The Amadiba Crisis Committee (ACC) first lodged an objection to the granting of a mining license for the area to Australia-listed Mineral Resources Commodities' local subsidiary Transworld Energy and Minerals (TEM), in December 2008.

On February 23 this year the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) said that Shabangu would adjudicate upon the appeal, based on the available documentation, including the interim report made by the Holomisa task team.

This was after it was decided that the DMR would no longer facilitate a second round of hearings on the matter, because sufficient information was presented in the Holomisa report.

DMR spokesperson Musa Zondi told Mining Weekly Online that the DMR had asked for an extension from the applicant and had until April 25 to make a decision on the matter.

However, the legal representative of the ACC, which appealed the awarding of the mining license, said that no formal request for an extension was sought.

"Kindly advise why the Minister needs a further extension of one month until 25 April 2011, when she made an undertaking in February to furnish this decision by 25 March 2011, and when a year has elapsed since she was furnished with the Holomisa report," questioned the Grahamstown-based Legal Resources Centre in a letter to the DMR.

Zondi explained that "when you want to do something properly, you want to do something properly. Time is of the essence, yes, I accept that, but we are also not going to rush processes. So it was important for us to ask for another 30 days extension."

Christy van der Merwe

Mining Weekly