Hi all;
This is now the second "Diamond Dog" that is biting me in the butt. (KRT is a story for another day) I'm not an expert on SA mining law, but I did some homework this past week - I should have done this before I invested, instead I listened to all those damn analysts!
The way I understand it, a mining company gets the right to explore a property from the surface owners of the property. Once they reach a stage where mining seems feasible, they acquire the Mineral Rights from the rightful owner. This is done by checking the Register of Deeds, kept by the SA Government. The Mineral Rights can either be in the name of the State or in the names of individuals. If it is in the name of the State, you negotiate a price and pay it over to the State. However if it is in the name or names of individuals, it becomes more complex.
Most of the mineral rights date back to the turn of the century and are now in the hands of the second and third generations. To protect the original owners, and now their heirs, from loosing the rights to the State, a system has been put in place to try and locate the rightful owners. If the original owner can not be tracked down, the State acts as their agent. The mining company negotiates a price with the State, and pays that to the State as a deposit. You then place an advertisement in the local news papers and the Government Gazette for 90 days trying to locate the rightful owners. If the owners show up, you negotiate a deal with them and the State pays back your deposit.
However, if within 90 days nobody comes forward, the State keeps your money and you get the Mineral Rights. If after the 90 days the rightful owner comes forward, the State pays over the deposit to them and they have no recourse against the mining company that now has the Mineral Rights. This information was obtained from extracts of the South African Minerals Act No. 50 of 1991, and previous Acts, as published in the 10-K of any mining company conducting mining in South Africa.
Did SUF know about this procedure that has to be followed? Did they know that the original owners might come forward before they released 15 press releases and 5 analysts reports in the last 6 moths of 1997? Did CJ and the analysts mislead the investors by turning a blind eye to South African law?
Elizabeth Kirkwood of TNK says ".she has stayed away from SA because of frequent disputes over title to resources." It seems to me that if you follow the SA laws, it is relatively simple. She now prefers to deal with De Beers that practically wrote the SA Mining Law!
I also follow Global Diamond Resources - GDRS, that announced this week that they got the Mineral Lease to one of their properties approved. (https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=4100719)
This company is run by South Africans with lots of experience in the diamond industry. Maybe the Canadians should stay to Canada - if they can handle De Beer's growing interest in Canada!!
I hope someone can get me some answers.
Joe. |
