Dorencia Pillay is a Senior Associate at ENS in the Natural Resources and Environment practice. 

She specialises in mining, environmental and regulatory issues relating to mining law, general environmental law, waste law, water law, air quality law, food safety law, petroleum and chemicals law, and administrative law.

Dorencia has acted for international and local clients in a variety of industries, including the mining, mineral processing, waste, energy, petroleum, chemicals, agriculture, transportation, metal recycling, telecommunications, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, cremation services, and cosmetics industries, as well as government and state-owned entities. She has also served as in-house legal counsel for a global mining company with a portfolio that spans diamonds, platinum, copper and iron ore.

Dorencia’s experience includes -

• advising on project funding and readiness with a focus on permitting, land tenure and legal issues;
• advising on environmental, mining, social and regulatory legal compliance issues;
• preparing reports for and presenting to executive, steering and board committees;
• providing regulatory and transactional advice on mergers, acquisitions and disposals/divestments;
• drafting and reviewing due diligence reports for environmental and mining investigations;
• conducting legal research and drafting opinions, notes and memos;
• drafting and reviewing administrative objections, appeals and review applications;
• drafting representations in respect of administrative fines and directives/compliance notices;
• drafting and preparing environmental and mining regulatory legal registers and risk assessments;
• preparing and reviewing applications for various mineral rights and environmental consents;
• drafting and reviewing sale and purchase, service level, and supply agreements;
• reviewing bids for renewable energy projects in terms of the REIPPPP for the Department of Energy and National Treasury; and
• engaging with various levels of governmental authorities, including the Departments of Mineral Resources and Energy; Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment; Water and Sanitation, as well as various provincial and municipal departments.

Dorencia is a member of the Legal Practice Council and the South African General Counsel for Diversity and Inclusion.