South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) issued a request for bids to design, implement, maintain and support a mining licensing system.

The new mining licensing system, which will be customised to South Africa’s needs, is expected to improve efficiency and transparency in the application, granting, and management of prospecting and mining rights or permits.

“The DMRE seeks to improve the accuracy and accessibility of all relevant information by all stakeholders through the new system,” the department said in a statement. 

Additionally, the system will allow DMRE to accelerate the processing of applications within a reasonable timeframe.

The procurement of the mining licensing system is a key milestone for South Africa’s mining industry as the government implements the country’s economic reconstruction and recovery plan. 

The two entities will hold a virtual briefing session with prospective bidders on March 31.

The closing date for the submission of bids is April 19.

(Writing by P Deol; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)