South African Elections May Delay Aquila Resources Hearing

Miningmx reported yesterday that according to Aquila Resources Inc. (TSX:AQA), there is a possibility that national elections in South Africa will further delay a hearing regarding why the company has not received a mining permit for its Avontuur manganese project.

As quoted in the market news:

Mike Halliday, South African country head for Aquila Resources, accepted that the appointment of a new mines minister following national elections could result in government missing the regulatory deadline for awarding the mining permit which is the end of May. ‘I would hope business continues as normal, but there is a risk of that,’ he said. Mines minister, Susan Shabangu, has hinted in the last two months that her current term may be her last.

‘The DMR has given an undertaking that it will comply with the timelines in the MPRDA [Mineral Resources and Petroleum Development Act]. I don’t know if elections will affect it,’ he said. National elections in South Africa are scheduled for May 7.

Aquila Resources is eager to have a mining permit granted as it needs to prove the right to mine before applying for a portion of the re-allocation of the Port Elizabeth export capacity in Transnet’s Manganese Export Capacity Allocation (MECA) process.

Click here to read the full Miningmx report.