DMR studies legal options after expropriation judgement

South Africa’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) says it is studying a North Gauteng High Court ruling in favour of Agri South Africa (Agri SA), which claimed that unused old order mineral rights of farmers had been “expropriated” through the introduction of new mining legislation in 2004 and that private holders of mineral rights under the former arrangement were, thus, entitled to compensation.

Agri SA claimed that farmers had suffered damages as a result of mineral rights falling under the control of the State, when the Mineral Petroleum Resources Development Act became effective on May 1, 2004.

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