Pretoria - The moratorium on new applications for prospecting rights in mining has been extended, the Mineral Resources Department said on Monday.
The moratorium was imposed at the beginning of September last year to allow the department to conduct a full audit of all mining and prospecting licences granted since 2004.
In a notice issued in a government gazette, Minister Susan Shabangu effectively amended the original date in respect of new applications for prospecting rights.
"This means that the moratorium in all regions of our country, except Mpumalanga, is being extended until 31 March 2011," Shabangu's spokesperson Bheki Khumalo said.
The moratorium for the Mpumalanga region has been extended to 30 September 2011.
The department has indicated that more work will still have to be undertaken in this region with regard to the twin challenges of mining and the environment.
The moratorium, according to Khumalo, does not affect the processing of existing prospecting and mining right applications that were received before 01 September 2010, or even the renewal thereof.
