Geological data is the country’s knowledge of its own resources. Sections 5A, 161 and 162 of the Mining Act 1992 secure it.
Section 5A — the repository and the monitoring hub
(1) The State shall establish and maintain a repository for all mineral and geological data with the Mineral Resources Authority.
(2) The holder of a tenement, or any other person in possession of mineral and geological data or information — inclusive of research activities — shall submit all data and information relating to the minerals and geology of the State to the Authority.
(3) The State shall establish a central monitoring hub with the Authority, and every operating mine shall transmit their live data on mineral production and extraction, and sale data to the Authority.
Failure to comply: a fine not exceeding K1,000,000.00 or imprisonment for up to four years, or both — with a default penalty of K100,000.00 for every day the offence continues.
Compare the general penalty in section 168(2): K3,000 and three months. Section 5A is in a different league, and the daily default penalty means a sustained failure becomes very large very quickly.
It binds the holder of a tenement and any other person in possession of mineral or geological data — expressly including research activities. Universities, consultants, contractors and former holders are all within it.
Subsection (3) goes further still, requiring live transmission of production, extraction and sale data. That is a transparency provision as much as a geological one: it puts the State in a position to know what is being produced and sold, which bears directly on royalty.
Section 161 — the power to require information
The Managing Director may require any person whom he reasonably believes to be in possession of information concerning the geology and mineral resources of the State — including geotechnical or hydrogeological information — to provide details or copies.
(c) an instrument, or transaction pertaining to it, lodged for approval or approved under Division VI.2 (registration and dealings);
(d) any document relating to mining and exploration activities within the State; and
(e) any information required under the Mining (Royalties) Act 1992.
Refusing or failing to comply is an offence carrying a fine not exceeding K10,000.00 (s 161(3)).
Read with section 5A(3), the Act gives the State two routes to the production and sales information on which royalty depends: live transmission to the monitoring hub, and a written notice requiring production of documents.
Section 162 — preservation of cores
(1) The holder of a tenement shall preserve all cores and drilling samples — except such amounts as may be required for assaying and testing — and, when he no longer requires them, or upon the expiry, surrender or cancellation of the tenement, shall advise the Managing Director.
(2) On receiving that advice, the Managing Director may request that the cores and drilling samples (or such of them as are required) be provided to the Authority, and the holder shall comply at his own cost.
(3) The obligation ceases three months after the tenement expires, is surrendered or is cancelled.
Drill core is expensive to obtain and impossible to recreate. Section 162 keeps it in the country and, where the Authority wants it, in public hands — at the former holder’s cost.
The three-month period in section 162(3) aligns with the prescribed period in section 152 for removing mining plant, and with the rule that tailings, other materials and mined ore left after that period become the property of the State. Note the limit on the exploration licence right in section 23(1)(b): extraction and disposal of rock, earth, soil or minerals is permitted only as the approved programme allows, and expressly subject to section 162.
Section 163 — how the information is protected
Information disclosed under this Act to the Minister, an employee of the Authority or a member of the Council shall not be disclosed to any person who is not an employee of the Authority without the prior written approval of the person who provided it — except:
(a) so far as authorised or required under this Act or any other law;
(b) so far as the provider authorised disclosure at the time;
(c) so far as necessary for the Managing Director to publish statistical information concerning the geology and mineral resources of the State; or
(d) so far as necessary for the Managing Director to advise the National Executive Council, other Departments and the Central Bank on a confidential basis.
An employee of the Authority or a member of the Council who uses, for the purpose of his personal gain, information disclosed under the Act that came to his knowledge through his employment or membership, is guilty of an offence: a fine up to K10,000.00 or imprisonment for up to four years, or both.
See confidentiality of mining information.
Why this matters beyond the industry
- Royalty depends on production data. Section 5A(3) requires live production, extraction and sales data; section 161(2)(e) allows documents to be required under the royalty legislation.
- Ground given up is re-usable. Data and core from an expired or relinquished tenement stay with the Authority — which is what makes the State Applicant regime in Part VA workable over reserved land.
- Statistical publication is permitted. Section 163(1)(c) lets the Managing Director publish statistical information about the country’s geology and mineral resources, notwithstanding the confidentiality rule.
- Hydrogeological data matters to communities. Section 161(1) expressly reaches geotechnical and hydrogeological information — the data that bears on ground stability and on water.
Sources
- Mining Act 1992 — ss 5A, 23, 152, 161–163, 168
- Mineral Resources Authority (Amendment) Act 2018
- Environment Act 2000 — ss 77, 94, 131
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Mining Act 1992 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.