An enquiry into the accommodation of rights and permits to minerals awarded in terms of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002, in the administration of a deceased estate

Abstract

The intention of this study was to assess, through the lens of succession law, the provisions of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (hereafter the MPRDA), and the entitlements that arose from them, namely being: reconnaissance permissions, retention permits, mining permits, and prospecting and mining rights. These rights and permits are hereinafter collectively referred to as "entitlements to minerals". In the spirit of this theme, the objective was to determine how entitlements to minerals, acquired in terms of the MPRDA, by a person during his/her lifetime, could be accommodated into the administration of such persons deceased estate, after his/her death. It is argued in this work, that for an entitlement to minerals to be eligible for such accommodation, it must be an asset of the deceased estate Thus, the secondary objective was to determine whether each entitlement to mineral, respectively granted or issued in terms of the MPRDA, could be regarded as deceased estate assets. To address this primary and secondary objectives, it was necessary to determine the meaning and scope of the term 'estate asset'. Thereafter, the nature and transferability of the entitlements to minerals was ascertained. This was in order to determine whether any of these entitlements could be regarded as estate assets. After identifying which of these categories of entitlements to minerals would be regarded as estate assets, one was then able to further determine how such relevant entitlements should be accommodated in the process of administrating the deceased estate.