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The Mines and Minerals (Amendment) Act No. 14 of 2024 amends the parent Mines and Minerals Act Cap. 66:01 (1999). Five provisions carry structural weight:
1. Mandatory 24% citizen/local-investor equity in new concessions (§ local-ownership clause) All mining concessions granted after 1 October 2025 must include at least 24% equity participation by Botswana citizens or locally registered investor entities. The state retains a pre-emptive right: if government (via the Botswana government or a state-owned vehicle) elects to take the stake itself, the citizen-offering obligation does not apply. If government declines, the licensee must offer 24% to qualifying Botswana citizens at commercially reasonable terms. This mirrors the Zimbabwe 51% indigenisation model and the South Africa MPRDA BEE scorecard in structure, though at a lower threshold.
2. Broadened "controlling interest" definition — anti-avoidance The Act introduces a statutory definition of "controlling interest" that captures BOTH direct and indirect ownership paths, and explicitly covers share or asset transactions occurring outside Botswana. This is the key anti-circumvention measure: prior to this amendment, a change-of-control executed at a Mauritius, BVI, or Singapore holdco level — the target's Botswana subsidiary remaining unchanged — did not trigger ministerial approval. The new definition closes this loophole. Effective from 1 October 2025, ANY dealing that results in a change of controlling interest in a mining licence holder — wherever the transaction is structured — requires ministerial consent.
3. Enhanced licence-transfer controls Ministerial approval is now required for ALL dealings with mining licences (transfer, pledge, sub-licence, cession). The prior regime permitted certain inter-affiliate transfers without formal ministerial approval under a "related-party" exemption; that exemption is repealed.
4. Environmental rehabilitation obligations The Act prescribes funding methods for environmental rehabilitation: either an Environmental Rehabilitation Trust Fund constituted under the Trust Property Control Act, or financial guarantees from a Minister-approved Botswana-registered financial institution, or other Minister-prescribed methods. Critically, the guarantee or fund must be denominated by and registered with Botswana-domiciled entities — foreign-parent guarantees or offshore instruments are no longer sufficient.
5. In-country beneficiation push + community revenue share Mining licensees are required to support in-country beneficiation "as far as economically feasible" and to remove minerals or mineral samples from Botswana only with Director of Mines permission. Mining revenue is partially redirected to host communities through fixed-percentage contributions, replacing the prior discretionary development-agreement regime.