A jubilant attorney acting for an Eastern Cape community that fought and defeated a mining giant, on Monday 14 September described a ruling by the North Gauteng High Court that those affected by mining operations had a right to see applications for licences as game-changing and great progress in levelling the playing field. The attorney for the Umgungundlovu community, Johan Lorenzen, said the judgment went a long way towards balancing the power between mining companies and affected communities.

…“As the court held: ‘Meaningful consultation entails discussion of ideas on an equal footing, considering the advantages and disadvantages of each course and making concessions where necessary.’ ” Communities negotiating with companies would face “a more level playing field”, Lorenzen said. Thandeka Kathi, an attorney at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies based at Wits University, said the judgment was a “game-changer for mining-affected communities in South Africa”. The centre acted as a friend of the court in the application. “Communities should not have to be sent from pillar to post when trying to access information they need about the projects that affect them — and this judgment recognises that. It means community members will by default have access to the information to participate fully in discussions with mining companies and the state in their quest to realise other constitutional rights,” Kathi said.

…The application was brought in February by the Umgungundlovu community who asked for access to mining rights applications of operations that may impact on them. The community discovered in 2015 that Transworld Energy and Mineral Resources had applied for the rights to mine titanium in the Xolobeni area of the Eastern Cape where they lived and worked. Residents expressed their concern in papers before the court over the impact of the proposed mine on their way of life. After being refused access to the mining rights application by the company and the government, they asked for the North Gauteng High Court’s intervention.