| Act name and number | Brief description |
| Constitution Act, Act No. 108 of 1996 | Section 24 protects everyone’s health and well-being by preventing pollution and ecological degradation. |
| Mine Health and Safety Act, No 29 of 1996 | Provide for the protection of the health and safety of employees and other persons at mines. |
| Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, Act No. 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) | Transferred mineral rights from private holders to government as guardians of peoples of S.A. and made provision to benefit Historically Disadvantaged South Africans (HDSAs). |
| Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Act, Act No. 49 Of 2008 | Bill enhances provisions related to the regulation of the mining industry through the beneficiation of minerals and the promotion of national energy security to streamline administrative processes and align them with previous Acts. |
| National Environmental Management Act, Act No. 107 of 1998 (NEMA) | Provide for co-operative environmental governance by establishing principles for decision-making on matters affecting the environment, institutions that will promote co-operative governance and procedures for coordinating environmental functions by an organ of the state. |
| National Environmental Management: Waste Amendment Act, Act No. 26 of 2014 | Provide for the regulation of mine residue and stockpiles under NEMA. DMRE is the competent authority in terms of the National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act, Act No. 25 of 2014 (NEMLA). |
| National Water Act, Act No. 36 of 1998 | Provide for fundamental reform of the law relating to water resources. |
| Precious Metals Act, Act No. 37 of 2005 | Provide for the development of precious metals in the best interest of the people of South Africa. |