BULAWAYO – A court has stopped a miner from prospecting for gold on a sprawling Matabeleland South ranch owned by the Oppenheimer family, the super wealthy former owners of De Beers Diamond Corporation and Anglo American.
The Oppenheimers, through their company Shangani Holistic, reacted after a company called Duration Gold flew a plane low over their 65,000-hectare Shangani Ranch in Insiza district on June 2, apparently conducting a geophysical survey.
It later emerged that the aircraft was owned by a South African company which in turn had been hired by Duration Gold, themselves engaged to conduct the aerial survey by Pearline Mineral Exploration.
Pearl Mineral Exploration was granted an exclusive prospecting order (EPO) in 2019, entitling the company to prospect for a range of minerals including gold, silver, copper, antimony, lead, cobalt, manganese, zinc, nickel, chrome, graphite and lithium.
In a judgement released Thursday, the Harare High Court interdicted Pearline Mineral Exploration from “mineral mining activities whatsoever.”
The Oppenheimers filed an urgent application at the High Court arguing that Pearline Mineral Exploration did not possess an environmental impact assessment certificate, a legal requirement before any mineral prospecting or mining can take place.
They said the ranch employs 400 people and is home to 8,000 cattle and exports beef products to the United Kingdom. It also lies in a wildlife corridor for elephants, as well as providing sanctuary to three endangered species of vultures – the white-backed, white-headed and lapper-faced vultures.
Profits generated from safari activities are distributed amongst its workers, said Shangani Holistic which also told the court it was bankrolling a school for workers and the local community with an enrolment of 150.
Justice Siyabona Paul Musithu agreed with Shangani Holistic that the implementation of the project without the requisite certificate from the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) was unlawful. Obtaining the certificate entails consultations with people occupying the land, traditional leaders and the local community.
“The mineral exploration does not only have the potential to cause harm to the environment, but also to livestock and wildlife,” Justice Musithu ruled. “There is clearly a reasonable apprehension of harm if the project proceeds without due regard to the law.”
The judge went on to interdict Pearline Mineral Exploration “personally and through its agents from conducting any mineral prospecting or mining activities whatsoever on Shangani Ranch… without an environmental impact assessment” certificate issued by EMA.
The Oppenheimers said they have been on the land since 1937. The ranch previously stretched for over 140,000 hectares before some of the land was repossessed by the government for resettling indigenous Zimbabweans.
Advocate Thabani Mpofu represented Shangani Holistic while Herbert Mutasa appeared for Pearline Mineral Exploration.
