The new Mining Law reinforces the State's control over the country's mineral resources. It introduces a right for the State to require mining operators to sell mineral products to Mozambique for use in Mozambican industry. Greater State control is also exercised over transfers of interests in mining titles. The 2002 Mining Law only required the Government's consent for transfers of interests by the title holder and not for transfers of shares of the title holder.
The new Mining Law clearly states that any transfer of a direct or indirect stake of the title holder also requires the Government's prior consent. This would appear to be the case irrespective of the amount of shareholding interest transferred (Shearman & Sterling, 2014). Transfers may only occur 2 years after the issuance of the mining permit and the holder must present its tax clearance certificate (Kathroda, 2014).