Significant progress has been made in the adjudication of mining licence applications since the beginning of the last calendar year. A total of One Thousand and Eleven (1011) prospecting right applications were finalised and Two Hundred and Seven (207) mining right applications were finalised. In addition, 96 Social and Labour plans were finalised.
The Challenges experienced included the inordinate number of appeals that accompany each application. In addition, the delays in filling of vacancies exacerbated the situation.