Anglo takes govt to court

Johannesburg - Anglo American [JSE:AGL] said it was challenging South Africa's granting of coal mining rights in court, while another company said it had given up a mining right to Impala Platinum Holdings [JSE:IMP].

Anglo American's legal challenge adds to ongoing disputes over mining rights in the resource-rich nation, which have raised investor concerns over transparency and governance.

Separately Keysha Investments 220 said it had given up a prospecting right that the department of minerals and resources (DMR) had already awarded to Impala Platinum, the world's second-largest platinum producer.

The Business Report daily said Anglo American was taking the DMR to court over its decision to grant prospecting rights to Melody Street Trading, a black economic empowerment company, in 2009.

Anglo American spokesperson Pranill Ramchander said that a court application had been filed but declined to give any details.

"I can confirm that there is a legal case and that we are taking the (DMR) to court," he said.

The paper said that Anglo claimed that the rights should have been theirs, although Anglo declined to comment.

Administrative error

South Africa's handling of two other disputed mine right awards has already damaged its reputation.

The DMR awarded a mining right to Keysha Investments 220, a subsidiary of the Holgoun Group, for a portion of the Inkosi land of Impala Platinum's (Implats) subsidiary Afplats, the Business Day reported.

Impala chief executive David Brown was quoted by the paper as saying that the company had asked the DMR to reverse the award to Keysha.

Keysha Investments 220 spokesperson Anastasia Maimonis said the firm had given up on the mining right upon learning that the DMR had made an "administrative error" in awarding it.

"We have written to the DMR to confirm that they should exclude (the area) from Keysha's prospecting right," Maimonis wrote in an email response.

Maimonis said the area for which Keysha Investments 220 was awarded a right was small relative to areas for which it holds other prospecting rights and that the harm caused by the glitch was immaterial.

The mining ministry last week admitted there were "gaps and inconsistencies" in the mining act and promised a major overhaul of the legislation but also said that rights already awarded were unlikely to be revoked.

It has imposed a six-month halt on new prospecting bids until the ambiguities are addressed.