Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

submission of information, reports and returns by mineral license holders.
We will begin with a general review of the applicable legislative provisions of
the Minerals (Prospecting and Mining) Act of 1992 (hereinafter referred to as
“the Minerals Act”). We will then go on to discuss how companies comply
with the provisions of the Act, and highlight some measures put in place by
the country’s Ministry of Mines and Energy to ensure compliance. We will
conclude with an analysis of the practicality of some of the requirements, and
of the storage and use of the data by the Ministry.
2. General Background
Since independence 10 years ago (March 1990), the Government of the
Republic of Namibia has committed itself to creating an enabling investment
climate for the mineral resource sector, including the diamond industry. To
this end, the Government has put in place an all-embracing and competitive
legislative framework to guide and regulate the industry in a manner, which
makes optimum use of the non-renewable resource, which remains key to
economic development, while ensuring an equitable return for all
stakeholders (Ministry of Mines and Energy, Directorate of Mines Paper,
March 2000).
The existence of a modern, transparent and competitive framework is
critical in attracting scarce exploration dollars into any country. This has
become especially important during the last decade, when most countries
liberalized their economies in order to attract foreign investment. The main
legislative framework for regulating the industry is to be found in the
Minerals Act and the Mines and Works Ordinance of 1968. The latter
regulates the health and safety aspects of the industry. In addition to these
pieces of legislation, the Diamond Act of 1999 provides, amongst other things,
for control measures in respect of the possession, purchase, sale, processing
and export of diamonds and incidental matters connected thereto.
As a first step, immediately after independence the Namibian
Government promulgated the Minerals Act in order to supplant those parts of
the 1968 Ordinance regime, which inadequately catered for modern
requirements and circumstances.
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 765