Farming in jeopardy: Ruling on mining without compensation sets dangerous precedent
1 September 2024
The shocking recent ruling in the Mpumalanga High Court which determined that mining operations on a farmer’s land in Delmas may continue even though a compensation agreement was never reached will have far-reaching consequences for agriculture. This comes as a warning from AfriForum and the network for family farmers, Saai, after a commercial farm approached the organisations for help. AfriForum is in the process of obtaining a legal opinion on what the wider implications of this ruling will be for agriculture in South Africa.
The civil rights organisation believes that the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources must stop this dangerous practice before it can take hold. According to Marais de Vaal, advisor for Environmental Affairs at AfriForum, it is precisely this department’s responsibility to ensure that the country’s mineral resources are developed in a sustainable and fair way. However, it appears that this department does not act as an impartial regulator in these situations and unfairly favours the interests of mining companies.
Only 1.5% of land in South Africa is suitable for agriculture – 46% of this suitable land is in Mpumalanga. However, mining and prospecting rights have already been granted on more than 60% of Mpumalanga’s surface. Furthermore, there are cases where applications for mining licenses are submitted for rights to mine on land as close as 500 m from a town, which means that communities can have a mine almost on their doorstep. These excessive mining activities not only jeopardises food security, but also has far-reaching ecological consequences.
CJ Williams en Seuns Boerdery (Pty) Ltd have been in negotiations with Stuart Coal (Pty) Ltd since 2019, struggling to reach a compensation agreement to compensate for possible losses that the farm may suffer due to the mining operations. Stuart Coal has the rights to mine coal on agricultural land in the Delmas area. However, the parties were unable to reach an agreement and CJ Williams en Seuns Boerdery consequently refused the mining company access to the property.