THE Minerals Regulation Commission (MRC) says it expects to clear the backlog of unprocessed mining licences by the end of June. In an interview, Thursday, MRC Board Chairperson Matongo Matamwandi said the Commission was currently handling about 1,600 pending licence applications. He said that if the Commission failed to clear the backlog within the set timeframe, there was room for a possible extension. “The backlog is quite a lot. Remember the last sitting was in October last year, so the backlog is quite huge and they need to validate and verify certain things, but we are hoping 10 days of intensive working, we are hoping they can manage. The number of pending licences to be approved in the next two...