These licences are granted for specific time periods and renewal depends on the fulfilment of specific conditions. Often all the terms of a mining licence are agreed for a property before exploration begins. An allocation of a projects revenues to government according to this schedule would be internationally competitive. It is often further sweetened by tax holidays of between 5 to 9 years. Additionally, mining companies often enjoy import duty exemption.
Gold is sold by the company at the prevailing market price, either to the government or off-shore.
It is normally provided that residual profits are freely remittable. Minerals policy is however still subject to a great deal of political debate. The mining houses counter this interpretation by arguing that had they not been able lock in long term mineral rights, then the expensive exploration costs of South African deep level mining would not have been possible. The ANC's new mineral policy is said to envisage a regime which imposes a tax on mineral rights, but one which could be offset by capital spending on exploration. The objective of this policy would be to open the mining industry to small operators and to encourage the exploitation of existing reserves.