ENSafrica‘s team ‘has the full range of skills necessary to tackle any mining related legal matter and does so with ease and vigour‘. The ‘superb‘ Ntsiki Adonisi heads the natural resources and environmental group, and is sought after for her expertise in handling a broad range of mining law matters. Pieter Colyn leads the firm’s mining and occupational health and safety department, and has established experience in assisting with health and safety mandates relating to high-profile safety issues in the industry. Celeste Coles‘ workload includes inquiries arising from mining accidents, and Zinzi Lawrence brings extensive experience in advising on mining and environmental regulatory matters.

Webber Wentzel‘s well-regarded mining practice is led by regulatory expert Jonathan Veeran and department deputy Rita Spalding, who has a solid track record in handling corporate and M&A matters and restructuring work in the mining sector. Kate Collier is very experienced in advising on health and safety issues in the space, and Bruce Dickinson has an excellent reputation for handling a broad range of mining matters. Giada Masina is a key contact in the group for high-profile mining transactions.

At Beech Veltman Inc, the team stands out for its ‘excellent subject matter knowledge and expertise, and is able to deal with complex mining issues from commercial transactions to regulatory matters‘. Firm CEO and practice head Warren Beech is ‘a consummate professional with many years of concrete experience in the profession‘. Eben van Zyl stands out for his expertise in handling contentious matters, and is equally adept at handling mining-related health and safety issues. Chantal Murdock is a key contact for mining regulatory compliance work, and Bryan White‘s workload includes employment disputes and investigations into fatalities in the mining industry.

The mining group at Bowmans has traditional strength in advising technology entities, financial services clients and prominent mining companies on mining-related corporate matters; practice head Charles Young is a key contact for M&A deals in the mining space. The team reports an increase in instructions with a focus on minerals, and has also been kept busy handling restructurings and environmental impact matters. Mining title issues and regulatory work are core pillars of strength in Claire Tucker‘s practice, and Wandisile Mandlana is sought after for his expertise in advising on mineral rights disputes. Deepa Vallabh joined the group in November 2024.

Led by Vivien Chaplin, the mining and minerals team at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr reports an uptick in mandates focusing on environmental and regulatory issues. Chaplin is a key contact for clients in the manganese and aluminium mining arenas, and has an excellent track record in handling offtake and supply agreements and regulatory matters. Allan Reid is a highly regarded practitioner in the space, with three decades of expertise in mining and minerals law. Fiona Leppan advises on health and safety matters, and Rachel Kelly is active on mining-related corporate work. Burton Meyer has a strong reputation for advising on mining disputes.

At Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, the mining team leverages the expertise of the firm’s projects, energy and infrastructure group to assist prominent domestic and international mining companies, government departments and non-profit entities with a wide spectrum of contentious and non-contentious mining matters. Practice head Patrick Leyden has an excellent track record in handling cross-border and domestic M&A mining transactions, and Ernst Muller stands out for his expertise in advising mining companies on ESG issues.

Christina Pretorius and Anneke Higgs lead Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa Inc‘s mining practice, which is well-versed in advising prominent domestic and international miners on mining M&A, corporate finance, project finance and dispute resolution. Higgs brings experience in handling regulatory matters, and André Vos has an excellent track record in handling litigation in the industry. Andrea Cabanac assists major international and local entities with mining and environmental law compliance issues.

Chris Stevens heads Werksmans Attorneys‘ mining team, which acts on a broad range of transactional and contentious work. The client base includes international and domestic mining entities. Stevens fields expertise in advising on mining disputes, transactional matters and mining title registrations; he is ably supported by Kyra South, who counts environmental law as a core area of strength.

White & Case LLP has ‘a market-leading mining practice in South Africa, covering all regulatory, permitting, environmental, finance and transactional aspects‘. Gary Felthun has a solid track record in handling mining M&A deals, and regularly advises prominent mining houses, corporates and private equity firms on mining transactions. Felthun jointly heads the practice with Lloyd Christie, who has extensive expertise in mining and environmental law and dispute resolution.