The Mpumalanga High Court has upheld Liberty Coal’s rights to commence mining activities on a property forming part of its Optimum Colliery operation. The court issued a strong rebuke of the landowner’s “unreasonable and obstructive conduct”.
The judgment, handed down this week, follows months of unsuccessful negotiations between Liberty Coal and the affected landowner. The dispute is over the terms of compensation for any potential loss or damage arising from planned mining activities. This forced the company to institute urgent legal proceedings after what it described as “constantly shifting goalposts” left it unable to secure access in line with its mining rights.
Detailing the outcome, Liberty Coal said in a statement on Friday: “Liberty Coal is pleased to confirm that its legal rights to access [to] and commence mining on one of the immovable properties over which it holds the rights to mine coal at the Optimum Colliery have been successfully upheld by the Mpumalanga High Court, pending compensation for any loss or damage due to the landowner being agreed or determined.”
The company’s statement pointed to the landowner’s “dilatory conduct in preventing Liberty Coal from accessing the property until compensatory negotiations were finalised” and noted that the court had found no justification for the landowner’s “demand for immediate compensation for any resultant crop losses”. According to Liberty Coal, the court made clear that such tactics could not be condoned.
“In its judgment, the Court pointed out that the landowner’s dilatory conduct … nor its demand for immediate compensation for any resultant crop losses could be condoned,” the company reported.
Liberty Coal emphasised its efforts to resolve the matter amicably before resorting to legal action. “Liberty Coal, despite its best endeavours to engage meaningfully with the landowner on the issue of compensation, was faced with constantly shifting goalposts which left it with no alternative but to approach the Court for relief,” the statement said.
The court’s ruling not only affirmed Liberty Coal’s right of access but also punished the landowner for their conduct by awarding costs on the highest scale. “The Court found that the landowner had not engaged in good faith with Liberty Coal’s attempts to settle the question of compensation expeditiously and made its disapproval of its unreasonable and obstructive conduct clear by awarding Liberty Coal its legal costs, including the costs of two counsel, on the highest scale, akin to a punitive costs order,” Liberty Coal stated.
The company, which has been working for six years to revive the Optimum Colliery, said the judgment vindicates its efforts. Liberty Coal added, “The latest court judgement upholding Liberty Coal’s rights in this regard affirms its belief that its hard-fought efforts over the past six years to rescue and reinstate the Optimum Colliery are fully justified.”
Looking ahead, Liberty Coal reaffirmed its commitment to local communities and stakeholders. “As a responsible corporate citizen, Liberty Coal values maintaining cordial, fair and mutually constructive relations with both its regulatory authorities and all persons affected by or engaged in its ongoing efforts to restore the Optimum Colliery complex to its former position as one of the country’s premier coal mines,” the company said.
Liberty Coal outlined plans to continue “refurbishment of the mine’s infrastructure” and to pursue “the planned redevelopment for agricultural-related uses of selected rehabilitated surface areas within the mine’s wide footprint”, stating this will open “new job and enterprise opportunities for the surrounding communities, local businesses and landowners.”
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