"Minerals", "petroleum" and "operations" in the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 : a geologist as devil's advocate for a change? "

This article examines the meaning of "minerals", petroleum, "operations" and activities in relation to such substances to determine the ambit of the application of the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002, the type of rights necessary for such operations and activities and the ambit of these rights. The examination of the meaning of these concepts takes place with reference to prior definitions in statutes and also from a natural science and geology perspective. An attempt is made to show that the legal definitions do no always correspond with the geological meanings and the meanings on the ground. It is questioned whether in recent legislation why more reliance is not placed on input from geologists in the field.

Artikel 3(1) en (2) van die Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 van 2002: 'n herbeskouing

Sections 3(1) and 3(2) of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002
This contribution entails a discussion of the impact of section 3 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act on various aspects of the new mineral and petroleum law. At the core of the discussion is the question of how this section is interpreted by various commentators, and the implications of the different opinions on the application of the section. The initial discussion highlights problems with the new definition of a "mineral": Soil, including topsoil is at present included in die definition of a "mineral" in the act. The definition should be rectified by the legislature as it has far-reaching consequences in respect of the extent of the state's power in terms of section 3(2) of the act to grant entitlements in respect of minerals, including topsoil. The implications of section 3 for the control and management of minerals are discussed and placed in the context of the question about the constitutionality of the act. It is argued that legislative guidance is urgently needed to clarify continuing uncertainty, caused by sloppy drafting and different opinions about the connection between private law and public law in relation to minerals and the actual position of existing right holders.

Lapsed prospecting rights : "the custodian giveth and the custodian taketh away"? Palala Resources (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

The decision in Palala Resources (Pty) Ltd v Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy & others 2014 (6) SA 403 (GP) (‘Palala Resources’) brings clarity about the lapsing of a company’s prospecting right in terms of s 56(c) of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (‘the MPRDA’) upon deregistration of the company, and highlights some of the features of a statutory prospecting right. Section 56(c) determines that a company’s prospecting right will lapse upon deregistration of the company if no prior application has been made, in terms of s 11(1) of the MPRDA, to the Director-General of the Department of Mineral Resources for consent to alienate or transfer the right (item 1 of the Ministerial delegation of 12 May 2004). The principles underlying the decision could also be applied to mining rights granted in terms of the MPRDA. By way of introduction, these rights are briefly sketched before the decision will be set out and discussed. It will be argued that the case shows that despite the public law nature of the MPRDA, there is the need for a proper private-law analysis of these statutory rights.

Valuation and reporting of native fauna in monetary terms: compatibility between a market-Based system and natural resources?

A change in community values and priorities has introduced ethical,
environmental and social issues into the way in which business conducts
its activities. There are an increasing number of managed investment funds focusing on socially responsible investment (SRI) by concentrating on firms that operate according to predetermined criteria for environmental, social and ethical issues. For investors in these funds environmental stewardship issues are integrated with concern over financial resources and performance. In this paper the accounting and reporting by business activities concerned with conservation of wildlife are examined. The world of accounting has functioned for many years with relatively few accounting standards devoted to specialised industry needs. In 1998 the Australian Accounting Standards Board and in 2001 the International Accounting Standards Board issued standards devoted to agriculture. Both standards deal with the reporting of managed biological assets and require application of essentially the same approaches despite the Australian standard requiring net market value while the International standard requires fair value. In this paper we analyse how one conservation firm Earth Sanctuaries Ltd. (ESL) has applied AASB 1037 and then we explore the implications for conservation firms operating in geographical locations outside Australia. It is suggested that AASB 1037 and indeed lAS 41 may not provide value appropriate information for investor decisions relating to accounting profits for such firms. Our examination shows that it is appropriate to reconsider accounting guidelines provided by these standards in order to link the information relating to economic and environmental performance. Transparency may be improved by a move closer to Elkington 's (1997) triple bottom line reporting. We therefore contend that the issues arising from the use ofAASB 1037 and lAS 41 need to be widely considered by all standard setters, particularly given the increasing attention to SRI.

Calcium and bone health : position statement for the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society, Osteoporosis Australia and the Endocrine Society of Australia

This position statement was prepared by the Working Group of the Australian and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society and Osteoporosis Australia. The final statement was endorsed by the Endocrine Society of Australia.

Currently, the balance of evidence remains in favour of fracture prevention from combined calcium and vitamin D supplementation in elderly men and women.

Adequate vitamin D status is essential for active calcium absorption in the gut and for bone development and remodelling.

In adults with a baseline calcium intake of 500–900 mg/day, increasing or supplementing this intake by a further 500–1000 mg/day has a beneficial effect on bone mineral density.

Calcium intake significantly above the recommended level is unlikely to achieve additional benefit for bone health.

Direction-specific diaphyseal geometry and mineral mass distribution of tibia and fibula: A pQCT study of female athletes representing different exercise loading types

Bones adapt to prevalent loading, which comprises mainly forces caused by muscle contractions. Therefore, we hypothesized that similar associations would be observed between neuromuscular performance and rigidity of bones located in the same body segment. These associations were assessed among 221 premenopausal women representing athletes in high-impact, odd-impact, highmagnitude, repetitive low-impact, and repetitive nonimpact sports and physically active referents aged 17–40 years. The whole group mean age and body mass were 23 (5) and 63 (9) kg, respectively. Bone cross sections at the tibial and fibular mid-diaphysis were assessed with peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). Density-weighted polar section modulus (SSI) and minimal and maximal crosssectional moments of inertia (Imin, Imax) were analyzed. Bone morphology was described as the Imax/Imin ratio. Neuromuscular performance was assessed by maximal power during countermovement jump (CMJ). Tibial SSI was 31% higher in the high-impact, 19% in the odd-impact, and 30% in the repetitive low-impact groups compared with the reference group (P\0.005). Only the high-impact group differed from the referents in fibular SSI (17%, P\0.005). Tibial morphology differed between groups (P = 0.001), but fibular morphology did not (P = 0.247). The bone-bygroup interaction was highly significant (P\0.001). After controlling for height, weight, and age, the CMJ peak power correlated moderately with tibial SSI (r = 0.31, P\0.001) but not with fibular SSI (r = 0.069, P = 0.313). In conclusion, observed differences in the association between neuromuscular performance and tibial and fibular traits suggest
that the tibia and fibula experience different loading