Current events have been kicking-up the dust on a number of
pressing issues in our world and perhaps, it is about time. As many
people across class, generations and skill levels are forced to
isolate at varying degrees, the access to social media and
technology brings global issues to a head, creating a ripple effect
across nations. Two of those issues, both related to the burgeoning
of activism, are historic racial discrimination and the restraining
of freedom of speech, in the mining space and the environment.
The practicalities of the ventilation of historic racial
discrimination in the mining industry has been heavily debated in
the legal arena and is evident with the review of the Mining
Charter, 2018 by the Minerals Council of South Africa, as well as
the Draft Upstream Petroleum Resources Bill, 2019. The Bill seeks
to avoid the pitfalls and mistakes made from a legal perspective
with the charter. On 6 July 2020, the High Court in Pretoria
ordered that a
