Biography: Mining

Chris Stevens is a partner with Tabacks (comprising Mervyn Taback Inc and Taback & Associates) where he leads the firm's mining and natural resources law department. He advises on all aspects of mining law in South Africa, including in relation to commercial arrangements, conveyancing, litigation, opinion work, black economic empowerment laws and due diligence aspects. He advises many of the South African major mining houses on these aspects, as well as medium size mining companies and junior exploration companies. He further advises numerous American, UK, Canadian and Australian mining companies with interests in South Africa and acts for numerous black empowerment companies in relation to mining transactions. He has also been involved in numerous transactions for South African mining entities in sub-Saharan Africa. He has also been integrally involved in advising numerous mining companies on various aspects of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 28 of 2002, as well as the amendments to that legislation.

Chris Stevens co-lectured the LLB course at the University of the Witwatersrand on prospecting and mining law in 1998 to 2007. He lectures at the University of the Witwatersrand to mining and engineering students on compliance aspects and annually lectures at the University of Pretoria for MSc geology students in a compliance course. He sat on the mining law committee of the International Bar Association in 2002 to 2006.

Chris Stevens received BCom and LLB degrees from the University of Witwatersrand and has been practising mining law since 1987. He was admitted as a notary public in 1990.

Chris Stevens speaks at numerous conferences, both in South Africa and internationally in relation to the South African mining industry.