Prospecting rights
Prospecting rights and retention permits.
Before you can mine, you have to prove the deposit. A prospecting right gives you exclusive permission to explore a defined area for a defined mineral — and, if the resource stacks up, the exclusive right to apply to mine it.
R90,000fixed, all-in fee
No payment to begin. You get a written fixed-fee mandate letter before any work starts.
How a prospecting right works
A prospecting right is granted under the MPRDA for up to 5 years and may be renewed once for a further 3 years. It covers exploration work: mapping, geophysics, drilling and sampling. It does not let you sell minerals.
The real value sits in what comes next. While your prospecting right is alive, you hold the exclusive right to apply for a mining right over that ground. Miss the deadline and the ground opens up to everyone else.
If your work proves a deposit that cannot be mined economically right now, a retention permit lets you hold the ground for up to 3 years while conditions change. Both applications are covered by the same fixed fee.
What is included
Everything from the first cadastre check to the departmental decision.
Open-ground verification
We check the cadastre and existing applications before you spend a cent on the file.
Prospecting work programme
A realistic, costed exploration programme the department will accept and you can actually deliver.
Consultation record
Landowners, occupiers and interested parties consulted properly and documented defensibly.
Environmental inputs
Environmental authorisation and the EMPr coordinated alongside the application.
Renewals
Renewal applications lodged in time, with the progress reporting the department expects.
Retention permits
Where the deposit is proven but conditions are wrong, we apply to hold the ground.
What it costs
Prospecting right or retention permit
Open-ground checks, a compliant work programme, landowner and community consultation, and lodgement through to decision.
R90,000 all-in
- Open-ground and cadastral verification
- Work programme drafted and costed
- Landowner, occupier and community consultation record
- Lodgement on the departmental portal
- Departmental application fees included
- Section 96 appeal support if the application is refused
The process
Tell us about the ground
You complete a short online application. We confirm which right or permit fits, and what is missing.
Fixed mandate letter
Before any work starts you get a written mandate letter with the exact fee, what is included and what is not.
Prepare and lodge
We draft the application, work programme and consultation record, then lodge it with the department.
Through to grant
We answer departmental queries, handle objections and take the file to decision and registration.
Prospecting right questions, answered
Check if your ground is open
Send us the farm, portion and mineral. We confirm whether the area is available and what your application needs.