of exposure to mercury,” says Nthite.

However, following recommendations from a Human Rights Commission report, various South African government departments and the Mining Council have been working together to stop illegal mining.

Nthite says Beech Veltman Incorporated always advises their clients that if there is suspicion of illegal mining, the intelligence gathered should be handed over to government law enforcement agencies to deal with. 

He also stresses the importance of having a good working relationship with the communities in which the mines operate and to always consider social labour plans that benefit the local population, including training and reskilling.

“We advise our clients to have a collaborative approach with the surrounding communities, because if you don’t talk to them or you talk to them via the government, they see you as this outsider who has come to steal their minerals and run away with the exports and money.”

Click here to listen to the full podcast on Soundcloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.


To join Africa Legal's mailing list please click here

Copyright : Re-publication of this article is authorised only in the following circumstances; the writer and Africa Legal are both recognised as the author and the website address www.africa-legal.com and original article link are back linked. A bio for the writer can be provided on request.

RELATED CATEGORY NEWS

Africa’s place in the global energy ma Read more
Nigeria’s changing immigration landscape Read more
Analysing Africa’s Top 50 Read more

RELATED COUNTRY NEWS

Turning change into opportunity Read more
Excellence transcends prejudices and s Read more
Push for transparency in climate "poli Read more
Africa Legal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy and cookies policy
Members
  • Find a job
  • Take a course
  • Read news
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cancellations and refunds
Clients
  • Terms and conditions
  • Post a job
  • Host a course
  • Advertise
  • Share news
Connect with us
© Copyright 2023 | Africa Legal. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy