by Garyn Rapson, Gillian Niven & Paula-Ann Novotny at Webber Wentzel

On 17 January 2020, the long-awaited notice extending the transitional timeframe for compliance with the Financial Provisioning Regulations, 2015 (FP Regulations) was published by Minister Creecy (Extension Notice).

In terms of the Extension Notice, the applicable MPRDA rights holders now have until 19 June 2021 to comply with the FP Regulations and shall, until this date, be regarded as having complied with the FP Regulations if compliant with the financial provisioning requirements applicable under the approved MPRDA right.

The Extension Notice will no doubt be a welcomed relief for the cash-stricken mining industry, and will further allow the required time for the supporting legislative developments to be finalised (such as the revived NEMLAA4 Bill and the split of petroleum resource regulation from the MPRDA).

Webber Wentzel is expecting a third draft of the replacement financial provisioning regulations to be published this year for a further round of consultation. The Process will be monitored.