Vision:
To facilitate the creation of wealth and promote sustainable development for all stakeholders through responsible exploitation, value addition, management and use of the Kingdom Of Swaziland’s mineral resources.

Mission:
To provide reliable, consistent, effective administrative services, monitoring and enforcement of legislation and implementing development programmes through reconnaissance, prospecting, exploitation, processing of minerals and preventing mining occupational diseases, injuries and minimizing degradation of the environment.

1.Staff:
The Mining Department has a staff complement made of a Government Mining Engineer, Inspector of Mines, Inspector of Explosives, a Mining Technician, a Secretary, a Senior Clerical Officer, an Archivist, an Assistant Librarian, a Technical Assistant, Driver/Messenger and a Cleaner.

The Commissioner of Mines; who is also a member of the Minerals Management Board is the day to day administrator of the minerals sector. The Commissioner is authorised in terms of the Constitution to administer provisions of all mining legislation, a custodian of all geo-scientific data and / or information and may publish same.

The technical support staffs are responsible for the implementation and monitoring of reconnaissance, prospecting, mining programmes and rehabilitation activities in terms of the legislations and any mining lease agreements that the Minerals Management Board enters into with mining investors. The Department liaises with the Geological Survey Department with respect to prospective mineral deposits that may be evaluated for quality and quantity in order to inform prospective investors in the sector on the availability of minerals.

2.Mandate:

The Mining Department is responsible for the administration of the mining and minerals industry in the Kingdom of Swaziland. The responsibilities involve the enforcement of the provisions of the Constitution; legislation namely: Mines and Minerals Act No. 4 of 2011, Diamond Act No. 3 of 2011, Explosives Act, Mines; Works and Machinery Regulations, Mines and Quarries (Safety) Regulations.

The mandate also includes an enforcement of the terms and conditions of mineral rights leases or licences issued through the Minerals Management Board for reconnaissance, prospecting and mining.

3. Objectives:

The objectives of the Mining Department are to:

·implement and continuously review the National Mining Policy to achieve the National Development Strategy (NDS), Sectoral Development Plans (SDP’s) and the Poverty Reduction and Action Programme (PRSAP) goals;

·establish, administer and maintain a modern, effective and visionary regulatory framework to govern the mining industry in the Kingdom of Swaziland that shall be custodian of an effective organisation;

·enhance socio-economic, financial and other benefits to all Swazi Stakeholders arising from the exploitation of mineral resources;

·establish more stringent social safeguards and improved fiscal management and achieve equitable sharing of the financial and development benefits derived from mineral extraction between investors and all Swazi stakeholders;

·establish measures and initiatives for better environmental management in collaboration with other Agencies responsible for such;

·advise on and disseminate all geo-scientific data related to the mineral resources of the country;

govern and provide professional guidance on matters of mine exploration, exploitation, health, safety, mine waste disposal andenvironmental control of pollution arising from mining activities;
formulate and provide technical guidelines, performance standards for mining, mineral processing, metallurgical operations and advise Government accordingly to ensure the international competitiveness of the mining sector;
regulate mining and the mineral industry through issuing of relevant mining permits or licences;
receive applications for reconnaissance, prospecting and mining licences for both large and small scale operations;
collate monthly mineral production returns from the mining industry;
collate monthly returns on the acquisition, storage and use of explosives;
control the manufacture, transportation, storage, usage, disposal/destruction, sale, importation, exportation of explosives;

·implement the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme; provide for the control of import and export of diamonds;

·provide for the control of production, processing, possession, purchase, sale and conveyance of diamonds;

• provide secretarial services for the Minerals Management Board; and

·promote optimum minerals development by encouraging value addition or downstream development and metallurgical processing in the country where possible.

3.1 Sections:

·Regulatory and Inspectorate

Mining

Explosives

Machinery and equipment

Environment and surveying

Minerals Development

Information storage and distribution

Administration / financial / training of small scale miners

Secretariat – Minerals Management Board

3.2 Small Scale Mining:
The Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland (GoS) realised that small scale mining (SSM) operations may provide additional or alternative rural livelihoods opportunities for Swazi Citizens. The GoS intervened in a way so that some minerals and mineral deposits or occurrences are reserved exclusively to be exploited by indigenous Swazi Citizens. The obligation for the SSM to exploit the minerals in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner is an obligation that must be enforced by the department.

The SSM sector is new and must be adequately regulated; the GoS has embarked on a project to train existing and aspiring small-scale miners. The educational exercises deal with themes including licensing, environment, health & safety, finance, taxation, reporting and labour laws.

4. Legislation:
The GoS is in the process of reviewing mining legislation that will be in line with the Constitution, National Development Strategy, National Mining Policy, Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mining Protocol, amongst other guiding frameworks. In the first phase of the review, a National Mining Policy was formulated and subsequently approved. The second phase has involved the formulation of a mining legislation and the output is a Mines and Minerals Act No. 4 of 2011 and the Diamond Act No 3 of 2011. The review exercise is continuing with the Mines Health and Safety legislation, Explosives Control legislation and regulations. It may be mentioned that the reviewing exercise is ongoing and the final output is expected in 2012.

5. Technical Support:
Technical advice and support is extended to reconnaissance, prospecting, mining and quarrying projects in the country. The support may be on a statutory obligation or at a professional level but the effort is dispatched for the sustainable exploitation of minerals and mineral aggregates for the benefit of the investor and the Swazi Nation. The mandatory support includes health and safety inspections accorded to all projects, and professional support is extended for designs in new projects or upgrades of designs already in use.

6. Application for Prospecting or Mining Rights:
Minerals are vested to iNgwenyama of Swaziland in trust for the Swazi Nation. The Minerals Management Board advises iNgwenyama on the overall management of minerals and making of grants, leases or other dispositions conferring rights or interests in respect of minerals or mineral oils in Swaziland.

Key requirements to obtain mining rights:

Completed application form of the type of licence sought;

Proposed programme of mining operations outlining mining forecasts of production and input costs;

Capital investment forecast, cash flow projections and financing plans;

Financial guarantees;

Proposed programme of value addition or downstream development anticipated;

Technical report on mining experience;

Proposed programme of mining operations i.e. environmental impact assessment (EIA), comprehensive mitigation plan (CMP);

Latest financial audited reports;

Other pertinent requirements are on the respective application forms.

6.1 Establishment of Minerals Management Board:
A Minerals Management Board (MMB) is established in terms of the Constitution. The MMB consists of the Commissioner of Mines, mine engineer, economist, legal practitioner and three other persons all of whom, including Chairperson, are appointed by the iNgwenyama on the advice of the Minister responsible for minerals.

The Commissioner is the only legally authorised person in terms of the Constitution to administer the provisions of all mining legislation. As a member of the MMB; the Commissioner must synthesise all geo-scientific data and / or information from Geology Department and Mining Department for the use by the MMB when adjudicating mineral rights applications.

The data set or information is for use by the MMB which ensures that the iNgwenyama receives holistic advice on mineral occurrences, reconnaissance, prospecting, mining or exploitation, processing, availability of mineral resources and the operations of the mining industry at large in the Country. Some operational information on geology and mining matters must be availed to the Minister for disseminating to Cabinet, Parliament and Public when necessary through the Commissioner of Mines.

There are applications to prospecting or mining for gold, coal, diamonds, kaolin and iron ore concession in various parts of the country.

6.2 Procedure for acquiring a prospecting right, mining right or concession:

1. An application is lodged to the Commissioner of Mines stating the type of right sought; reconnaissance, prospecting or mining.
2. The Commissioner of Mines acknowledges receipt of the application and then appraises the contents, suitability and relevance of the project at the targeted area and makes a report based on the specific requirements, which are tabulated on each type of application
3. The Commissioner of Mines then forwards the application to the Minerals Management Board for consideration.
4. The Minerals Management Board considers the application and then invites the project proponent to motivate his project in a form of a presentation.
5. The Minerals Management Board; after the presentation, evaluates the application using a criteria developed within the legislative framework and makes a recommendation and advises the iNgwenyama, accordingly.
6. The iNgwenyama makes a final decision, based on the recommendation of the Minerals Management Board and other supporting information, which may have been supplied at the time of application or presentation.
7. The project proponent is notified, in writing, of the outcome of his application.

6.3 Mining leases issued and developments:

1. Swaziland was admitted as a full participant of the Kimberley Process family in May, 2011.
2. Salgaocar Swaziland (Pty) Ltd, granted a mining lease for iron ore dumps at the defunct Ngwenya iron ore mine for 7 years from June 2011.
3. Swazi Mining Ventures (Pty) Ltd granted a gold mining licence at the defunct Pigg’s Peak gold mine;
4. Kuthula Road (Pty) Ltd was granted a quarry mining licence at the Pigg’s Peak (Rockland’s) area;
5. Inyatsi Construction Ltd was granted a quarry mining licence at the Nhlangano area;
6. Mbabane Quarry (Pty) Ltd was granted a quarry mining licence at the Mbabane area; and
7. AT & T Quarries (Pty) Ltd was granted a quarry mining licence at the Sphofaneni area.