Every return a South African mine must submit to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) — and the boundary returns to other regulators — in one reference. Prepared July 2026. Profile assumed: holder of a mining right under section 23 of the MPRDA with an approved Social and Labour Plan, EMPr, mining work programme and environmental authorisation. The DMPR is the successor to the DMRE following the 2024 portfolio split; legacy form numbers retain the DMR prefix. This page is a compliance-planning reference, not legal advice.

Part A — Mineral regulation, SLP and Mining Charter

Section 28 of the MPRDA is the spine of routine reporting to the DMPR. Section 28(2)(a) requires prescribed monthly returns of production, sales, employment and remuneration data; section 28(2)(b) requires an audited annual financial report or financial statements; and section 28(2)(c) requires an annual report on compliance with section 2(d) and (f), the Mining Charter and the Social and Labour Plan. Regulation 15 of the MPRDA Regulations (GNR 527 of 2004) sets the monthly deadline at the fifteenth day of the following month and provides that the returns are made on forms provided by the Department. The forms are therefore not gazetted; the numbers used in industry, such as DMR 128 for the employment return, are legacy departmental numbering and current templates should be confirmed with the Directorate: Mineral Economics ([email protected]). Non-submission is an offence under sections 98 and 99, and section 30 protects the confidentiality of the data.

The SLP regime runs through regulations 41 to 46B. Regulation 45, as amended in March 2020, requires an annual report on compliance with the approved SLP to the Regional Manager, incorporating the outcomes of at least three meetings per year with mine communities and interested and affected persons. Regulation 46B requires a review of the SLP every five years from approval, which may be initiated from year four and must be done in meaningful consultation with communities. Regulation 46A requires publication of an approved SLP within 30 days of approval in English and one dominant local language. An approved SLP may not be amended without Ministerial consent under regulation 44, and deviations from SLP, mining work programme or EMPr commitments require a section 102 application before implementation.

The Mining Charter 2018 requires an annual compliance report under clause 6.1, submitted as part of the section 28(2)(c) annual report by 31 March, using the reporting tables in the Implementation Guidelines. The High Court held in Minerals Council v Minister (September 2021) that the Charter is policy rather than binding subordinate legislation and set aside several clauses, including the procurement targets. The statutory duty to report annually on Charter and SLP compliance remains in section 28(2)(c), and regional offices in practice still call for Charter-style reporting; the extent should be confirmed per region and per the conditions written into the right.

No prescribed periodic progress report exists for the mining work programme of a mining right; compliance is enforced through section 25(2)(c) and (d), Ministerial information directives under section 29, and inspections. Event-driven submissions complete the picture: the regulation 3B notice at least 21 days before commencing operations, section 52 notices on declining profitability or prospective retrenchment of 500 employees or 10 percent of the workforce (with the consultation record and affidavit required by regulation 73A), section 11 consent before any transfer or change of control, and the closure certificate application on Form P within 180 days of cessation, lapsing or relinquishment. Mineral royalty returns go to SARS, not the DMPR.

Part B — Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate

The Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate sits within the DMPR and receives returns under the Mine Health and Safety Act 29 of 1996. Chapter 23 of the regulations establishes SAMRASS, the reportable-accident system. Deaths, likely-fatal injuries and serious incapacitation are reported immediately by the quickest means and confirmed in writing on SAMRASS 1 (DMR 279) with a SAMRASS 2 (DMR 280) per injured person; injuries causing 14 or more days off work or permanent disability are reported within three working days; lost-time injuries of one to thirteen days are returned monthly on SAMRASS 4 (DMR 285) within five calendar days of month end, together with the SAMRASS 9 report of employees who resumed work. Dangerous occurrences listed in regulation 23.4, including rockbursts, ignitions, winder failures, inrushes and dam failures, are reported immediately on SAMRASS 1 even where no one is injured. Addendum forms cover fall of ground (SAMRASS 3A to 3D by mining type), explosives, fires, subsidence, heat stroke and self-rescuer use, and are submitted within the section 11(5A) investigation period. A record of all accidents and dangerous occurrences is kept for two years.

Occupational health reporting has two instruments. Form DMR 231, the Health Incident Report introduced by the 2014 amendment to Chapter 11, is submitted within 30 days of every occupational disease diagnosis, including noise-induced hearing loss of five percent or more, tuberculosis, silicosis and any condition compensable under COIDA or ODMWA. Form DMR 165, the Annual Medical Report compiled by the occupational medical practitioner under section 16, is submitted before the end of February each year to the Medical Inspector through the regional Principal Inspector, and aggregates surveillance, exit examinations, biological monitoring and disease statistics. Any occurrence resulting in illness triggers notification and a section 11(5) investigation, commenced within 10 days, completed within 30 days, with the written report delivered to the Principal Inspector.

Occupational hygiene measurement results are returned under regulation 9.2(7): quarterly personal-exposure data for airborne pollutants, heat stress, cold stress and noise, submitted annually within 30 days of the commodity-specific reporting period on Forms 21.9(2)(a) to (d) with the SAMOHP operation details form. Statutory appointment notices carry short deadlines: manager, surveyor and engineer within three days, safety officer within five, CEO, section 4(1) appointees and the occupational medical practitioner within seven. Chapter 17 requires updated mine plans annually under regulation 17(28), quarterly ventilation and rescue plans from coal mines under regulation 17(19)(b), and certified final plans on closure. On cessation with explosives on site, regulation 4.2(2) requires notice to both the Principal Inspector and the SAPS Chief Inspector of Explosives. The quarterly labour and hours-worked submission used for frequency rates rests on administrative practice rather than a located regulation and should be confirmed with the regional office.

Part C — Environmental returns to the DMPR

Under the One Environmental System the DMPR is the competent authority under NEMA for mining, with the DFFE Minister as appeal authority. The environmental audit report under regulation 34 of the EIA Regulations 2014 assesses compliance with the environmental authorisation, the EMPr and, at closure, the closure plan, and the adequacy of the EMPr mitigation measures. The audit interval is set in the authorisation and may not exceed five years; many mining authorisations require annual audits. The report is prepared by an independent auditor, and within seven days of submission the holder must notify registered interested and affected parties and make the report publicly available. The old MPRDA regulation 55 performance-assessment regime was repealed in 2020, and regulation 34 audits now cover old-order EMPs.

Financial provision for rehabilitation is governed by section 24P of NEMA and the Financial Provisioning Regulations 2015 (GNR 1147). The provision must be reviewed, assessed and adjusted annually, audited by an independent auditor, and submitted within three months of financial year end together with the three supporting instruments: the annual rehabilitation plan, the final rehabilitation, decommissioning and mine closure plan, and the environmental risk assessment report addressing latent impacts including polluted-water pumping and treatment. The transitional grace for pre-2015 holders lapsed on 19 February 2024, and the replacement regulations remained draft as at the last verification; the current Gazette should be checked before each annual cycle. Regulation 13 governs care and maintenance, which requires Ministerial approval and a periodically reviewed plan.

Emergency incidents involving a release of a hazardous substance are reported under section 30 of NEMA: an initial report forthwith, and a written report within 14 days covering the substance, cause, effects and remedial measures, to the recipients listed in the section including the DMPR as the relevant authority for mines. Residue stockpiles and deposits remain regulated under NEM:WA and GNR 632 of 2015; the regulations impose no standalone periodic return, and monitoring reaches the DMPR through waste management licence conditions, EMPr audits and closure documentation. Water use compliance is DWS territory, but it gates DMPR processes: no closure certificate may issue without DWS and Chief Inspector confirmation under section 43(5).

Part D — Returns to other bodies

These obligations sit outside the DMPR but belong on the same register so nothing falls through the cracks. Royalty compliance runs to SARS under the Royalty Acts: registration on MPR1, two provisional MPR3 payments (six months into the year of assessment and at year end), an optional top-up six months after year end, and the final MPR3 return twelve months after year end, all on eFiling. Water compliance runs to DWS: licence-condition monitoring returns, an annual water use licence audit, GN 704 duties, registration updates, and the dam safety regime under GN R139 of 2012, which requires registration of dams above threshold and five-yearly dam safety evaluations by an approved professional person — a regime that captures most tailings storage facilities.

Stats SA questionnaires are compulsory under section 16 of the Statistics Act: the monthly production and sales survey, quarterly employment statistics and annual financial statistics. Compensation obligations for mines run through Rand Mutual Assurance as the licensed mutual for the mining class: the return of earnings each March, accident reports within seven days and disease reports within fourteen. The Department of Employment and Labour receives employment equity reports annually; the OHSA does not apply to mines, so health and safety returns remain with the MHSA regime. NORM mines holding a National Nuclear Regulator certificate of registration file dose returns, safety reports and incident reports on the schedule in the certificate. The DFFE receives the NAEIS atmospheric emission inventory and the GHG emissions report by 31 March each year and SAWIS waste returns within 60 days of each quarter. The MQA receives the workplace skills plan and annual training report by 30 April. Explosives licensing, magazine registers and returns run to the SAPS Chief Inspector of Explosives, with loss or theft reported immediately; heritage permit reporting, where applicable, follows the permit conditions.

Part E — Items to confirm before reliance

Prepared by SLP4Good Consulting, July 2026. This reference summarises statutory obligations for planning purposes and is not legal advice. Contact us for a mine-specific compliance register populated from your rights and licence conditions.