JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's mining ministry has examined the granting of two disputed prospecting rights and found no evidence of maladministration or irregularity, the minister said on Wednesday.

Kumba Iron Ore, a unit of Anglo American, and Lonmin have said the government deprived them of mining rights when it awarded prospecting licences to Imperial Crown Trading (ICT) and to Keysha Investments over areas where the two mining giants already operated.

For a timeline of the disputes, see Minerals Minister Susan Shabangu said last month she turned down Kumba's appeal to have the ICT licence revoked, but a decision on her review of Lonmin's appeal was still outstanding.

In a speech at the Africa Down Under conference in Perth, the minister spoke of criticism of the government's granting of prospecting rights to two small companies, without referring to them by name.