| (1) | Subject to section 48 of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act 2003 (Act No. 57 of 2003), and subsection (2), no reconnaissance permission, prospecting right, mining right may be granted or mining permit be issued in respect of— |
[Words preceding section 48(1)(a) substituted by section 39 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Act, 2008]
| (a) | land comprising a residential area; |
| (b) | any public road, railway or cemetery; |
| (c) | any land being used for public or government purposes or reserved in terms of any other law; or |
| (2) | A reconnaissance permission, prospecting right, mining right or mining permit may be issued in respect of the land contemplated in subsection (1) if the Minister is satisfied that— |
| (a) | having regard to the sustainable development of the mineral resources involved and the national interest, it is desirable to issue it; |
| (b) | the reconnaissance, prospecting or mining will take place within the framework of national environmental management policies, norms and standards; and |
| (c) | the granting of such rights or permits will not detrimentally affect the interests of any holder of a prospecting right or mining right. |
