Advisory

AMS & Partners provides buy-side advisory focused on reducing information asymmetry and execution risk for investors. We specialise in demanding mining situations, including distressed assets, care-and-maintenance operations, restarts, and tailings retreatment opportunities.

Regulatory & Mining Rights

AMS & Partners analyses mining rights status and transaction constraints under the MPRDA framework, and validates practical application steps through DMRE / SAMRAD processes. We support investors with:

• Rights status verification, renewal or transfer constraints, and compliance pathways
• Application pathway understanding (including official “apply for a mining right” requirements)
• Risk identification, including encumbrances, overlapping applications, and historical compliance signals
• Practical process planning and realistic regulatory timelines

Mining Charter / B-BBEE Advisory

The Mining Charter (2018) and its implementation guidelines establish measurable requirements that influence ownership, procurement, supplier development, and reporting obligations. For cross-border investors, the key challenge is not debate but execution: ensuring compliance is embedded in the transaction and operating plan from the outset. AMS & Partners assists investors to:

• Interpret Mining Charter elements relevant to the asset and transaction
• Identify compliance gaps and feasible remediation pathways
• Support transaction structuring that aligns capital, partners, and compliance
• Incorporate a compliance workstream into the deal execution plan

SLP & Social Licence

DMRE guidelines make clear that a Social and Labour Plan is a prerequisite for granting mining rights. SLP obligations include commitments across areas such as HR development, local economic development, housing and living conditions, and the management of downscaling or retrenchment. SLP is not a public relations exercise. It represents measurable commitments, consultation obligations, and ongoing delivery. Failure to execute can quickly become operational and reputational risk. AMS & Partners supports investors by:

• Reviewing existing SLP commitments and evidence of implementation
• Identifying stakeholder risk and potential execution hotspots
• Developing realistic community engagement plans aligned with project timelines
• Integrating SLP obligations into investment economics and governance structures

Transaction Execution & Governance

We translate diligence into an executable transaction pathway, coordinating legal, technical, ESG, and commercial workstreams to deliver clear, decision-ready outcomes for investment committees. Our support includes:

• Workplans, milestones, and decision gates
• Data room requirements and quality control
• Coordination across legal, technical, ESG, and commercial workstreams
• Clear decision-ready outputs for investment committees

Advisory Deliverables

Our work typically results in a set of clear deliverables designed to support informed investment decisions:

• Investment Thesis & Red Flags Memo
• Technical Diligence Summary (resources, metallurgy, mine plan assumptions)
• Commercial & Economic Assessment (cost realism and sensitivity analysis)
• Mining Rights & Regulatory Status Note (MPRDA / DMRE pathway)
• Mining Charter / B-BBEE Compliance Workstream Note
• SLP & Stakeholder Risk Note with Execution Plan
• Transaction Pathway (structure options and process plan)
• Investment Committee Decision Package (recommendations, risks, and conditions)

Screening Framework

AMS & Partners’ screening framework evaluates mining opportunities across six key pillars: geology and resource integrity, metallurgical performance, operational practicality, rights and permitting readiness, stakeholder alignment, and transaction governance. This framework ensures opportunities are assessed with discipline and a clear path to execution. Our framework consists of:

1. Orebody & Resource Integrity
2. Metallurgy & Recovery Reality
3. Operating Plan & Cost Discipline
4. Mining Rights & Permitting Readiness
5. Stakeholder & Social Licence Risk
6. Transaction Practicality & Governance

Workplan (Phases)

Our process follows a defined progression from rapid screening to core diligence, transaction structuring, and execution support, guiding opportunities from initial assessment through to investment and transaction completion. Our phases consist of:

• Phase 0: Rapid Screen (3–10 days)
• Phase 1: Core Diligence (2–6 weeks)
• Phase 2: Structuring & Execution Plan (2–4 weeks)
• Phase 3: Transaction Support

Our Data Room Checklist

A comprehensive data room review forms a core part of our diligence process. We apply a detailed checklist covering legal and ownership documentation, regulatory compliance, stakeholder obligations, technical fundamentals, operational planning, HSE systems, and commercial performance.

Corporate & Legal

• Company structure, shareholders, directors, mandates
• Title deeds, property rights, and land agreements
• Litigation, disputes, and material contracts
• Debt, encumbrances, security arrangements, and off-balance commitments

Mining Rights & Regulatory (MPRDA / DMRE)

• Mining rights, prospecting rights, permits, and amendments
• Renewal and transfer history, compliance correspondence
• SAMRAD records, application footprint, and overlapping claims evidence
• Environmental authorisations and related conditions
• Official process references for mining right applications

Mining Charter / B-BBEE / Transformation

• Ownership structures and compliance evidence
• Procurement and supplier development records
• Reporting history and audits against Mining Charter requirements

Social & Labour Plan (SLP) / Stakeholders

• Current and historical SLP documentation, approvals, and amendments
• Evidence of implementation against commitments
• Community consultation records and stakeholder mapping
• HR development, local economic development, housing conditions, and downscaling plans

Technical — Geology & Resources

• Resource and reserve statements with supporting reports
• Drillhole databases, QA/QC procedures, and sampling protocols
• Geological models, sections, block models, and reconciliation data

Metallurgy & Processing

• Testwork, recoveries, variability, and constraints
• Processing flowsheet assumptions and plant condition
• Tailings sampling density, mineralogy, and deposition history

Mine Plan & Operations

• Current and historic production records
• Mine design, scheduling, strip ratios, and dilution assumptions
• Equipment inventories, maintenance history, and workforce planning
• Power and water supply arrangements, constraints, and contingency planning

HSE & Risk

• Safety performance, incidents, and compliance records
• Environmental monitoring and closure provisions
• Insurance coverage and claims history

Commercial & Financial

• Cost breakdowns, unit costs, and capital expenditure history
• Revenue assumptions, product specifications, and penalties
• Offtake agreements and marketing arrangements
• Financial statements, forecasts, valuation models, and sensitivities

AMS & Partners helps investors navigate the complexities of South African mining investment. Through integrated technical, regulatory, and transaction advisory, we reduce execution risk and turn complex opportunities into decision-ready investments.