University of Cape Town (UCT) PhD student Louie van Schalkwyk has spent the last three years investigating the zoning policy procedures of three municipalities – Umhlathuze, in KwaZulu-Natal; Sol Plaatje, in the Northern Cape; and the City of Cape Town, in the Western Cape –  to determine whether their policies and procedures are suitable for the kinds of mining activities that take place in their jurisdictions.

Van Schalkwyk’s topic developed and changed substantially over time, but was inspired by a 2012 Constitutional Court ruling which stated that a mining right holder could not start mining activities unless and until the land was appropriately zoned by the municipality in whose jurisdiction it is located.

Since mining rights are issued by the national Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, and zoning rights are regulated by municipalities at local government level, the aforementioned ruling had several consequences, including the inevitable duplication of application processes and an increased potential for conflicting decisions.

Van Schalkwyk’s research highlighted the need for the different spheres of government to meet and discuss workable solutions and each of the municipalities studied has received an individual report detailing both Van Schalkwyk’s findings and her suggestions for improvement.

Up to now, Van Schalkwyk had been gaining industry experience, working as an attorney, notary and conveyancer at a law firm in Cape Town. Her original idea was to further her studies in property law.

Van Schalkwyk’s PhD journey started in 2015 when she enrolled as a research student under the supervision of UCT private law Professor Hanri Mostert, who is also a research chair for Mineral Law in Africa (MLiA).

MLiA – where Van Schalkwyk will be continuing with post-doctoral studies – has also been instrumental in arranging a series of workshops that bring different spheres of government together.

“We are gathering people around the table and getting solutions from all of them about how the process can be improved, what their frustrations are and what works well for each of them,” Van Schalkwyk explained.

She added that they have received positive feedback from everyone involved – especially from the municipalities, which often feel like they are not being heard and battle with capacity constraints.