ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd and Anglo American Plc unit Kumba Iron Ore won a bid to overturn the award of a right over the country’s largest iron-ore mine to a company whose owners include a business partner of President Jacob Zuma’s son.

The High Court set aside the award of a 21.4% permit to the Sishen mine to Imperial Crown Trading 289 (Pty) Ltd whose owners include Jagdish Parekh a business partner of Duduzane Zuma. The right was previously held by ArcelorMittal South Africa, a unit of the world’s biggest steelmaker. Its stock surged the most in 11 months in Johannesburg.

Judge Raymond Zondo in the Pretoria court said that Sishen Iron Ore Co owned by Kumba and Exxaro Resources Ltd holds 100% of the right to the operation and the 21.4% portion was never available for conversion.

Kumb in a statement said that “We are delighted that the judgment has confirmed that Sishen Iron Ore is the only holder of the mining rights over Sishen and that no other person including Imperial holds or may be granted competing rights. With regards to the interpretation of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, we need to await the full judgment and the reasons for the court’s decision.”

Zondo’s full ruling will be available on December 20

ArcelorMittal South Africa is “pleased about the ruling,” spokesman Mr Themba Hlengani in an interview said that “It confirms our long-held view Kumba applied for and was granted 100% of the right in the first instance.”

The Vanderbijlpark-based steelmaker’s Sishen right lapsed after it failed to apply for a license by April 30th 2009 to satisfy a change in legislation.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)