The Mineral Resources Authority has discussed the revised Mining Act stating that Social licenses should be maintained across mines and where its footprints are.
Managing Director of MRA, Jerry Garry raised this during his presentation at the Community Affairs and Media Workshop this week.
He said: “When the State gives a mining lease or special mining lease, we are giving that license holder the rights to mine. But the people who own the land, hold the social license. So how do we maintain that social license and is it a responsibility that should be co-shared by every stakeholder?
“These are the kind of questions that we need to ask because at MRA we have signed a lot of MoAs and to date we have K500 million outstanding MoA commitments because the State does not have the funds to fund those projects.”
Mr Garry said all partners in a project need to find a ways as to how we should maintain the social license across our mines and where our footprints are.”
Meanwhile, he also touched on the proposed Mine and Works Safety and Health bill 2021, that would replace the Mine and Safety Act 1972. That bill has been workshopped in regional centers and there will be one to one consultation for stakeholder input.
“Two things to come out of the bill, in section 4c of the draft Mine Safety and Health Bill states that to protect persons whose safety or health has been affected by operation of mine or works.
“This mean that the power of the inspectors will be slightly beyond the tenement boundaries just to look at potential consequences of the activities on the community.
“This is something that has been introduced and we would like to you to contribute to that so we can see where we can all agree to safeguard communities.”
“The other section that affects community affairs is section 55 of the bill where it states that all personnel employed by the mine must reside on the mine to ensure staff rest in a conducive environment and are fit for duty and ensure health and safety standards are upheld.