The Mining Cadastre as an Extension and Specialization of the Kenyan Property Cadastre

The accelerated exploration of sub-surface mineral resources across much of Africa has created the need for proper administration of sub-surface land rights. The trend world-wide is a separate cadastre for mining. The reasons advanced for this separation are: the relatively short-term (issued as leases) nature of the mining rights, the mining laws relate exclusively to the right of exploiting minerals and are not modifying the property right; the boundaries of these rights are not linked to the limits of the "property" rights; the need for independence of decision regarding minerals and mining. The link between the mining and surface property cadastre is established during the application process of the mining license, the consent from the owners of the surface land rights is required. The land in question is then identified in relation to the cadastral coordinates defining the mineral right area and this information is kept in the mining cadastre.