Section 167 of the Mining Act 1992 collects the Act’s principal offences, and gives the Managing Director a power to stop unauthorised mining on the spot.
Section 167(1) — the basic prohibition
A person shall not carry on exploration or mining on any land unless he is duly authorized under this Act.
Authority comes from a tenement, or from the section 9(2) right of a citizen to carry out non-mechanised alluvial mining on land he owns, where the land is not subject to a tenement other than an exploration licence.
Section 167(2) and (3) — the power to stop it
The Managing Director may request a person he suspects is carrying on unauthorized exploration or mining to provide information to enable him to establish whether it is taking place.
Where he determines that a person is doing so, he may:
(a) orally or in writing direct that person to cease; and
(b) take whatever action is reasonably necessary to remove that person from the land.
Section 166 supports this: all members of the Police Force shall, when required by a Warden or an employee of the Authority, act in aid of them in exercising their powers under the Act.
Section 167(4) — the offences
| Offence | |
|---|---|
| (a) | Carrying on exploration or mining without being duly authorized under the Act |
| (b) | Refusing to provide information requested relating to entitlement to explore or mine |
| (c) | Refusing to comply with a direction to cease under section 167(3)(a) |
| (d) | Assaulting, hindering, obstructing or resisting a Warden or other officer carrying out duties under the Act |
| (e) | When lawfully evicted or removed, re-entering or taking possession of the land |
| (f) | Taking or removing minerals from another person’s tenement without that person’s authority |
| (g) | Giving false or misleading information to the Managing Director or an employee of the Authority |
| (h) | Obstructing execution of any right conferred under this Act |
A fine not exceeding K10,000.00 or imprisonment for up to four years, or both. Default penalty: K1,000.00.
Obstructing the exercise of a right conferred under the Act is an offence — which includes obstructing a tenement holder exercising lawful rights.
But those rights have limits. Under section 155 a holder shall not enter onto or occupy land for the purpose of mining until compensation is agreed and registered, or determined and paid or tendered. Entry in breach of section 155 is not the exercise of a right conferred under the Act.
The right response for a landholder is never physical obstruction. It is to record what is happening and take it, in writing and at once, to the Warden and the Registrar.
Section 167(5) and (6) — rehabilitation on conviction
Where a person is convicted under this section, the Court may, in addition to any penalty, order the offender to rehabilitate the land to the satisfaction of the Managing Director within a specified time.
Where the offender fails to carry out that order, the Court shall require him to pay the costs of rehabilitation, and the sum determined is a debt to the State recoverable in any court of competent jurisdiction.
The fine is capped at K10,000. The cost of rehabilitation is not. For a damaged river bed or an abandoned working, that figure will usually be far larger than any fine — and it becomes a debt to the State.
Section 168 — the general penalty
(1) A person who acts in contravention of, or fails to comply with, a provision of this Act is guilty of an offence.
(2) Where no penalty is provided elsewhere: a fine not exceeding K3,000.00 or imprisonment for up to three months, or both — and, where the offence is continuing, a further default penalty of up to K300.00 for every day the offence is committed after conviction.
Where a body corporate is convicted, every director and every other officer concerned in the management is guilty of the offence if it is proved that the act or omission took place with his authority, permission or consent.
Other offences in the Act
| Section | Offence | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| 5A(4) | Failing to submit mineral and geological data to the Authority, or to transmit live production data | K1,000,000 or 4 years; default K100,000 per day |
| 154(5) | Paying or agreeing to pay compensation for permitting entry, for the value of minerals, or by reference to rent or royalty | K10,000 or 5 years |
| 161(3) | Refusing or failing to provide information or produce documents required by the Minister or Managing Director | K10,000 |
| 163(2) | An employee of the Authority or member of the Council using information for personal gain | K10,000 or 4 years |
Up to K1,000,000, four years’ imprisonment, and a daily default penalty of K100,000. Every operating mine must transmit live data on mineral production, extraction and sales to the Mineral Resources Authority’s central monitoring hub, and all mineral and geological data must be submitted to the repository.
Section 169 — immunity of officials
No liability attaches to the Minister, a Warden, an employee of the Authority, a member of the Council or a member of the Police Force in the exercise of a power, or in the discharge or purported discharge of a duty, under the Act.
Offences under other Acts
- Environment. Causing serious environmental harm carries up to K250,000 for a corporation under the Environment Act 2000, with daily additional penalties for continuing offences and uncapped clean-up cost recovery.
- Safety. The Mining (Safety) Act (Chapter 195A) has its own offences.
- Employment. The Employment Act (Chapter 373) applies to the workforce, and an authorised officer under it may not enter a mine unless accompanied by an inspector or mining engineer appointed under the Mining Act.
- General criminal law. Violence, threats and fraud engage the Criminal Code Act (Chapter 262).
Sources
- Mining Act 1992 — ss 5A, 9, 154, 155, 161, 163, 166–169
- Environment Act 2000 — ss 11–13, 105, 116
- Mining (Safety) Act (Chapter 195A)
- Criminal Code Act (Chapter 262)
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.