Junior miners Mpilo and Zen Holdings and Centurion Mining are at loggerheads over tailings said to be worth almost R440m, with the dispute set to be resolved in court.
The dispute over the mine dumps, known as tailings, began early this year after Mpilo was granted a mining permit, giving it the right to mine for gold on the property.
Mpilo’s geologist estimates that the tailings, a by-product of previous mining activities, on the property to be 330,000 tonnes and are said to contain gold worth an estimated R435m.
Centurion has appealed against the decision to grant the permit to Mpilo on the basis that it is the owner of the tailings. The appeal is pending.
Despite the pending appeal, Mpilo tried to access the property under the permit by engaging with the department of agriculture, land reform & rural development, the land owner. The department refused to grant Mpilo access because it was of view that the permit was subject to Centurion’s right to the tailings.
The matter took another twist in June when the chief director of the Mpumalanga provincial office of the department granted Centurion access to the property to remove the tailings.
The department of mineral resources & energy decided Centurion “has submitted proof that it is the owner of the tailings dump [the tailings] as they are in possession of the claim licence”, a letter from the chief director reads.
Mpilo rejected this decision and sought an undertaking from the department of agriculture, land reform & rural development that it would ensure that the tailings are not removed from the property pending the outcome of the appeal.
The department made no such an undertaking. That caused Mpilo to approach the high court in Mpumalanga for an interim interdict preventing the removal of the tailings from the property, pending a review application Mpilo intends to institute within three months after the granting of the interim interdict.
Acting judge Hendrickus Roelofse granted Mpilo the interim relief on the condition that it institutes review proceedings against the department of agriculture, land reform & rural development decision before end-August.
Roelofse ruled that the department of mineral resources & energy was not empowered by the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act to make a declaration over the ownership of the tailings. “On this basis alone a review of the director-general’s decision must succeed,” he wrote.
“The evidence ... demonstrates that for many years there has been no interest from Centurion in the tailings. In my mind, convenience favours Mpilo because its permit is new and was undoubtedly applied for with the view of mining the tailings. There will be less prejudice to Centurion if Centurion is forced to wait until the parties’ rights in respect of the tailings are finally determined,” the judge ruled.
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