African Nickel has applied for an interdict in the North Gauteng High Court to prevent farm owner Thys van As from supplying the media with false facts and allegations. This is with regards to its prospecting activities in the Golden Valley in the Magaliesburg region north west of Johannesburg.

An affidavit by the company’s CEO Mr Timothy Keating stated that “The essence of this application is to procure final, alternatively, interdictory relief against the respondent. The campaign included, inter alia that the respondent provided false facts and allegations pertaining to the business of the applicant to various persons in the employ of a number of magazines and newspapers. Keating states in the application that it is not trying to curtail freedom of speech but that it has the right not to be unfairly discriminated against and not to be subjected to false accusations.

As per report, the Land Owners Association of Magaliesburg had lodged an appeal with the Department of Mineral Resources against the granting of a prospecting licence to African Nickel on the Golden Valley farm in the Magaliesburg. The association said the area was a sensitive catchment area for the Hartebeespoort dam and bordered the historic Cradle of Humankind. It was concerned that the prospecting activities might pollute the area’s scarce water resources.

The association’s Van As, in a document to the DMR accused African Nickel of violating the terms of the company’s Environmental Management Plan which was approved by the department before granting it a licence. The company has since applied for an extension of the EMP in the event of further exploration.

Van As says the violations of the EMP include:
1. Workers camping on the prospecting site;
2. Water usage is in excess of 80 000 liters per day;
3. Farmers supplying water do not have registered and licensed boreholes;
4. Drilling is taking place less than 50 metres from fences, boreholes and houses;
5. Not all interested and affected parties had been consulted prior to drilling;
6. Trespassing by African Nickel on to surrounding farms.

The company has denied the allegations and is adamant it has met all the regulatory criteria in prospecting in the region.

Mr Van As’s outspokenness has now landed him in hot water but he stands by his statements, saying that he will not take the matter lying down. Keating is equally adamant saying in his affidavit: “As the allegations and facts which the respondent provided to the press are false and publication of these false facts had and will in the future have adverse consequences for the applicant.”

He further said that the allegations could have adverse repercussions for African Nickel in its future business dealings and had in fact already had a number of detrimental consequences for the applicant being African Nickel. The lengthy and technical affidavit explains that if Van As’s illegal actions” cause a delay in the execution of the Golden Valley project it could cost the company millions of rands for which it will hold Van As liable.

(Sourced from www.moneyweb.co.za)