https://www.miningweekly.com

DMR, ICT lodge appeal application with ConCourt on Sishen mining right

23rd April 2013

By: Natalie Greve

Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

  

Font size: - +

Imperial Crown Trading 289 (ICT) and the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) have lodged an application with the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal a March 28 Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruling, dismissing their appeal against a 2011 decision by the North Gauteng High Court, which set aside the granting of a prospecting right to ICT by the DMR at the Sishen iron-ore mine, in the Northern Cape.

The SCA held that Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC) became the sole holder of the mining right at the Sishen mine after ArcelorMittal South Africa (Mittal) failed to convert its undivided share of the old-order mining right to a new-order mining right.

The application to the Constitutional Court is an attempt at resurrecting the long-running dispute, which arose when ICT applied for, and was granted, prospecting rights for the 21.4% undivided share in the property previously held by Mittal.

These rights flowed from the 2001 unbundling of Iscor into separate steel and mining companies.

SIOC had also applied, unsuccessfully, to convert those rights from the old to the new order in line with the prescripts of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. SIOC, nevertheless, cancelled a cost-plus 3% supply agreement with Mittal, on the basis that the steel group had failed to convert its rights.

But the North Gauteng High Court ruling concurred with Mittal's assertion, that SIOC should have been granted the exclusive right to mine at Sishen and that no other party could, therefore, have been granted the right to prospect on the same property.

Mittal argued that had it believed it would been prejudiced it would have applied for conversion, but it felt secure by virtue of its rights to continued iron-ore supply in terms of the supply agreement, which was now the subject of a separate arbitration proceeding between SIOC and Mittal.

In a March 28 ruling, the SCA concurred that SIOC had been granted an exclusive mining right over Sishen in 2008.

However, the court also held that Mittal had, in fact, retained the right to lodge its old-order right for conversion before midnight on April 30, 2009, but failed to do so.  As a result, SIOC became the sole holder of the new-order mining right.

As a result, the SCA upheld the High Court ruling setting aside the prospecting right granted by the DMR to ICT.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

Showroom

SABAT
SABAT

From batteries for boats and jet skis, to batteries for cars and quad bikes, SABAT Batteries has positioned itself as the lifestyle battery of...

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Alco-Safe
Alco-Safe

An unmanned breathalyser that is made to be tough and simple to use. Can be used in any environment for operator-free breathalyser testing.

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.124 0.159s - 107pq - 3rq
Subscribe Now