A member of the Mines and Energy committee of Parliament, Cletus Avoka says the 2014 amended Act will seek to provide for regulations to be made to prescribe appropriate rates and a method for the payment of royalties, the confiscation of equipment used in illegal small-scale mining, and for related matters.

According to Avoka, the new law will tighten the rules to prevent foreigners from dealing in illegal mining.

The amended bill outlines that: “A holder of a mining lease, restricted mining lease or small scale mining in respect of minerals obtained from its mining operations, pays royalty to the Republic at the rate and in the manner that may be prescribed”.

For offences and penalties, the amendment bill spells out that “a person who sells or buys minerals without a licence granted under section 97 or 104 or without a valid authority granted under this Act or any other enactment commits an offence, and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than three thousand penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than five years, or to both.