SA’s Chamber of Mines lodged an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday to stop mines minister Mosebenzi Zwane’s proposed restriction on granting new mining and prospecting rights applied for after July 19‚ citing the gazetted proposal as unlawful and beyond the minister’s powers.

Zwane shocked the mining industry on July 19 when the gazetted notice appeared inviting stakeholders to submit comments before August 4 on his proposal to restrict the granting of new mining and prospecting rights as well as halt the transfer of mineral rights between companies‚ effectively bringing deal making in the South African mining sector to a standstill for an indefinite period.

Zwane said the moratorium was related to the interdict brought by the chamber to halt and review the third iteration of the Mining Charter he gazetted in June but has subsequently told the chamber he will not implement given the pending legal battle around the document.

 Zwane has not withdrawn the notice in the face of mounting legal opinion that he acted beyond his powers as stipulated in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act.

“The Chamber has therefore today issued and served an urgent application with the Pretoria High Court to review and set aside the notice and to interdict the Minister from taking any decision or issuing any directive contemplated in the notice‚” the chamber said.

The matter will be heard in court on August 4‚ the same day as the closing deadline for the submission of comments on Zwane’s proposal.

The chamber said it would tackle Zwane on violating the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act as well as the constitutional merits of Zwane’s actions and that he acted beyond the powers granted to him in the MPRDA.

“The Chamber notes‚ with regret‚ that the industry has no option but to proceed with court action to ensure that the Minister acts within the law‚ and in the best interests of the industry and the country‚” it said.